Fraternity Vacation (1985)

Touches You

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

I love the films opening sequence. The music really lightens the mood. The opening scene is shot in black and white which makes the film really pop the moment it splashes color in Palm Springs.I liken this to "The Last American Virgin". "Fraternity Vacation" tells us all we thought we needed to know from the cover, but then something rather strange happens.The film takes-on some 'rather serious' themes. All the gratuitous nudity(as well as most of the partying theme) takes a back seat for the last half of the film. That's the one characteristic that makes this stand out in this genre.Of course there's some issues with the acting. Stephen Geoffreys(Wendell) is good, Cameron Dye(Joe) is passable, and Tim Robbins as "Mother Tucker" does an alright job. Sheree Wilson is o.k., but Amanda Bearse's performance is a bit rigid.Bearse is the annoying rich-daddy's girl, but she is a bit too over-the-top with it. Easily the worst performance in the film. Wilson is the mature 'mark', but her character could have used some more dialog.Kathleen Kinmont and Barbara Crampton are perfectly cast in smaller roles, but are unfortunately left out of much of the last half of the film.The film wraps up in the same manner as most of these films - with the leads being put in jail, and some mad father figure on the loose.The sights and sounds of the films first hour make it worthwhile, and it's themes are surprisingly serious, but this is still an 80's boob comedy that is a dish best served with a cold beer and a grain of salt.I do consider this to be quite a bit better than most of the films in this genre, which isn't saying much, but if you're going to re-live one of these, this is a decent option.You might Like this if you liked: Spring Break(not as good as this), Private Resort(about even), or Hardbodies(not as good).59/100

Another sex-college-comedy, and another over-rated comically barren film. Amazingly this was directed by James Frawley who has along with many television credits "The Muppet Movie" to his name.Virtually none of the intended humour in "Fraternity Vaction" works, the plot (from Lindsay Harrison) is incredibly see through and all the players behave totally out of character at the end of the film; as if you'll care.Of course everyone (with the exception of the amazing Tim Robbins) involved in this pic disappeared. Spare yourself.Tuesday, December 28, 1999 - Video

I remember Fraternity Vacation being a pleasant comedy. Two college frat boys (Tim Robbins as Larry, and Cameron Dye as Joe) take advantage of their friend, nerdy Wendell's (Stephen Geoffreys) generous hospitality when he invites them to share his father's beachside condo for Spring Break. Larry and Joe see it as the perfect opportunity for one thing: picking up girls. And, on the side, to Wendell find a women, too. It is the typical 80s virgin theme and the attempts by horny young men to help themselves (or in this case, their friends) lose his virginity to (hopefully) some beautiful beach bimbo. Only, Larry and Joe are not at all subtle about what they want and Wendell, who is more of a careful romantic, actually has more success.It is a beach romp with something of a heart of gold finale for our kind main character, Wendell. So, aside from the typical boobs, beers, and parties prevalent in these types of 80s comedies, there is also something for female viewers to appreciate, at least through some of Larry and Joe's dimwitted hijinks or Wendell's sincerity and (eventually) happy ending. It is sort of a male version of 'Shag.' Give it a try if you can find it.

This is one of the worst movies I've ever seen, yet it was still entertaining. It represents everything that was bad in the 80's: sex comedies, college or high school related "exploitation" movies, "resort" movies. To some people it might be "delightfully" bad. This is why I'm not going to completely diss this goofy movie. You know the plot, you've seen it in other movies of this genre. A group of college kids are going on a vacation with only one thing on their mind: sex. The rest of the movie is just useless frills. What makes this movie so appealing [ yeah, there is some kind of appeal to it.. ] is the fact that it's so goofy and stupid. If this movie was made today, it would probably be offensive. Oh, another good point: the main character who is a shy innocent charming nerd who doesn't know much about girls. [ aww ] If you just want an awful movie to watch with your friends and laugh at, this might be a good choice.