National Lampoon's Class Reunion

Since I'm already on a horror spoof kick, I thought I'd take a look back at another comedy from around the same time as Student Bodies. 1982's National Lampoon's Class Reunion.

Hot off the success of Animal House, National Lampoon was more than eager to release another picture. National Lampoon's Movie Madness was supposed to be the magazine's sophomore effort, but it was so terrible that it went back to editing and sat on the shelf for two years. They turned to one of their best scribes, a young writer by the name of John Hughes...yes, the same man who brought us The Breakfast Club. He submitted Class Reunion. It was released with high anticipation, but the end result disappointed both critics and audiences.

The film starts off in 1972. High school senior Walter Baylor, Blackie Dammett, is the butt of a horrible prank by his fellow classmates. Ten years later, those classmates are attending their high school reunion, and so is Walter. Dressed in drag with a paper bag over his head, Walter sets out for revenge.

Most people, including John Hughes, hate this movie. I personally thought it was pretty funny. It's more of a parody of Terror Train and Prom Night, which may be why it's not as well regarded since those films weren't as big as Halloween and Friday The 13th.

The cast is really good, especially Gerrit Graham as the Waspy school president. It also has Animal House alum Stephen Furst as a sleazy classmate. Even rock legend Chuck Berry pops up for a cameo.

It's not in the same league as Animal House and Vacation, but I will pick this anyday over National Lampoon's later efforts, like Van Wilder.

It's available on dvd.