Class

In the 80's, the brat pack seemed unstoppable. But for every hit this young group had, they had just as many flops. I thought I would take a look back at some of these forgotten film s over the next few blogs. First up, the Rob Lowe/Andrew McCarthy collaboration, 1983's Class.

On his first day at prep school, working class Jonathan, Andrew McCarthy, has a cruel prank pulled on him by his new roommate Skip, Rob Lowe. Skip tells Jonathan that it is tradition for seniors to walk across campus in women's underwear on the first day. Jonathan falls for it and becomes a joke around the joke. But Jonathan turns the tables on Skip and fakes a suicide. This earns Skip's respect and the two become best friends.

Seeing how awkward Jonathan is around woman, Skip tells Jonathan that he needs to go to Chicago and pick up a woman in a bar to boost his confidence. He takes his advice and after a few failed attempts, an older woman named Ellen, Jacqueline Bisset, takes sympathy on him and the two have a wild, passionate night that leads to an ongoing affair. That is until Skip brings Jonathan home for the holidays, and he discovers that Ellen is Skip's married mother. Jonathan tries to break it off with her, which is easier said than done.

This movie is all over the place, trying to decide if it's a comedy or drama. There's even another storyline involving a student who cheated to get into the school which makes the whole Jonathan/Ellen affair feel like a mcguffin. I don't think the studio knew what to do with this movie and marketed it as a teen sex comedy.

With that being said, it's still an enjoyable movie. Lowe and McCarthy make a pretty good team. And the supporting cast includes up and comers like John Cusack, Virginia Madsen, and Alan Ruck. It was directed by Lewis John Carlino. His previous film was the dramatic The Great Santini, which makes this kind of an odd follow up. But it also makes sense that the latter part of the film gets so heavy.

It was supposedly a pretty miserable time on the set. Lowe threatened to leave the picture at one point after a disagreement with Carlino. Madsen refuses to talk about her experience, only saying that everyone involved was an asshole. And Bisset was very upset with the final product stating that the editing made her character look crazier than she actually was.

It's kind of a mess of a movie, but it's still enjoyable enough for a look.

It's available on dvd and blu ray.