Up The Creek

Since I've been on an Animal House kick this week,I thought I'd take a look back at the best of the Animal House knockoffs, 1984's Up The Creek.

Tired of his campus being a joke, the dean, John Hillerman, of Lepetomane University, also known as Lobotomy U., recruits his four worst students to compete in a collegiate raft race. At first, the students are hesitant, but the dean has dirt on their shady pasts and blackmails them. But he also sweetens the pot and offers them degrees. Knowing that this is their best chance at graduating, the four misfits reluctantly agree.

Bob McGraw, Tim Matheson, is the leader of a the group.He's a smooth talking ladies man. Max, Dan Monahan, is a persistant girl chaser. Gonzer, Stephen Furst making another appearance in my blogs, is an overweight slob. And Irwin, Sandy Helberg, is an alcoholic nerd. The night before the big race, they instantly butt heads with Ivy University after Bob hooks up with one of their girlfriends, Jennifer Runyon. They also make enemies with the Washington Military Institute after they catch the cadets sabotaging the competition and have them disqualified. Even though everyone is out to get them and they know nothing about white water rafting, the guys are out to prove that they are winners.

The cast is kind of a who's who of late 70's/early 80's comedies. Matheson and Furst are both Animal House alums, Monahan was in Porky's, and Helberg popped up in a lot of Mel Brooks films around that time. An intersting sidenote, Helberg is Simon Helberg's dad, star of The Big Bang Theory. I kind of get the impression that his role was originally written for Eddie Deezen, but I could be wrong about that. The four leads work well together. Matheson has the flashier role, but the film allows all of them to shine. Runyon is good in what is basically the hot girl role. And Blaine Novak, who was so good in They All Laughed, really hams it up here as the leader of the military cadets. The real scene stealer is Chuck, Bob's dog. There's a scene where he plays charades with the guys that is hysterical. I also have to say the theme song by Cheap Trick rocks.I actually like Up The Creek better than Animal House. I know that is going to be an unpopular statement, but it's true. I laugh throughout this entire movie every time I see it. It's really one of the best sex comedies from the 80's. It's available on dvd by special order on the MGM Limited Edition website and is coming to blu ray in February.Very cool! It's also streaming on Amazon Prime.