After about an hour of studying in the Hayes-Healy basement on Monday, I decided it was time for a ten minute study break. My holidays usually go like this:
- I’m looking for classic movies on Tubi or PlutoTV. I’m always looking to see what movies were popular 30, 40 or even 50 years ago and these services have the largest collection.
- I click on a movie that looks interesting and dive deeper. I look at the careers of the actors and the films associated with them. If I’m interested, I’ll watch the trailer too.
- Once I’m sold on a movie, I make a mental note before going back to work. Here is my dining room review content for tomorrow morning.
The film that caught my attention that Monday night was Less Than Zero (1987), starring Andrew McCarthy, fresh off of St. Elmo’s Fire (1985), a young Robert Downey Jr., James Spader, and Jamie Gertz (look up her net worth if you have a second). Briefly, the plot follows freshman McCarthy as he tries to get his hometown friends Downey and Gertz sober. This movie looked interesting, but one question kept popping into my head as I studied that night — what is the greatest college movie of all time?
It’s easy to think of three almost universally beloved high school movies: “The Breakfast Club” (1985), “Dazed and Confused” (1993) and “Superbad” (2007). Try the same exercise with college movies, however, and it’s much more difficult. About Me The Social Network (2010), Good Will Hunting (1997) and Rudy (1993) came to mind first. But The Social Network only starts in college, Will in Good Will Hunting isn’t even enrolled in college, and Rudy is more of a football movie. College is just part of the plot in these movies, not its real focus.
In addition to the films above, college comedy classics like “National Lampoon’s Animal House” (1978), “Revenge of the Nerds” (1984) and “Old School” (2003) have memorable scenes but are extremely dated. They may have once been considered cool college movies, but not today. Go see “Animal House” in its entirety and then justify leaving the movie as is. Also, especially for Notre Dame students, these frat life movies don’t have much in common with their college experience. College movies do exist, but are any of them really great?
If I had to design a great college movie, here’s the plot. We have an adult who is struggling to find work. They panic when they realize that the 30-year plan they drew up on their first day of freshman year is no longer what they want. One evening, on a walk from the library to their dorm, our student finds a new friend who encourages him to choose a new activity (maybe it’s writing for the school newspaper). After taking up the hobby, he discovers his true passion, meets a new crowd and successfully finds work in this field. Along the way, he navigates shifting priorities and encounters upset parents who initially disapprove of his choices (so many teen movies use this mean-spirited parenting trope). At the end of the film, our hero finds what he loves to do, graduates with a degree, and sets out to face the real world.
Many of my favorite college-related movies, such as Ritting and Screaming (1995) and The Big Chill (1983), are about reflecting on college and the looming “what next?” question that anxious characters face. However, this fear of the future is just as real during college, and a movie can show this as an important moment in a person’s development. For me, as funny as it sounds, the movie that most resembles this college trip is Pitch Perfect (2012). Students don’t have all the answers. It’s not even close. Highlighting the confusion about what’s next can show a student using the college experience to find their passion.
I’ll admit – I haven’t seen every college movie, far from it. If I’m missing a great film for college students, please let me know. I’m always looking for movie suggestions! However, if you watch movies during school breaks like I do, you’ll see that the movies focus on transformational change during high school much more than college. There are many college movies out there, but the title of greatest college movie of all time is still up for grabs. It’s just waiting to be done.
