 | |
List Price: $14.98 | | Label: MGM (Video & DVD)
Salesrank: 25494
Released: October 2, 2001 |
| Our Price: $2.54 |
| Used Price: $1.67 |
|
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
|
Editorial Review:
Higher education flies right off the comedy curve in this hilarious fun-fest loaded with "real out-loud laughs" (Los Angeles Times)! Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo's Fire) is "well cast and likeable" (Los Angeles Times) in this "splendidly played" (Variety) film that scores top marks for reading, rioting and rock 'n' roll! Palmer Woodrow III (Dana Olsen) has everything money can buy except a high school diploma. And when his parents threaten to cut him off unless he graduates, Palmer decides he'd rather party in Parisand hire young hustler Eddie Keaton (Nelson) to attend a prestigious prep school in his place! Short on cash and long on debt, Eddie is glad to do it, if just to get away from his bookie, the dangerous Diceman (Andrew Dice Clay). Disguised as the perfect preppy, Eddie easily fools the faculty, charms the coedsand rocks the campus! But when the Diceman tracks him down, streetwise Eddie must keep his cover tostay in school or go back to the 'hood for good!
Making the Grade Reviews:
Movie memories 
2007-11-02 - Judd Nelson is great in this comedy. He's a street wise guy, wanted for a debt, who hides out at a prep school, pretending to be a student who wants to skip without notice.
As a former prep school student, this brought back memories. The humor is still sharp, not dated, and Andrew 'Dice' Clay is in his element here as well.
A LONG FORGOTTEN 80'S COMEDY! WELCOME HOME! 
2007-07-14 - I had not seen this comedy for at least 20 years, before watching this last night. I was surprised how many little moments I remembered, but did not realize they were from this movie! The film starts out a little cheesy,but does pick up once the premise has been set up. The movie feature Andrew "Dice" Clay in a small,but important role. Dice pulls off a couple of funny impressions of Travola and Pacino and plays his "Dice Man" to the hilt. I like the movie because it has not been over played and it does have it's moments. The cast is good, there is a little twist on the same old story and you gotta love that generic 80's music! The DVD transfer looks good.
Making the Grade...
2006-11-23 - Along with another reviewer, I saw this movie on cable back in the 80's. I also enjoyed this flick (though I don't really remember why!). The price is right for cheap laughs. Four stars!
BORN & RAISED IN MEMPHIS
2005-05-27 - I have somewhat of a fondness for really cheesy, yet really gutsy, low-budget films. Basically if most people don't like it, I probably will. I love the 1980s Judd Nelson "bad-boy" image, and he's pretty sexy as a yuppie, too. I also love the fat, quiet, geeky character, played by Dan Schnieder (also a Memphis-native). This movie hit home for me, because it was filmed at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN. My mom lives just down the street from there! Call me cheesy, if you must. I think this film is great, although probably for nostalgia more than anything.
"Preppy" is not a fad, its a state of mind.
2005-04-18 - It has been said that there is nothing new under the sun. In fact, it has been postulated that in the entirety of the cosmos, there exists no more than 135 comedy "situations". Making the Grade makes use of number 97--"the old switcheroo". Poor kid and rich kid trade places and mirth ensues. Period. The rest of the "plot" is incidental. In the case of this particular movie, classes collide at an uppercrust prep school and it becomes painfully obvious that this film's entire raison d'etra is to pander to a generation of Lisa Birnbach desciples who think the "preppy" culture is a fad.
In general, the acting is lackluster--with the one shining exception of Dan Schnieder, sadly now known as "the fat kid" from Head of the Class. Production values are practically non-existant. The movie does feature a few notable one-liners that raise a chuckle or two, but thats about it.
The irony is, I love this film! I liken Making the Grade to the popular wedding hors d'oeuvre, Rumaki. I hate chicken liver, I hate water chestnuts and I am only marginal about bacon--but I love Rumaki! Go figure. This movie strikes me in the same way--I despise most of the ingredients, but I can view the outcome over and over.
All in all, Making the Grade fulfills all the requirements I seek in a movie: i.e. it entertains. As an added bonus, it takes me back to a time when the collar on my pink polo shirt stood straight up and I wore penny loafers with bermuda shorts.
In this day and age, $13 bucks doesn't buy much, but you will get some good bang for your buck with this little cinematic investment. Trust me.
