College

  • Review Date: September 2, 2008
  • R
  • Genre: Comedy
  • 2008
 Review

Common Sense Media says

Crude, boorish comedy doesn't make the grade.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Not yet rated

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this crude comedy -- which may be on older tweens' and younger teens' radar thanks to star Drake Bell of hit TV show Drake & Josh -- is a non-stop parade of boorish behavior, inebriation, and sex. Young men obsess about sex and ogle women (who mostly come across as window dressing). There's plenty of nudity -- big-breasted women (some in pasties) and men's behinds -- as well as crude sexual jokes (topics include sex toys and masturbation) and tons of swearing. Drinking seems to be the only thing there is to do at universities; underage characters swill alcohol constantly, and one character praises a girl by saying she "drinks like a college girl." Characters also smoke weed and inhale nitrous oxide.

  • Teens lie their way into a party- and sex-filled weekend. It's outright bacchanalia: Men and women hook up at the drop of a hat, with both opposite and same-sex partners. Some homophobic jokes, as well as sexist ones.
  • Fraternity brothers haze newcomers by slapping them, hitting them, shooting at them with paintball guns, humiliating them verbally and physically, throwing them into pig excrement, and forcing them into strange sexual situations. Some screaming among friends.
  • Plenty of randy content, including lesbian hookups, topless girls on parade (only sometimes wearing pasties), hand gestures signaling masturbation, men shown pleasuring themselves under covers, quick cuts to a man enjoying a blow-up doll, couples simulating sex, deep kisses, oral sex referenced through body movements, strippers, and more.
  • Four-letter words galore, including "d-ck," "s--t," "f--k," and multiple variations on them. Also lots of use of "bitch" and "ass."
  • Some signage for the university, cereal boxes, and a few other products, but nothing too excessive.
  • Plenty of drinking and some drug use. Drinking is portrayed as cool and perhaps even a way to be popular. Keggers are the raison d'etre here, and underage kids are shown imbibing in many different ways (playing "quarters" beer bongs, etc.). Lots of depictions of various stages of inebriation. Some characters openly smoke weed, and both teens and adults get high inhaling nitrous oxide balloons.

What's the story?

Kevin Brewer (Drake Bell) is a straight-arrow high school senior who gets dumped by his excitement-seeking girlfriend. So when a classmate regales Kevin and his friends -- loudmouth Carter (Andrew Caldwell) and geeky Morris (Kevin Covais, of American Idol fame) -- with tales of a wild weekend at Fieldmont University, he decides it's the perfect opportunity to let loose, too, and perhaps make his ex jealous. Never mind that they're supposed to be touring the college for educational purposes, and that Morris is due for an interview with the dean so he can seal a scholarship offer.


Is it any good?

 

Make no mistake: The charming stars of Nickelodeon's beloved Drake & Josh are both clearly trying to shirk their wholesome alter-egos. But at least Josh Peck took on the intriguing (if flawed) indie The Wackness. Bell, on the other hand, is stuck in this crude morass. Obnoxious to the core, COLLEGE is a medley of cliches about university life. There's the evil fraternity president and his equally loathsome buddies who abuse the three friends beyond belief (their methods include making the guys clean feces-encrusted toilets; forcing them to drink shots from a hairy, naked, fraternity brother; taping one of them naked to a statue; throwing them nearly naked into a sty soon to be invaded by stampeding pigs; and much more). There's the trio of ladies who see past the guys' gawky high-schoolness and desperate need to fit in and fall in love with them. And there's the pivotal moment when they exact vengeance. (Wasn't there a movie about this already called Revenge of the Nerds?)

All of that said, the three leads are amiable enough, especially Bell, who has an ease about him that has always worked for his characters. Covais (dubbed Chicken Little in his Idol run) is surprisingly deft. And though Caldwell sometimes overdoes his schtick -- he's clearly (and often painfully) doing an imitation of Jack Black or Chris Farley -- the guy does have a way with the punchlines. But the actors all deserve a better movie, one that doesn't rely on tired shorthand to capture the insanity -- not inanity -- of college life.


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What families can talk about

Families can talk about who this film is targeted at. Who do you think the filmmakers' ideal audience is? Why are sex- and swearing-filled movies so popular? Do you find this kind of humor funny or offensive? Why? Families can also discuss how the movie portrays women. Are the female characters stereotypical? In what ways? And do you think this is an accurate depiction of college life? How have other movies and TV Shows portrayed college in the past? How does this one compare?


This review was written by S. Jhoanna Robledo
Adult
April 17, 2011
 

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 14 years old
April 26, 2011
 
HATE ITTT!!!!!!!!!!!
NOT FOR 17 OR UNDER!!!!

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 15 years old
February 4, 2011
 
a waste of time watching this with so much nudity and nasty stuff in it, no way! throw that garbage away

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 17 years old
June 6, 2009
 
iffy content
pretty bad sex was crude and drug and achool was very strong and language was used alot not the best teen movie i ve seen but was not to bad

Flag as inappropriate 
Adult
November 27, 2008
 
The Worst Movie I've Seen In A Long Time
Simply put: I hated every second of this garbage. Go see The Wackness instead.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 15 years old
May 15, 2009
 
bad movie

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 16 years old
March 28, 2011
 

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 18 years old
July 5, 2009
 
Good if you are 15 or older.. But very funny
This movie is really funny. Only thing that is not good is that there is some girl nudity in some parts and they have a lot of drinking.

Flag as inappropriate 
Kid, 12 years old
July 20, 2010
 
adults only!
this is an adult drake and josh movie.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 14 years old
July 20, 2010
 
adults only!
this is an adult drake and josh movie.

Flag as inappropriate 

This review was written by S. Jhoanna Robledo
Studio:Element Films
Director:Deb Hagan
Cast:Andrew Caldwell, Drake Bell, Kevin Covais
Genre:Comedy
Run time:94 minutes
Theatrical release date:August 29, 2008
DVD release date:January 27, 2009
MPAA rating:R
MPAA explanation:pervasive crude and sexual content, nudity, language, drug and alcohol abuse.

This review was written by S. Jhoanna Robledo
 

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ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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