Old School 2003

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: Until it gives up on itself in the last 10 minutes, Old School, co-written by Scot Armstrong and director Todd Phillips, knows how to rock a party with naughtiness and intelligence. Read more

John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press: Old School has a clever title, a decent concept and a name-brand cast. But it never fulfills the potential of its story about guys in their 30s who form a frat so they can party again like teenagers. Read more

Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: Inept Animal House knockoff. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: This is a raucous frat-school comedy that's dopey, degrading and disgusting -- and consistently hilarious. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Not quite enough to justify giving this movie 91 minutes of your life, but as stupid gross-out comedies go, you could do worse. Read more

Mark Caro, Chicago Tribune: The movie is never more than the sum of its scattershot jokes. Read more

Elvis Mitchell, New York Times: [School's] like a half-empty glass of Coke that's been sitting out for a couple of days; sure, it looks like cola, but one sip tells you exactly what's missing. Read more

Melinda Ennis, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Although a graduate of the Animal House school of tasteless, sophomoric humor, Old School gets docked many points due to its sloppy script and lame direction. Read more

Manohla Dargis, Los Angeles Times: It's no Animal House, but Old School is helped by a curious pathos for its thirtysomething boys. Read more

Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle: Most mirth is as feeble and pointless as the plot, from the thin shock value of inappropriate cursing to a routine array of hedonistic hijinks. Read more

Paul Clinton (CNN.com), CNN.com: Old School doesn't even deserve to go to video and DVD. This film should go straight to landfill. Read more

Ricardo Baca, Denver Post: This School is cool. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Under Reitman's deanship, Ferrell lets his freak flag fly and Vaughn unlooses a notably funny, light-on-his-feet lunkheadedness. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: Old hat. Read more

Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News: While not remotely original in content, Old School tries hard to have something for everyone and succeeds more often than not. Read more

Chuck Wilson, L.A. Weekly: Ferrell makes acting like a moron seem like a natural and endearing byproduct of middle-class American befuddlement. Read more

Gene Seymour, Newsday: An unkempt clearinghouse for cheap, throwaway laughs. For those who regard that as a recommendation, two words: Grow up. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: In an era when a viewer is lucky to find one or two humorous moments during the course of a 90-minute so-called 'comedy,' Old School delivers with surprising effectiveness. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: This is not a funny movie, although it has a few good scenes and some nice work by Ferrell as an apparently compulsive nudist. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: This frat romp might be dumb, but you'll wet your Dockers anyway. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Has about a dozen funny moments. Read more

Time Out: Director Phillips confesses to frat membership in his youth, and even made a documentary on the subject. So why is this not funnier or more outrageous? Read more

Mike Clark, USA Today: Unlike most of the lowbrow comedies in theaters these days, this one isn't quite a carp. Read more

Dennis Harvey, Variety: This year's kinder, gentler Animal House. Read more

Ed Park, Village Voice: A flatland of lowest-common- denominated retro-collegiate wackiness. Read more