30
Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Los Angeles TimesKevin ThomasLos Angeles TimesKevin ThomasIt's no thigh-slapper like the Rodney Dangerfield's "Back to School," but it's exceptionally good-natured and perceptive, and Harmon, in his first starring screen role, is a real charmer. [22 July 1987]
- 70Washington PostRita KempleyWashington PostRita KempleyProud to be junk food, but it still tackles the serious subjects of illiteracy, teen-age pregnancy and young adult alcoholism. [22 July 1987]
- 38USA TodayUSA TodaySummer School is like summer school: you go, then quickly realize you would much rather be doing something else. [22 July 1987]
- 30The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinThe film's only bright idea is a duo named Chain Saw (Cameron) and Dave (Riley), who love horror films and instigate grisly but imaginative practical jokes, like pretending to be attacked by bunnies when the class makes a field trip to a petting zoo.
- 25Chicago TribuneDave KehrChicago TribuneDave KehrIt has a lack of ambition and energy that is almost total: It's the most this movie can do to roll over and ask for a little more lotion on its back. [22 July 1987]
- 25San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleSan Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleHarmon proves that he can act stupid, and that's not enough to make the movie funny… You're supposed to like Freddy (Harmon), and you're supposed to like his brainless students… But you hate everybody. [24 July 1987]
- 20Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonHere are some of Summer School's favorite things: idiocy, illiteracy, irresponsibility, drunkenness, dumbness and debauchery. Piqued? [24 July 1987]
- 20TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineAnother failure in Harmon's attempt to move from TV to the big screen.
- 12Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertA comedy so listless, leisurely and unspirited that it was an act of the will for me to care about it, even while I was watching it.