Class (1983)

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

The naive and clumsy Jonathan (Andrew McCarthy) joins the prep school Vernon Academy expecting to go to Harvard. He befriends his wealthy roommate Skip (Rob Lowe) and soon he sends Jonathan to Chicago to lose his virginity. Jonathan meets the thirty and something years old Ellen (Jacqueline Bisset) and they have a love affair. Jonathan lies to her about where he studies and he falls in love with her. When they decide to travel to New York, Ellen accidentally discovers that Jonathan studies at the Vernon Academy and she vanishes. In the Christmas break, Skip invites Jonathan to spend the holiday with his family, and Jonathan has a huge surprise finding who Ellen is. "Class" is a pleasant movie that begins very funny, with Andrew McCarthy, Rob Lowe, John Cusack and Virginia Madsen very young. Jacqueline Bisset is extremely beautiful and fits perfectly to the role of Ellen. Unfortunately the story is lost between comedy and drama with a disappointing conclusion. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Uma Questão de Classe" ("A Question of Class")

A film that seems too unsure how to set things in motion, as one minute we have a bratty, low brow teen comedy (like something out of 'Porky's') with surprisingly amusing gags and fooling about, but then it heads into something serious and in-depth (well it tries) mature handling on the material of forbidden love (similar to that of 'The Graduate') and the value of friendship. The two never quite balances out, which leaves it like your watching two different movies unsuccessfully spliced together. It's hard to pin point what it really wants to be, as by the end it finishes pretty much the same way it began.Jonathan the new senior student to a prep high school finds himself the butt-of-jokes with his dorm and room-mate Skip, but he gets his own back where respect is built. After being banned from a dance and the nearest girl's school, Skip gets Jonathan that night to go to a Chicago bar to hopefully pick-up and get laid. He meets the older Ellen and a steamy affair between them begins, but he keeps it secret about his true age. But she soon finds out about it, but the main twist of fate occurs when he realises who she really is.What goes on to be the film's main curiosity drive however would be that of the sensational cast involved (minor parts too), as there's some fresh faces who make their debuts and good performances by all. Andrew McCarthy (in his first role) is sensitively engaging, and truly one performance that you feel every embarrassing and awkward encounter along with him. Rob Lowe constantly chimes with suave personality and charm as the rich-kid room-mate. An enticing Jacqueline Bisset courageously pulls off her role as the Ellen and Cliff Robertson is solid as Skip's father Mr. Burroughs. Along for the ride are the agreeable John Cusack (debut performance), Alan Ruck and Virginia Madsen in a short, but downright memorable turn. The outstanding rapport between everyone clicks.Writers Jim Kouf and David Greenwalt do sketch out some effective moments (mainly the humour with some worthy pieces), among the not so. When it does go serious some situations are hard to grasp and take seriously even if it's done in the right temperament. What goes from quick-witted lines and crass visual gags then opens up to the awkward embarrassments' of sexuality for a novice. As what seems like a boy's wet dream (getting in on with an experienced lady to only brag about it) eventuates to more and feelings start to grow. However everything comes crashing down, after a disastrous chain of events that could see him lose a friend, destroy a dysfunctional family already on the rocks and be kicked out of school. But at the end we come to realise that these depressing occurrences have made those fragile people in the spotlight go onto examine their own lives. As the two boys come to blows, they go onto see the funny side to it all. Lewis John Carlino (his third and last directed film to date) has been comfortable penning the material over his career, does quite a resourceful job in the director's chair. He adequately keeps things moving and never gets to forceful in the execution of the material.'Class' is a fair achievement that's brought together by a committed cast.

Naive, shy Jonathan Ogner (Andrew McCarthy in his film debut) goes to prep school and rooms with "Skip" (Rob Lowe) a fun-loving guy. Skip encourages Jon to go out and have sex. Jon ends up accidentally picking up Skip's mother (Jacqueline Bisset) and starting an affair with her! This is one strange movie. It starts off with very crude humor--poor McCarthy is humiliated again and again. Then it switches to sex with McCarthy and Bisset (nothing is shown in the bedroom scenes) and THEN to drama when Jon discovers who she is and vice versa. Some of the humor is funny but it mixes uneasily with the drama and the movie is constantly switching gears. It's not a terrible movie--just wildly uneven.It is worth catching for quite a few now well-known people in their film debuts (McCarthy, Virginia Madesen and John Cusack are a few) and some good moments here and there. The acting is actually pretty good too. Bisset gives a much better performance than this material deserves; McCarthy is a bit too somber (but this WAS his first movie) and Lowe is actually lots of fun and he's so young! Cliff Robertson pops up in a few scenes and also isn't bad.So not a great movie by any means but worth catching just for the cast.

I love the Brat Pack so any of the movies that they are in are a go for me, no matter how little ratings it got. I am drawn to it. There are so many favorites in this movie-Virginia Madsen, which I remember from Fire with Fire, another 80's flick, Alan Ruck, from Ferris Bueller, John Cusack, Andrew McCarthy, and Rob Lowe. All cool. I graduated 1988 so these are my kind of films!I love the way McCarthy gets back at Lowe. God that is so funny! Watch it if you get the chance!