The Best Movie You Never Saw: Back to School

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Welcome to The Best Movie You NEVER Saw, a column dedicated to examining films that have flown under the radar or gained traction throughout the years, earning them a place as a cult classic or underrated gem that was either before it’s time and/or has aged like a fine wine.

This week we’ll be looking at BACK TO SCHOOL!

THE STORY: In order to teach his wayward son the value of higher education, a middle-aged, self-made millionaire (Rodney Dangerfield) enrolls in university, quickly finding himself the most popular guy on campus.

THE PLAYERS: Starring: Rodney Dangerfield, Burt Young, Sally Kellerman, Keith Gordon, William Zabka, Ned Beatty, Terry Farrell, M. Emmet Walsh, Sam Kinison and Robert Downey Jr. Music by Danny Elfman. Directed by Alan Metter.

The cast was great and it was such a funny script. And I actually tried to have more fun with Chas, because I thought, “I’m going to be funny now. I really don’t want to just play a jerk.” So I actually put on a funny walk and I had a scarf a bunch of times. I made him way more funny than he actually turned out in the film. They cut out most of my funny. In fact, the director pulled me aside one day and said, “We need you to be more like the guy you did in The Karate Kid. You’re coming off too likable and funny.” And I was thinking, “Well, that’s kind of my plan.” But at the end of day Chas is Chas, and he gets the leg cramp, and he’s a little wuss. – William Zabka Interview – Random Roles

THE HISTORY: Back in the early eighties, Rodney Dangerfield became an unlikely leading man. While CADDYSHACK was the movie that started him on the path to big screen stardom after decades of being a standup, his leading role in EASY MONEY wound up being an unexpectedly solid hit, so for his follow-up, no chances were taken, with Dangerfield having the great Harold Ramis co-write him a movie that’s actually a remake of an old Bing Crosby movie called HIGH TIME.

Unexpectedly, BACK TO SCHOOL made more money than CADDYSHACK and EASY MONEY put together, earning $91 million domestically, and coming in at 6th place on the yearly top 10, ahead of other large grossing 1986 movies like ALIENS and FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF. But, despite its massive box office success, BACK TO SCHOOL feels like another one-time megahit that’s been lost to time, hence its inclusion in this column.

That whole time was kind of like going to college without having to study. It was great. Rodney was funny. The first time I met Rodney was in an elevator in a Madison, Wisconsin hotel. I had my luggage with me because I was just coming from the airport, and he was standing there in a blue robe with his hair sticking up. It was early in the morning, and I’m like, “Hey, Rodney. I’m Billy Zabka. I’m playing Chas.” And he’s like [Impersonates Rodney Dangerfield], “Yeah, yeah. How ya doin’?” I’m like, “What are you doing in your robe?” He goes, “I gotta get in the sauna. I gotta get the pot out of my lungs.” [Laughs.] “You, you’re young. You can handle it, but me I gotta get it out.” – William Zabka Interview – Random Roles 

WHY IT’S GREAT: Rodney Dangerfield is a tough act to explain to anyone who didn’t grow up with him. A kind of foul-mouthed throwback to guys like Henny Youngman, he bridged the gap between the Catskills’ type comics of the fifties and sixties, the edgier guys from the sixties and seventies (Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor) and the foul-mouthed kings of the eighties (Sam Kinison and Andrew “Dice” Clay – both of whom were his protégés). A middle aged slob with a face only a mother could love, people did, in fact, love ol’ Rodney, although I also think his style’s been lost on this generation, who’d never appreciate how thoroughly un-p.c he was in his prime.

That said, whenever I want to introduce anyone to Rodney, I tend to ignore the coked-up eighties excess of CADDYSHACK and focus on the more user-friendly BACK TO SCHOOL, which features Dangerfield at his most lovable. Here, Rodney plays the type of character that became his trademark, and to some extent may have also been the guy he was off-screen. He’s the coarse, but good-natured blue-collar, self-made millionaire who’s happy to spread the wealth (“hey folks, it’s on me – Shakespeare for everyone!”). He just wants to have a good time, and enjoys taking the piss out of anyone he deems uptight, although at the end of the day it’s all in good fun. Some of the jokes are a little corny, like him being put in charge of some lab monkeys and teaching them to smoke, eat pizza and play cards (“it’s ok – they’re on a break”), but a lot of the jokes are alsp pretty hilarious (“and another thing, Vonnegut! I'm gonna stop payment on the cheque!… F**k me? Hey, Kurt, can you read lips, f**k you! Next time I'll call Robert Ludlum!”).

Dangerfield’s got a few aces up his sleeve in this one. For one thing, co-writer Harold Ramis was one of the giants of 1980’s comedy, and he knew exactly how to use Dangerfield, having more or less invented his persona for CADDYSHACK. For another, the supporting cast is astoundingly good, with future director Keith Gordon as his likable kid, the great Burt Young, Terry Farrell long before “Deep Space Nine”, William Zabka at the height of his (onscreen) asshole period, Ned Beatty (“hey – Dean Martin!”), M. Emmett Walsh, PLUS Robert Downey Jr., as his kid’s best pal. The soundtrack is terrific too, with one of the best comedy scores of the eighties courtesy of Danny Elfman, who also shows up on-screen to sing “Dead Man’s Party” as part of Oingo Boingo. And did you know Michael Bolton used to be a hair metal guy? His hair metal anthem, “Everybody’s Crazy” is on the soundtrack. Seriously, this movie is a lot of fun.

BEST SCENE: There are a lot of great bits in BACK TO SCHOOL, but if the movie’s remembered at all, it’s for Sam Kinison’s one-scene cameo as Dangerfield’s psycho history teacher. Kinison was…something…

SEE IT: BACK TO SCHOOL is out on DVD, Blu-ray and can be bought digitally or watched for free on Prime Canada’s MGM channel.

PARTING SHOT: In some ways, you probably had to be there to “get” Dangerfield, and truth be told, I grew up with his movies so I’ll always have a soft spot for him. But, even if you didn’t and you just like fun eighties comedies, give BACK TO SCHOOL a watch. It’s one of the better ones.