School Spirit

"School Spirit" is an anonymous and by now largely forgotten mid-80's comedy that obviously just got made in order to cash in on the contemporary popular trend of sleazy and vulgar high school/college comedies. Bob Clark's "Porky's" kick-started the trend and copious replicas were released within the next couple of years, like "Zapped!", "Screwballs", "Revenge of the Nerds", "Loose Screws" and "Fraternity Vacation". These movies invariably revolve on dim-witted and usually nerdy kids with exclusively sex on their minds and became big box office hits because they occasionally feature naked boobs and perfectly shaped butt-cheeks. They're fun and completely harmless for as long as they last, but even more forgettable and dumb.

"School Spirit" tried to add a supernatural element to the generally straightforward concept of high-school comedy, which is presumably why it failed and ended up in B-movie oblivion. Billy Batson, the lead scoundrel of the bizarrely named Lavatoire College, is about to score (in the principal's office of all places) with the ambitious geek-girl Judith, but forgot to bring a protective rubber. In his haste of purchasing one, Billy causes a car accident and dies on the operating table. His guide towards the bright white light, however, is his perverted old uncle Pinky and he isn't in too much of a hurry. Billy grants himself one more day to fornicate with Judith, but instead there's plentiful of other stuff going on. Billy and his wild-partying buddies are preparing for "Hog-Day" and he encounters true love in the shape of French sponsor of the school.

The main purpose of a film like "School Spirit" becomes apparent not long after the supposedly deceased Billy discovers that he now has the ability to make himself invisible. What's the first thing a young and hormone-driven stud does with a powerful gift like that? That's right, he sneaks into the girls dormitory's bathroom and extendedly observes how they shower and rub soap all over their breasts. The clichés just keep on coming in this film (nerd kids discover the art of partying, two sworn best friends falling in love, the "evil" principal going bonkers, etc) and the dialogs are really dumb, but it's all so innocent and served with great enthusiasm that you simply cannot hate the film. The character of Pinky Batson is an old pervert, though, and if the film had been made in this day and age, his character undoubtedly would have been played by a much younger actor. There's a pretty immoral and deviant sequence in which the sleazy senior exposes a girl's breasts and butt while she's sleeping. I really don't see that happening in movies nowadays and righteously so. Other than that, you know exactly what to expect from this type of cheap and unpretentious 80's comedies: horrendous rock music soundtrack, badly acting but good-looking young people, a terribly forced happy ending and … T&A, of course!

"School Spirit" is weird in the way it introduces an old fashioned Hollywood fantasy formula, and then does nothing with it, save for a few scenes where actors throw water on themselves and fall over and we are supposed to believe that the "spirit" did it.

The main character is a ghost who can make himself visible by running his hand through his hair. The movie establishes this, but most of the action has something to do with a smarmy jerk played by Larry Linville trying to do something that we don't want him to do because he's a smarmy jerk. I don't think the movie really establishes what the Linville character wants, or why we should hope it doesn't work out.

The movie has quite a bit of nudity from random models who I guess were flown in to take their tops off for the camera for a few dollars. None of the main female characters show any skin.

I have to point out that the first word in the title is misleading. Schools must not come cheap for filmmakers; most of these low budget teen sex comedies can't afford one. This movie has only one scene set in a school, a classroom scene. Most of the action takes place in the characters' houses.

What we end up with is a movie that does nothing with its starting premise and follows a subplot that comes too late and makes no sense. The only reason to watch is the nudity, and I guess it delivers on that front, though it disappoints in that none of the actual characters get naked, it's all just topless extras.

Addendum: I have seen many visible boom mics in movies, but this is one of the few where you can see the pole the boom is attached to, as well.

Gee I just watched this on DVD the other day.And I'm not sure if "god" would allow a ghost to linger around college but c'mon guy it's a silly little T&A sex comedy.Yes I know it's not a great film but it's a typical 80's party flick. Sometimes the serious artistic merit of a film has to be overlooked.If School Spirit was meant to be taken seriously as a look at reincarnation that's one thing but really it's not.But obviously the producers were tapping into the teenage boy market that made movies like Hardbodies,Porky's,Losin' It and other 80's staples successful.School Spirit will give you a chuckle and an eyeful of gratuitous female nudity,nothing more nothing less.And some days that's all you want to watch.

This film essentially begins with a college student named "Billy Batson" (Tom Nolan) desperately trying to seduce a beautiful coed student by the name of "Judith Hightower" (Elizabeth Foxx). However, just when he almost achieves his goal, he discovers that he has no protection. So, since Judith refuses to go any further without it, he hurries to procure some. Unfortunately, along the way he has a fatal car accident which, as one might expect, ruins his plans. But then, as luck would have it, just at the moment his soul leaves his body, he is met by his uncle "Pinky Batson" (John Finnegan) who was sent from heaven to guide him into the proverbial light. It's then revealed that, much like his nephew, Uncle Pinky gets easily distracted by members of the opposite sex which results in him running after an attractive woman instead of taking care of the business at hand. However, just prior to that, he shows Billy how to become visible again. So, armed with this knowledge, Billy then goes back to college to use this new ability to further enhance his sexual appetite. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this film had most of the necessary ingredients for a good teensploitation comedy. What it didn't have, unfortunately, was any humor. To that effect, despite all of the attractive ladies--and there were plenty of them in this film- none of them were able to rescue this dismal picture from its rather boring state. That being said, although I don't consider this to be a bad movie necessarily, I must say that I was a bit disappointed with it overall and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.

School Spirit, noooo!!!! The concept alone makes me wanna vomit, much less naming

a movie after such a heresy. Alas, the title is a charming play on words, as a young man who is killed in a car wreck en route to his first lay returns from the dead to.. to what?? Get some, I guess? Okay, he's a ghost. Sure, that's fine, we've seen it before and we'll see it again, it's an accepted film staple. But, a ghost that can make himself visible at will???!! NO!!! That's wrong! That's completely wrong, that defies the very principle of being a ghost! When you are a ghost, people can't see you! They can't touch you (unless you bond with them on some very emotional level like in that crap movie Ghost), they can't smell you, you are a GHOST! And you stay that way! You can't just snap your fingers

(or, in this case, wiggle your fingers on your head like Curly used to do on The Three Stooges) and become a living, sentient being again. That defies even basic religious precepts! Add to that the ridiculous notion that God would allow you a second chance on Earth just to "tap it".. jeez, this was rotten. Found it in the "mature" section, though suitable for 12 year olds. Minimal t&a but mass quantities of 80's frizzskank and terrible cliches. Also features poor old David Ogden Stiers as the dean.. From those goofy Armitraj brothers, who brought us Nine Deaths of The Ninja and innumerable other no-budget flicks.