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HOME arrow THE HITLIST arrow tMF TOP FIVE: Best College Movies
tMF TOP FIVE: Best College Movies Print E-mail
Written by Jeremy Welsch   
Sunday, 31 August 2008

...it was made in a time when people had the guts to make movies this good without settling for a cheap spoof.

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Most movies about the college experience happily paint a picture of booze injected partying and chemical experimentation without rules or consequence. Almost as long as kids have been going to college, we have had movies about kids strapping up and taking on the quest. So it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that high school kids look forward to, and seek out, that very experience – like they should.

Just like the genre itself, this list will be anything but groundbreaking. But on the weekend of the release of the latest addition to the movie fraternity and just as colleges across the country are infiltrated with the newest incoming class of wide-eyed freshman, it was fun to go back and watch some of the old favorites from the list.

tMF Top Five – Best College Movies
By Jeremy Welsch

#5 – Wonder Boys (2000)

Wonder Boys arguably belongs nowhere near this list, but as one of my favorites (and this being my list and all), it made the cut. It definitely strays from the rest of the pack, being less about the common college experience and more about a struggling writer suffering a professional and personal midlife crisis. But the same basic thematic elements exist, even if you aren’t smacked over the head with it – which is what makes it great.
#4 – Real Genius (1985)

A 15-year-old boy genius is recruited by a college professor to be part of a special project that unknowingly has him working on a top secret military weapon. Seriously, who hasn’t been there? The fish-out-of-water story led by a senior (Val Kilmer) who is “too smart for his own good even if he doesn’t act like it” may smell an awful lot like Van Wilder to the uninformed, but 20 years its senior Real Genius is still a better movie.
#3 – Old School (2003)

I’m not ready to jump on the backlash bandwagon with this one quite yet. If you can get passed your jaded misconceptions and let the absurdity of it all just wash over you, you’ll get to see a pretty funny movie. Of course it’s not without its problems but punch for punch, Old School can hang in the ring with the best of them.
#2 – Revenge of the Nerds (1984)

Long before it was cool to be a called a nerd (and when did that happen, by the way?), geeks everywhere banded together behind this quintessential ‘jocks versus nerds’ movie. Sure it spawned three dreadful sequels and it wouldn’t be nearly as good if it came out today (a slated 2007 remake was shelved), but this one oozed pure 1980’s cheese. If nothing else, it made panty raids cool again.
#1 – National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978)

Is there any other choice? In the pantheon of comedy in American film, few are even in the same league as National Lampoon’s Animal House. It’s as raunchy and funny as it is scatterbrained but it was made in a time when people had the guts to make movies this good without settling for a cheap spoof. Who would have thought that the chaotic irreverence of a thirty year old movie would become the most influential comedy of our time?

Have an idea for a Top Five list? Email jeremy [at] themovie-fanatic [dot] com and your idea could be featured on a future list!

Comments (3)

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...
Haha, it's funny...I saw Wonder Boys when it first came out, but don't remember much of it as I should...but the others? I've not seen at all!! I admit, I've never been one for college comedies, unjustly stereotyping them. But so far, tMF has not led me astray, so perhaps I should broaden my horizons? smilies/cheesy.gif

I'm liking the 'top 5' idea though...no suggestions at the moment, but I'll be keeping an eye out for more!
blearyeyedmesgirl , August 31, 2008 | url
Wonder-full top 5!
I think that is one of the few movies where I find Tobey Maguire to be good. I think he's Ok as Spidey, but I don't know really, perhaps someone is better (Joe Levitt?)

This is a great top 5. The Revenge of the Nerds is one of the most hilarious ever.
Jed , August 31, 2008
...
Real Genius!
Kent, this is Jesus Kent!
Oh God, classic!
kellyw73 , September 24, 2008

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