Can you recommend good 'college' themed films

squirestarter

Having just watched and enjoyed 'Liberal Arts' I was wondering if anyone can recommend some good films that have a college/university theme, either the storyline being based around students in college or even with a campus as a backdrop to the story

Some examples I'm thinking of would be Good Will Hunting, A Beautiful Mind, etc. Please no slasher horrors or bad comedies though!

Please Kill Me

Dead Poets Society. Class movie!

NegativeCreep

The Butterfly Effect. I hate the film but im pretty sure he's in college while it's all happening.

briany

Well, since it's not listed here yet, I'd go for the Social Network.

Defiler Of The Coffin

Animal House.

Well you did say no bad comedies

syklops

NegativeCreep wrote: »

The Butterfly Effect. I hate the film but im pretty sure he's in college while it's all happening.

Thank you! Been meaning to rewatch that for ages!

Scent of a Woman has a collegy theme to it.

longshanks

The Rules of Attraction was decent enough and set in around college.

OU812

Varsity Blues & Educating Rita (for something closer to home)

Drama: Dead Poets Society
Comedy: Old School

johnny_ultimate

Fifty film list here, albeit of the irritating 'one film per page' type: http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/gallery/50collegemovies/

Damsels in Distress is a bizarre recent example of the type. It's a fun deconstruction of the genre, but its oddball tone and narrative mean you might well despise it.

If you want to go international, Norwiegan Wood is set during the Tokyo Student Riots. The book is better, but the film is worth a gander.

Also, Noah Baumbach's Kicking & Screaming (not to be confused with the Will Ferrell film of the same name) is a great film about recent grads stuck in a college mindset. Like what Liberal Arts tried to do but much less ****.

weemcd

How High

Treanor2011

Accepted

crazygeryy

remember the Titans, we are Marshall, school ties,

maybe not what your looking for but college none the less

NegativeCreep

Just remembered legally blonde and urban legends.
I love legally blonde

kitakyushu

Two that always come to mind for me are "The Paper Chase" and unconfirmed copycat "Gross Anatomy".

These films are done more from point of view of "college is actually a hard old slog!" and "is it even worth the bother anyway?" rather than "learnDing is fun" and/or "where's the next party?"

So if you're of that mindset they might be worth checking. Certainly I enjoyed them more than the likes of Dead Poet Society anyway.

K.Flyer

The Breakfast Club.

nyarlothothep

Roadtrip

Alexidium

Social Network is pretty good. Basically about Facebook.

K.Flyer

The Greatest All Time College Movie....
"Grease"
(is the word)

johnny_ultimate

K.Flyer wrote: »

The Breakfast Club.

K.Flyer wrote: »

The Greatest All Time College Movie....
"Grease"
(is the word)

Both these suggestions are inappropriate for this thread, and both for pretty much the same reason

PGA2020

The new movie "Pitch Perfect" is based in a college. Great movie if anyone wants a good laugh!!! Its really, really funny!!!!

K.Flyer

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Both these suggestions are inappropriate for this thread, and both for pretty much the same reason

It was a middle of the night during a tiring bout of insomnia post, so maybe I did not think about it for too long.

ElleEm

I think it's set in high school but The Great Debaters is good.

Morag

Drumline and school daze.

Technocentral

Porky's 2, a smart, witty and subtle comedy set in a US college. (NB not the original Porky's which is a rather crass, assinine, comedy.)

Technocentral

K.Flyer wrote: »

The Greatest All Time College Movie....
"Grease"
(is the word)

Yeah right and Mrs Browns Boys is the best sitcom ever.

Technocentral

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Both these suggestions are inappropriate for this thread, and both for pretty much the same reason

Maybe its an age thing but I loved The Breakfast Club, was mad about Ally Sheedy when I were a lad. You seriously can't put it in the same category as Grease?

kingtiger

Technocentral wrote: »

Maybe its an age thing but I loved The Breakfast Club

yep it was essential viewing in the 80ies, probably has aged very badly though

how about "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"

marwelie

Breakfast Club and Ferris Buellers Day Off are not college based, they are secondary school (for want of a better term) based. Both great movies though....

kitakyushu

kingtiger wrote: »

yep it was essential viewing in the 80ies, probably has aged very badly though

You say that one more time and you're totaled, man!

(the movie - just like Ally Sheedy - only gets better with age :pac:)

NegativeCreep

kingtiger wrote: »

yep it was essential viewing in the 80ies, probably has aged very badly though

how about "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"

Hasn't aged badly at all. I wasn't even alive in the 80's and I still love it

Liam O

The TV show "Greek" is my favourite college themed thing I've seen on screen.

FloatingVoter

Wonder Boys - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0185014/

Michael Douglas at his most decrepit with Robert Downey jnr. defining degenerate. Case closed

johnny_ultimate

Technocentral wrote: »

Maybe its an age thing but I loved The Breakfast Club, was mad about Ally Sheedy when I were a lad. You seriously can't put it in the same category as Grease?

They're both set in high schools rather than college campuses, hence the categorisation

Although, and this is completely O/T, I think they're both pretty much on the same quality level. Have very little time for the Breakfast Club - think it's pretty dreadful actually. But this is not the thread for that debate!

Technocentral

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

They're both set in high schools rather than college campuses, hence the categorisation

Although, and this is completely O/T, I think they're both pretty much on the same quality level. Have very little time for the Breakfast Club - think it's pretty dreadful actually. But this is not the thread for that debate!

Splitting hairs really, topics and themes covered in US High School vs College films are almost identical ie adolescent rebellion, love, drugs etc. Anyway Grease is camp nonsense, BC is a rather entertaining if lightweight look at growing up and finding yourself, as you said not to place to discuss their merits here.

johnny_ultimate

Technocentral wrote: »

Splitting hairs really, topics and themes covered in US High School vs College films are almost identical ie adolescent rebellion, love, drugs etc. Anyway Grease is camp nonsense, BC is a rather entertaining if lightweight look at growing up and finding yourself, as you said not to place to discuss their merits here.

Yes, it's a tad pedantic, but the OP explicitly asked for films set in universities and colleges - a specific request IMO calls for specific responses. I actually think the best college / university films - of which, admittedly, there aren't a whole lot - actually deal with very different themes and subjects than high school movies. Kicking & Screaming which is, IMO, one of the great examples of the type, could not be set anywhere other than in and around a college campus, as the characters experience a very specific type of arrested development.

OP also asked for no 'bad comedies' and there's been more than a few of them recommended :P

Technocentral

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Yes, it's a tad pedantic, but the OP explicitly asked for films set in universities and colleges - a specific request IMO calls for specific responses.

OP also asked for no 'bad comedies' and there's been more than a few of them recommended :P

I hope you're not referring to Porky's 2, one of the finest and hard hitting political satires of the last 30 years?

squirestarter

Op here, Thanks for the replies

Some really good recommendations

Yeah was trying to avoid the lame comedies that might be set on college campuses and the typical slasher horrors in the same vein also

Anything that represents the idea of being within the academic environment / alternate reality of unversity life versus the real world...the sense of escapism into a theoretical / abstract world i guess where characters can explore their personalities and their potential and also the atmosphere of freedom from the mundanity and the sense of possibility of youth are some of the themes i'd be looking for

That said (and even though as someone pointed out they are not college films as such) I do actually rate Grease and The Breakfast Club! But thats another debate

Technocentral

squirestarter wrote: »

Op here, Thanks for the replies

Some really good recommendations

Yeah was trying to avoid the lame comedies that might be set on college campuses and the typical slasher horrors in the same vein also

Anything that represents the idea of being within the academic environment / alternate reality of unversity life versus the real world...the sense of escapism into a theoretical / abstract world i guess where characters can explore their personalities and their potential and also the atmosphere of freedom from the mundanity and the sense of possibility of youth are some of the themes i'd be looking for

That said (and even though as someone pointed out they are not college films as such) I do actually rate Grease and The Breakfast Club! But thats another debate

You're not asking for much chief.

Tayleur

Higher learning was a film I remember from the 90 s. May be a bit dated now but I remember thinking it was good at the time. I think it fits in with what you are looking for.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4KVCVX1MrQ

K.Flyer

squirestarter wrote: »

That said (and even though as someone pointed out they are not college films as such) I do actually rate Grease and The Breakfast Club! But thats another debate

Cheers for that..

Zabriskie Point,

Never a box office hit, but has over the years developed a strong cult following, mainly due to its soundtrack and its cinematography.

Dermighty

With Honours or With Honors, however it's spelled.

Mannix1888

If from 1968. Excellent movie

Manchegan

squirestarter wrote: »

Anything that represents the idea of being within the academic environment / alternate reality of unversity life versus the real world...the sense of escapism into a theoretical / abstract world i guess where characters can explore their personalities and their potential and also the atmosphere of freedom from the mundanity and the sense of possibility of youth are some of the themes i'd be looking for

That's Brideshead Revisited (the 1981 series, not the 2008 film).

For an actual film, Starter for 10(2006) is harmless entertainment.

NotorietyH

Haven't watched it in ages, but I loved Art School Confidential when I saw it. Might be a bit too specifically about art school rather than college, but I thought it was great.

delbertgrady

I second Wonder Boys and Starter for Ten.
Regrettably, Rushmore doesn't count, otherwise I'd suggest it.

ReacherCreature

Smart People and Starter For Ten.

Littlehorny

Flatliners- Julia Roberts, Kiefer Sutherland, Billy Baldwin and Kevin Bacon were all college medical students.
Also werent the cast of St.Elmos Fire just after leaving college?

NegativeCreep

I really didn't like the Starter For 10 film! The book is way better and I rarely say that about a film (I'm too lazy to read)
Can't look at benedict cumberbacht, or whatever his name is, without wanting to kill him!

LiamMc

Third level Campus based:
The World According to Garp
Cider House Rules
Porkies (franchise)
Year of the gun
Children of a Lesser God
Exocist (establishing mothers career)

High School: but on campus
Rushmore
Heathers
The Breakfast Club
Napolean Dynamite
In and Out
Blackboard Jungle
To Sir, With Love

less on campus:
Ryan's Daughter
The boy with Green hair
Ferris Bueller's Day off.


After Edit: The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (Public School, both on campus and in the fields).

spiritcrusher

Have I missed it, or has Dazed and Confused not been mentioned yet?? Greatest high school film out there in my opinion.
Wooderson, the hero:
"Say, man, you got a joint?"
"No, not on me, man."
"It'd be a lot cooler if you diiiiid."