I have seen this movie on many different lists, especially the funniest comedies, but they clips I was shown were never really that funny. So I was intrigued by my first viewing of this film. And I can honestly say I was pleasantly surprised. It was witty, fast-paced and just a little smug. OK the acting was not fantastic, but in this sort of film I do not think it is important that it be the best acting in the world, as long as the comic talent hits all the right notes.
Tom Hulce (who was later seen playing the role of his lifetime in Amadeus) is brilliant as Pinto, but for me the movie belongs to Tim Matheson as Otter. He is witty, charming and cocky in all the right places. He is most famous for his role as Senator John Hoynes in The West Wing, but I think this shows he can do funny as well as serious.
I am not going to rant and rave about John Belushi as I don't think he is that special in this film, yes he is funny, but I think with the material anyone would of been excellent. The biggest laugh for me came with one brief shot, in which the marching band are in a dead end and they are just marching into a brick wall but they keep playing. The absurdity of it just tickled me.
It is easy to see that this paved the way for such movies as American Pie and even Scary Movie, but I think Animal House is a pretty important movie in the film canon. My mark is 7 out of 10, purely because it made me laugh a few times.
No comments:
Post a Comment