How I Got Into College (1989) User Reviews

It's quite a decision.

[lost-in-limbo · 6/10 · 15 January 2010]

Director / writer Savage Steve Holland had churned out some influential 80s teen classics such as the John Cusack starring "Better off Dead" and "One Crazy Sumer". Getting into college or simply choosing what to do after high school is the stepping stone in to the big world. It's a life decision that points you in the direction. Stress… confusion… indecision. Holland beautifully captures this in his third entry (which I never even heard of until now) of this type of teen fodder; "How I got Into College". It might not hold up to his previous efforts, however it's an enjoyably breezy and light-headed finding your feet fable namely sold by its welcomely fresh and sound performances by leads Corey Parker, (a delightfully freckle-faced) Lara Flynn Boyle and Anthony Edwards. Also the support; Finn Carter, Bill Raymond, Philip Baker Hall, Charles Rocket, Tichina Arnold and Christopher Rydell are notably good too.

We follow that of Marlon who has his eyes set on the highly respected, top of the class Jessica, but he has never been game enough to confront her. However he sees college the chance to do so. He decides to aim for the same campus she's applying too, but it's not going to be any easy walk through the park.

Maybe I didn't find the characters and interactions as memorable and comical as in Holland's earlier films, but there's no doubts that hanging off it is an amusingly witty and creatively inspired script that seems to have that oddball sense despite probably keeping it a tad more in check and favouring the romance sub-plot. It's quite forward and slight but never lets the stereotypical inclusions take over; in doing so it gave it a more random air and warm feeling within its grounded framework. Also there are some amusingly bright cameo roles by Phil Hartman, Nora Dunn, Diane Franklin, Taylor Negron, (playboy model) Rebecca Ferratti and Curtis Armstrong.

Funny comedy/satire

[Boyo-2 · 7/10 · 27 August 2004]

Corey Parker, who has a lot of screen charisma by the way, plays Marlon and he's in love with Jessica, played by Lara Flynn Boyle, when you could still see her if she stood sideways. Marlon is so in love that he's decided to go to the college of Jessica's choice, Ramsey College. Anthony Edwards is Kip, who recruits for Ramsey and admits to Marlon that he's heard of worse reasons for wanting to go to a specific college, so Marlon and his friend Oliver (played by Christopher Rydell, son of director Mark Rydell, and if he looks familiar, it may be because you remember him making the wisecrack 'I didn't know they had gas back then' to Henry Fonda in "On Golden Pond") go to Ramsey to check it out. Various other students attend, the most interesting of which is Vera, a feisty girl working at Mickey D's who has college aspirations but whose mother is wary of her daughter ending up disappointed.

Comedy is hit and miss. Sometimes brilliant, sometimes flat. Tons of cameos (Curtis Armstrong, Taylor Negron, Bob Eubanks (!) and Brian-Doyle Murray) are enjoyable. Coming in at a svelte 88 minutes, you've done a lot worse. 7/10.

Not a bad movie, thanks to a GREAT beginning

[Tito-8 · 6/10 · 18 May 1999]

This movie starts off staggeringly well, and I was beginning to wonder if something was wrong with me for enjoying it so much. Well, after the first twenty minutes, I found that this movie was only average at best, with only the occasional chuckle and a great deal of silliness. Yet, I would still recommend this film, because the beginning is not only hilarious, but it was enough to get me caring about the main characters. The great opening was also important in that it changed my attitude regarding the film. I stopped looking for reasons to hate the movie, and I started looking for positives. Sure, everything progressed predictably, but you don't watch teen comedies expecting a cliffhanger ending. If you are someone who can appreciate brainless entertainment, then this is a good film for you to watch.

Fun and underrated

[ss97-1 · 7/10 · 24 March 2009]

This is one of those movies that few people seem to know about. And those that do seem to either love it or hate it. I would consider myself on the former curve of that scale, I like it a lot but I don't love it.

What this movie is, is a fun and light comedy that only briefly touches on any sort of real world lesson. But it does send a positive message loud and clear. It says that if you want something bad enough, you can make it happen with some hard work and a bit of luck. It does so in a basic way, but nonetheless it makes the point.

The movie itself is not filled with huge memorable laughs. There are some common and lame gags, helped along by some big talents like Anthony Edwards and the late great Charles Rocket. But what the movie lacks in classic moments, it makes up for in interesting and sometimes twisted moments that leave you smirking. It is not a laugh fest, but it is a smile maker that will make you chuckle at times.

The movie also has a lot of visual gags that often escape attention the first time around. You can see the subtle "Better Off Dead" ties all over the place in style and of course the several actors that were on both movies. The two movies do not really compare beyond that.

Lara Flynn Boyle is as lovable as she ever has been in this role. Her portrayal of the All-American "loved by all" High School girl is well done. She and Corey Parker pull off a believable chemistry, as this is probably his defining role. Parker is a good underdog without being an underdog. Its never hard to believe that his character could pull off the things he does by winning over the Prom Queen or getting into the college of his dreams.

All in all this movie is a lot of fun and deserves some props. If you like goofy and fun movies you will like this one. If you are looking for Oscar caliber entertainment you will not get past the first scene anyway so you won't care.

a few good moments, but not enough

[cherold · 6/10 · 8 July 2004]

There are a couple of great ideas in this movie. One is its ingenious approach to math problems. The other is a scene in which Jessica, while waiting for her college interview, is forced into the realization that she is considerably less unique than she thought.

The result is a movie with pockets of hilarity broken up by long stretches of vague amusement. This is, for the most part, a cookie-cutter teen comedy that often doesn't even seem to be trying. The premise and every vagary of the plot is stupid and poorly conceived, the lead actors, except for Boyle, give broad, forgettable performances, and one imagines the movie was written in an afternoon on a gum wrapper. It does have a few good moments, but it's not really worth bothering with.

Oh those darn college applications!

[vertigo_14 · 5/10 · 4 April 2004]

This is an amusing story that highlights that blasted college admissions process. The story follows several soon-to-be high school graduate's plans for the future. For Marlo (Parker), it's going to whatever school his dream girl Jessica (Flynn Boyle) is going to. For Oliver, it's giving into the white line fever and experiencing life Jack Kerouac style with the possibility of meeting "renegade game show hostesses" on the side. But, for most of the students in the movie, it is all about getting into college. We see the whole bit of it, taking the SATs, college recruitment day, college prep programs, and the dreaded admissions interview.

It's quite an amusing exageration of the whole process, and probably more likely so for kids actually going through the college application process. Although, the movie, at least for me, is sometimes funny and sometime not so funny, on the multiple occassions that I have seen it. I like the idea of the living SAT's with the fate of word problem person A and B resting on Marlo's selection of answers. I like the running gag about admitting a pig among the admissions officers. Despite the fact that the actors are too old to play teenagers (except Oliver and Wanda), it is a nice little movie about kids stuck in a nerve wracking situation hoping to just make it through things.

You don't have to understand us...just trust us!

[Hey_Sweden · 6/10 · 9 March 2022]

Corey Parker delivers an affable performance as Marlon Browne, a generally uninspiring high school student. He is, however, highly motivated to apply to Ramsey College, since the high-achiever dream girl (Lara Flynn Boyle) whom he adores has her heart set on the place. He then gets caught up in the various machinations of the entire cutthroat college-recruitment business.

Although a step down from his previous classic 80s comedies, this effort from "Savage" Steve Holland ("Better Off Dead", "One Crazy Summer") gets by on some goodwill, and some very good moments. It may not be particularly inspired itself (at least, not enough to generate any true belly laughs), but it handles its satiric elements pretty well. All in all, it's entertaining enough to watch, and benefits from its very likeable cast.

Boyle is endearing, especially when her self-esteem takes a real hit. Top-billed Anthony Edwards does typically engaging work as an admissions officer at Ramsey. The supporting cast is packed to the brim with familiar faces: Phil Hartman and Nora Dunn (as shady tutors), Brian Doyle-Murray, Philip Baker Hall, Richard Jenkins, Charles Rocket, Christopher Rydell, Finn Carter, Bill Raymond, Bill Henderson, Robert Ridgely, etc. Fans of Hollands' previous movies will note the cameos by Taylor Negron, Diane Franklin, Curtis Armstrong, and Dan Schneider. Particularly funny are Bruce Wagner and Tom Kenny as A and B, the guys in Marlons' frequent math problem fantasies.

Pleasant overall, and reasonably funny, but no ball of fire.

Six out of 10.

Cliche 80s movie, but a decent satire

[Roodog · 5/10 · 10 August 2004]

I happened to catch this movie recently, after not having seen it since 1990, when I was trying to get into college.

I certainly would never have called this movie "fresh" either then or now. As others have pointed-out, this movie can lag at times, and the general feel of the movie does little to distinguish itself from other 80s "teen" movies. In other words, I feel that the overall story is overshadowed by the satiric and humorous elements of the movie, which really is quite original and does make it worth watching.

If you've been through the process and pressure as a teenager of the college application process, you'll likely find this movie entertaining enough to watch during some free time. I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to rent it, unless you happen to be trying to get into college or know someone who is.

5/10

Collegiate failure

[videorama-759-859391 · 4/10 · 2 March 2022]

I was really expecting this to be a laugh fest like Better Off Dead, so you can imagine my disappointment. I then found out a day later, this didn't come from the pen of Savage Steve Holland, and to hell I wish it did. This semi satire, as in it's small number of laughs, has appealing performances, but it's problem, is it takes itself too serious to be a satire, and wants to be something more than that, as if to telegraph a few morals, realities about college, it's struggles, disappointments, but also still want to be a satire too. Many gags fail, more than ones which succeed, and that isn't often. Parker and the black actress, turn out the more, impressive performances The song near the finale, is a song I really liked too. Still it is enjoyable. But where are the laughs? A and B, are some of the saving graves in that department.

Sleeper comedy

[budikavlan · 9/10 · 23 February 2004]

Good light entertainment that never quite passed into the mainstream, despite featuring several performers who later became better-known: Anthony Edwards before he lost his hair and became a famous TV doc, Corey Parker before he became a caricature of himself, and Lara Flynn Boyle before she became a skeleton. A lightweight and quirky farce about the college admissions process, this bit of fluff also has a really nice heart, plus fun performances by Finn Carter as Edwards's true love and Chris Rydell as Parker's ultracool best friend.

Should Have Been More Off Kilter by Savaging Higher Education

[aramis-112-804880 · 11 November 2011]

A bit of a disappointing entry from Savage Steve Holland, after the wacky promise of "Better Off Dead" and "One Crazy Summer." There's nothing wrong with the movie. It's quite as good as, if not a cut above, a lot of the teen/high school/college movies going around theaters in the 1980s. I hoped it might be a wacky satire on the struggle to get into college -- a kind of "Johnny Be Good" with laughs and biting satire, which "JBG" lacked.

Instead, the movie is a comparatively straightforward effort from Holland, perhaps because he was not the original director but inherited a mess from someone else.

Corey Parker makes an engaging lead. He lacks the aplomb of John Cusack, Holland's previous star, but he does a good job as a guy who is unlikely to get into either the college or the girl.

The girl is played by Lara Flynn Boyle ("Twin Peaks") in a surprisingly funny role. The girls in movies of this ilk usually are the ones who have it together. In "How I Got into College" Boyle's character starts off having it together but it starts coming apart early and only gets worse.

Anthony Edwards ("Revenge of the Nerds")is a disappointment . It's not really his fault. He's stuck with a blah role that comes off blah. There isn't much he can do but play it straight. The cast surrounding Edwards, including Charlie Rocket playing one of his patented jerks, does not often interact with the rest of the characters in the film. A subplot involving Tichina Arnold is rewarding but too serious for anyone expecting an in-kind followup to Holland's previous movies.

The biggest disappointment is that the snooty, exclusive college comprising the hub of the picture is treated with reverence. A place like that might have been ripe for Holland's brand of satire. The movie might have been even better if it revealed the small college as a cliquish club, and represented the struggle to make it as ultimately futile. Instead, entry into the club is treated as a prize worth winning.

Still, the movie has lots of humorous touches, whether from the writers or from Holland. A marathoner puffing on a cigarette while he runs. Curtis Armstrong (a Holland regular) as a Bible-college spokesman (warning, targeted to be offensive to religious sensibilities). And the whole preppy-girl story arc. Oh, and Phil Hartman in a tiny role. And the biggest laugh I got came from the pay-off about the girl with the orthodontic head-set.

If you've seen Mr. Holland's opuses "Better Off Dead" and "One Crazy Summer" and hope for more of the same, you're mostly out of luck. This is a relatively intelligent, serio-comedic, treatment of the struggle of teens to find an institution of higher learning, which occasionally deviates into unexplored Savage Steve territory.

Cringeworthy

[fatcat-73450 · 5/10 · 12 November 2022]

Many movies have tried to dramatize the college admission process, which is not easy, seeing as for most people it's simply a matter of taking some tests, gathering some records, writing some essays, and shipping all of these documents off to an admissions committee (athletes and performers are probably the exception).

This movie doesn't do a particularly great job, exaggerating the process immensely by making it emotional and giving students a great deal of power by being able to wrangle with the admissions committee personally. The committee, for their part, is extremely emotional and jejune about the process, doing things like throwing fits when their students aren't allowed in and playing simplistic pranks on each other.

The premise, too, is problematic. A stalker-ish kid wants to get into a specific college because a girl he likes (who doesn't even know his name) goes there? He's, in fact, so obsessed he doesn't apply to any other colleges. And various adults are enabling that behavior. She's nice about it, though, so all's well that ends well, I guess.

Phil Hartman is in it. He was always good for playing sleazy guys and this is no exception.

Good light three-act entertainment, but nothing more.

Honourable Mentions: The Perfect Score (2004). Another chimerical movie about high school students trying to steal answers to the SAT to get into schools. Quite worse than this movie. In fact, that's the one thing I can say about How I Got Into College - it's the best college admissions movie I've ever seen.

How I Got into College-Beyond Stupidity 0*

[edwagreen · 1/10 · 15 October 2006]

Utterly ridiculous movie which makes fun of the college admission process. While it is true that the SAT's is not everything in evaluating a student for admission to college, what the movie talks about is utterly ridiculous and not worth repeating nor viewing.

College admissions officials are made to look like stupid people who have an extremely narrow view of the entire process. The film is an insult to hard-working high school students who work hard and then have to suffer through a long process until they receive that letter of acceptance or rejection from the schools they have applied for.

This movie certainly deserves rejection on all levels.

Anthony Edwards had hair?!!

[Crowbot-2 · 27 March 2000]

Just looking at the box of this movie made me want to watch it. Big Mistake! This movie is a boring satire of student life as they are trying to get into college. yawn. Did someone say eighties prep hormone B film? This is a sad excuse of a movie with a wasted cast, including the late Phil Hartman who shall be missed. And Anthony Edwards was obviously wearing a wig.

the worst movie about college

[mpstyles54 · 3/10 · 18 October 2006]

sure this movie may have had its funny moments with the sat question people and i know the movie is not supposed to be totally believable the movie made it too outrageous for example a girl like that would never in a million years go out wit ha guy like that also people in movie had lackluster performances there acting was so bad. Also the plot bad they could have don e a better job on the scripting at least and focused more on the comedy the comedy was also a little dry and got really boring after the first few jokes, it was like 10mins was laughter then the old when is this gonna end started to kick in The bottom line if u want a a lackluster of acting mixed in with a stupid plot and a romance go ahead and watch this movie.

Breezy fun, cares more about character than raunch

[hippiedj · 8/10 · 14 August 2002]

I enjoy watching How I Got Into College every once in a while, as I do Savage Steve Holland's other two films Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer. Sure, they're all rather tame films on a PG level but Holland has such a great wit and always chooses a wonderful cast. This makes for enjoyable entertainment where you can actually care about the characters and get a few laughs in as well.

Corey Parker plays a high school senior intent on winning the affections of class president Lara Flynn Boyle, even by planning on going to what ever college she decides to attend. Sounds like a typical formula for a teen comedy, but instead of guys sneaking peeks at girls in the locker room and burnouts scoring weed, we're treated to a rather charming, breezy comedy about people instead of working a film around breasts, drugs, and the latest favorite band.

Cory Parker, Anthony Edwards With Hair, Lara Flynn Boyle, and even supporing players like Nora Dunn and Phil Hartman all do a great job with the light material and with Holland's clever wit, it all adds up to a good time. Sure brought back memories of my adventure into selecting a college.

It's really unfair to pick apart this film. It is what it is, light and fun. When there are so many raunchy flicks like Fast Times At Ridgemont high to ad nauseum, it's refreshing to see a film like How I Got Into College to just kick back, watch, and have a smile. No harm in that!

Fun satire 80's at its finest

[UniqueParticle · 8/10 · 12 May 2019]

Sweet character driven with silliness most of the way through! The jokes were well placed and everything else is genuinely pleasant; classic comedy before they got raunchy/dirty nowadays.

quirky humor makes for excellent film

[BarryLakin · 9/10 · 19 December 2005]

Savage Steve Holland's films should be considered gems amongst pop culture comedy. How I Got Into College is one shining example of his few too many films. In this clarified and easygoing flick about college stress, it accurately portrays irrational teenage fears with the help of an endearing front-man, Marlon Brown. The humor is quirky and unexpected, but that's a part of what makes it funny. The best part about Holland's humor is that it is always out of this world and always honest at the same time, creating a world that a lot of people are familiar with in their own heads. This movie can be enjoyed by college hopefuls, kids or old fogeys like my grandpa, who loves it. Some highlights include the young Lara Flynn Boyle, Phil Hartman in his prime and SAT ridicule that will make every high school kid breathe more easily.

Just Ok

[Pro Jury · 27 May 2001]

A pet peeve here. This is another movie about high school kids void of high school aged kids. Everyone looks to be about 26 1/2 years old including the two lead actors.

Anthony Edwards and Corey Parker in real life are exactly three years apart in age, but the characters they play are not meant to be close in age. One is a high school aged kid applying for college. The other has graduated from the university, perhaps graduate school as well, and has now worked his way up one step above an entry-level position to be an assistant dean of admissions at the same institute of higher learning. The problem remains, they both look to be 26 1/2 years old.

An Honest Review

[generationofswine · 10/10 · 22 September 2019]

People have called out the acting... and that is fair, but what did they think that they were walking into? It is a low budget comedy that bill itself as a low budget comedy and is ridiculous fun like a low budget comedy.

So the acting waffles between good and bad. But the plot is sufficiently inane and stupid enough to be hysterical. And it gets the happy ending that comedies like these promise.

In other words, you get exactly what the film claims it is without any pretenses, and you get to laugh for a while... and that, after all, was the point of making this film, to get the audience to laugh at some unbelievable things