Thornton Melon (Rodney Dangerfield), a self-made corporate giant, with a successful chain of Big and Tall stores and numerous other business ventures. Feeling dejected when his college student son Jason (Keith Gordon) cancels a visit, he returns home to a party hosted by his wife Vanessa. Finally weary of Vanessa's nasty attitude and adultery, Thornton divorces her, and asks his bodyguard Lou to drive him to Jason's college campus. On the campus, Thornton learns from Jason that he's unhappy with college life. He is a towel boy for the diving team instead of a member, is antagonized by team member Chas Osborne (William Zabka), has no friends except for his roommate Derek Lutz (Robert Downey Jr.), and intends to drop out. Thornton motivates him to stay in college by deciding to enroll alongside him. Despite Thornton's lack of academic qualifications, the dean David Martin (Ned Beatty) admits him when he bribes Martin with a donation for a new campus building. Thornton's shenanigans earns him not only the displeasure of Dr. Philip Barbay (Paxton Whitehead), dean of the business school, but also the allure of Dr. Diane Turner (Sally Kellerman) Professor of Literature.
After his scene stealing performance in Caddyshack, Dangerfield was given the chance to headline his own movie with 1983's Easy Money, a pleasant enough but forgettable comedy that I didn't feel utilized Dangerfield's talents to their full potential. Back to School reteams him with Caddyshack writer Harold Ramis, and is a much stronger vehicle for Dangerfield as a result. Much like Caddyshack there is a plot with Thorton trying to motivate his son to finish college by attending along side him, and there's some nice moments between Dangerfield and Gordon that add some weight and sweetness to the movie, with that said though the movie's plot is pretty thin and is basically an excuse to link together comic set pieces where Thorton brings some life and chaos to the establishment much to the displeasure of Paxton Whitehad's character Dr. Barbay who makes an excellent comic foil for Dangerfield's antics. Some set pieces have aged better than others, but for the most part the likability of Thorton as a man who throws money around with little regard and has a genuine love of life makes the movie a joy to sit through. Sally Kellerman who played "Hot Lips" in 1970s M*A*S*H is also quite good in the movie as Thorton's love interest, and her introductory scene where she reads a poem to the class results in a reaction from Thorton that had me laughing to the point of near suffocation.
There are some parts that feel unnecessary to the movie and don't really add much. William Zabka as a stock "bully" on the swim team isn't all that funny or memorable and is basically there for Thorton's son Jason to have his own antagonist to give him an arc. There's nothing inherently wrong with it, but in comparison to other parts of the movie, it's relatively dry in terms of comedic potential.
Back to School isn't one of the all time comic greats, but as a vehicle to showcase Dangerfield's talent and charisma it's second to none. It has hits many of the same beats in terms of plot construction from Caddyshack (minus the classism subtext form that film) but this is a funny comedy which can still get some good belly laughs decades after its release.
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