The defence The Popcorn Loyalist
“It owes the canon nothing.”
The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.
Back to trending 
Old School
Comedy · 2003
Three friends attempt to recapture their glory days by opening up a fraternity near their alma mater.
Movie details
Old School
“All the fun of college. None of the education.”
2003 Comedy 1h 32m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.6 / 10
Community rating
Three friends attempt to recapture their glory days by opening up a fraternity near their alma mater.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Old School?
For the defence
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Big-Idea Head
“You watch with your brain, not your gut.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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When shy college freshman Devon asks cool-girl Celeste to be her roommate, a blossoming friendship quickly spirals into a war of passive aggression.
House Party
Comedy · 1990
Young Kid has been invited to a party at his friend Play's house. But after a fight at school, Kid's father grounds him. None the less, Kid sneaks out when his father falls asleep. But Kid doesn't know that three of the thugs at school have decided to give him a lesson in behavior.
Everybody Wants Some!!
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A comedy that follows a group of friends as they navigate their way through the freedoms and responsibilities of unsupervised adulthood.
How High
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Jamal and Silas, two ordinary guys who smoke something magical, pass their college entrance exams with flying colors and end up at Harvard. Ivy League ways are strange but Silas and Jamal take it in a stride -- until their supply of supernatural smoke runs dry. That's when they have to start living by their wits and rely on their natural resources to make the grade.
Driver's Ed
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A group of teens hit the road in a stolen driver's ed car, racing against time to help a lovesick high school senior track down his college-freshman girlfriend and win her back.
Incoming
Comedy · 2024
Their first week of high school. The biggest party of the year. Mistakes will be made as four teenage boys navigate a night of mayhem and debauchery.
Plan B
Comedy · 2021
After a regrettable first sexual encounter, a straight-laced high school student and her slacker best friend have 24 hours to hunt down a Plan B pill in America's heartland.
Booksmart
Comedy · 2019
Two academic teenage superstars realize, on the eve of their high school graduation, that they should have worked less and played more. Determined to never fall short of their peers, the girls set out on a mission to cram four years of fun into one night.
Animal House
Comedy · 1978
At a 1962 College, Dean Vernon Wormer is determined to expel the entire Delta Tau Chi Fraternity, but those troublemakers have other plans for him.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Todd Phillips
Written by
Todd Phillips · Court Crandall · Scot Armstrong
Luke Wilson
Mitch Martin
Will Ferrell
Frank Ricard
Vince Vaughn
Bernard "Beanie" Campbell
Jeremy Piven
Dean Gordon Pritchard
Ellen Pompeo
Nicole
Craig Kilborn
Mark
Perrey Reeves
Marissa
Court is in session
Put Old School on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Big-Idea Head
“Easy pleasure, short half-life.”
It moves efficiently through the moment but offers little reason to keep arguing once the credits end.