Common Sense Media Review
Raunchy frat comedy with mature humor, language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
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Old School
What's the Story?
Think of OLD SCHOOL as the reunion of the gang from Animal House and Revenge of the Nerds. Mitch Martin (Luke Wilson), Bernard "Beanie" Campbell (Vince Vaughn), and Frank Ricard (Will Ferrell) are three 30-year-old men who are unable to cope with adult responsibilities and end up turning a house into a fraternity. They throw wild parties, torture pledges, and avoid the realities of their daily lives. When a university dean threatens to shut the fraternity down, the brothers work together to save it.
Is It Any Good?
While some people will like this movie's slapstick humor, this comedy ultimately falls short. Old School has about a five-to-one joke ratio of failures to successes. It really isn't funny when a character finds out after the fact that the young woman he had sex with while drunk wasn't just a high school student but the daughter of his boss; when a character calls out "earmuffs" to his 6-year-old son so that the boy will cover his ears when his father is about to use bad language, when a character's wife asks for a divorce just weeks after their marriage, or when an 89-year-old character is so struck by the sight of slicked-up topless girls waiting to wrestle him that he keels over dead. Ferrell and Vaughn throw themselves so completely into the material that they almost manage to make it work. But in the end, the combination of stereotypical characters, glorified bad decisions, and unnecessary swearing makes Old School fall flat.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how the characters in Old School approach adult responsibilities. Do men and women have different approaches? Does this depiction reinforce gender stereotypes?
Characters in Old School use mature language for laughs throughout the movie. What do you think about this type of humor?
Will Ferrell has starred in many comedies. What makes his performances so appealing to audiences?
Movie Details
- In theaters : February 21, 2003
- On DVD or streaming : June 10, 2003
- Cast : Luke Wilson , Vince Vaughn , Will Ferrell
- Director : Todd Phillips
- Inclusion Information : Middle Eastern/North African Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : DreamWorks
- Genre : Comedy
- Run time : 90 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : some strong sexual content, nudity, and language
- Last updated : November 28, 2025
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