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Top 10 College Movies

Posted by: | June 19, 2009 | No Comment |

By Ross Bonaime, Broadside Staff Writer

10. Orange County
When Shaun (Colin Hanks) accidentally has the wrong transcripts sent to his school of choice, Stanford University, he must fix the error by any means possible. His girlfriend and brother (Jack Black) help Shaun get to his dream college while Shaun realizes that there are more important things than getting into your first pick.

9. Accepted
The process of applying to schools can be draining and disappointing, but what do you do if every school rejects you? For Bartleby Gaines (Justin Long) in Accepted, he creates his own fake university, with the help of best friend Sherman, played by Jonah Hill. Gaines’ problems with college will resonate with many students, as he only wants to learn what he wants to learn. The resulting college, the South Harmon Institute of Technology becomes an entertaining and admirable fake college.

8. National Lampoon’s Van Wilder
Some people like college so much, they never want to leave. Hence, Van Wilder, who must finally graduate after seven years. Ryan Reynolds as the title character shows a kinder, friendlier side of the “big man on campus” stereotype and helps all those around him strive to do great things in their college experience, while the tuition bills pile up.

7. American Teen
A group of high school teens that fit into The Breakfast Club stereotypes (the jock, the princess, the geek, etc.) deal with the final year of high school and the upcoming decisions they will have to make about colleges and their lives in this fascinating documentary.

6. The Rules of Attraction
Rules of Attraction is quite possibly the most extreme, insane and unrealistic view of college life ever. At Camden College, a love triangle between three unusual individuals, a drug dealer, a bisexual and a virgin, makes for a reckless, destructive and dirty experience through a school in which classes are an afterthought.

5. Superbad
Two best friends, Seth and Evan, deal with their last summer together as they both begin their new college experiences at different schools. Seth and Evan’s friendship is one of the greatest in modern cinema and the love and admiration for each other shows a friendship that no distance in schools will be able to break.

4. Good Will Hunting
Will Hunting (Matt Damon) is a janitor at a very prestigious school in Boston and has a higher IQ than most of the students. When a professor discovers Will after solving an incredibly difficult math problem, Will is forced to face a crossroads in his life: go nowhere like so many of his friends, or become something great with his talents.

3. The Freshman
Silent comedian legend Harold Lloyd plays a freshman in college (Lloyd himself was 30 at the time) who will do anything he can to be popular at his new school. His earnestness is mocked by several of the students, but his true friends help him become the most popular guy at school. Lloyd is ambitious and his attempts to befriend everyone are earnest, creating a great classic silent comedy.

2. Old School
When Mitch (Luke Wilson) moves into a house on a college campus, his two friends Frank “The Tank” (Will Ferrell) and Beanie (Vince Vaughn) decide to make the most of it and create their own fraternity and relive their school days. This older take on the college experience is a cavalcade of quotable one-liners and Ferrell’s Frank is one of the all-time great college characters.

1. Animal House
When the Delta House Fraternity, known for its toga parties and crazy antics, is threatened with being kicked off of campus, the frat decides not to take it sitting down and attempts to get revenge on the dean who wants the fraternity gone. While it is the quintessential college film, it is not necessarily accurate to the college experience. Yet John Landis’ take on college with comedic genius John Belushi shows that college can be an exciting and fun time.

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