{"id":14651,"date":"2026-06-22T00:36:52","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T04:36:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=14651"},"modified":"2026-06-22T00:36:52","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T04:36:52","slug":"summer-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2026\/06\/22\/summer-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer School"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Summer School<\/strong> (1987)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Paramount\/Comedy\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 97 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG-13 (language\/obscene gestures, brief partial nudity, teen drinking, gruesome images)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Carl Reiner\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Jeff Franklin\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Danny Elfman\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: David M. Walsh\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: July 22, 1987 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Mark Harmon, Kirstie Alley, Robin Thomas, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Dean Cameron, Gary Riley, Patrick Labyorteaux, Shawnee Smith, Kelly Jo Minter, Richard Steven Horvitz, Ken Olandt, Fabiana Udenio, Duane Davis, Frank McCarthy, Lucy Lee Flippin, Amy Stock.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: $35.6M (US)<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: ****<\/p>\n

\u00a0Looking back at my fondest summer memories, I would have to put August 12, 1987 somewhere at the top of that list (top 3 at least). It was a Wednesday and I took my then-girlfriend Judy to a nearby multiplex for a triple shot of summer movie fun that included two Cannon movies. We started with Masters of the Universe, jumped over to Superman IV: The Quest for Peace and finished out the day with Summer School<\/strong>. That\u2019s the comedy starring Mark Harmon (St. Elsewhere, NCIS) as the unlikely teacher of a group of high school misfits attending summer school. It was a great way to wrap things up that day as we both found it hysterically funny.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Directed by Carl Reiner (The Jerk), Summer School<\/strong> is the kind of summertime comedy that you almost never see anymore. In the 80s, the hot weather seemed to bring out the best in comedy filmmakers as it was during those months that many of the classics hit screens. The short list includes Caddyshack, The Blues Brothers, Stripes, Bachelor Party, Fletch, Ferris Bueller\u2019s Day Off, Back to School, A Fish Called Wanda and Weekend at Bernie\u2019s. Summer School<\/strong> made $35.6M at the box office which isn\u2019t a lot these days, but was pretty good for a comedy with no established stars. What does it matter anyway? Those who went to see it, LOVED it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0What I want to know is how anybody could dislike Summer School<\/strong>? It\u2019s such a good-natured funny movie? There\u2019s absolutely nothing mean-spirited about it, unlike many of today\u2019s so-called \u201ccomedies\u201d that go to great lengths to show the cruel side of human nature. I\u2019ll NEVER understand what\u2019s so funny about Office Space. Where is the humor in such mean and spiteful behavior? I\u2019ll take Summer School<\/strong> any day.<\/p>\n

\u00a0It\u2019s the last day of school before summer vacation and everybody is looking forward to a little R&R. That is, until slimeball Vice Principal Gills (Thomas, About Last Night) takes a group of problem students aside and informs them that they have to attend summer school for remedial English. After the regular teacher (Reiner) wins $50,000 from a scratch-off, Gills finds himself in need of a quick replacement. He coerces phys ed teacher Freddy Shoop (Harmon) into taking the assignment by threatening to deny him tenure. Oh well, there go his plans to vacation in Hawaii with his hot younger girlfriend.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Shoop\u2019s new class consists of underachieving students who failed an English basic skills test. At the head of the class are Chainsaw (Cameron, Bad Dreams) and Dave (Riley, Ruthless People), a pair of morbid pranksters obsessed with horror flicks (especially The Texas Chainsaw Massacre). These are the dudes that everybody remembers from Summer School<\/strong>. The rest of Shoop\u2019s students are the easily distracted Pam (Thorne-Smith, Melrose Place), football player Kevin (Labyorteaux, Heathers), pregnant Rhonda (Smith, The Blob), sassy Denise (Minter, The Principal), geeky Alan (Horvitz, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers), the always-asleep Larry (Olandt, April Fool\u2019s Day) and a big black dude named Jerome (Davis, The Hidden) that we don\u2019t see after the first day of class. A hot Italian transfer student named Anna Maria (Udenio, Austin Powers) also joins the class and immediately becomes the object of affection for Chainsaw and Dave.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Shoop meets fellow teacher Robin Bishop (Alley, Cheers) on the first day and instantly falls for her. However, she doesn\u2019t care for his lackadaisical attitude towards his job. Furthermore, she\u2019s dating Gills. Shoop has no idea how to teach so he spends the first few days goofing off, taking his class on field trips to the beach and an amusement park. When Gills finds out, he threatens to fire him unless ALL of his students pass the final exam. The kids agree to study, do homework and pay attention in class if Shoop grants each one a favor in return. And so it goes. It\u2019s like To Sir, with Love meets Animal House.<\/p>\n

\u00a0What really makes Summer School<\/strong> work is that there\u2019s a gifted funnyman in the director\u2019s seat. Carl Reiner (father of Rob \u201cMeathead\u201d Reiner) has a rather impressive list of credits that also includes Oh, God! (1977), Dead Men Don\u2019t Wear Plaid (1982), The Man with Two Brains (1983), All of Me (1984) and That Old Feeling (1997). Even his lesser efforts- Summer Rental (1985), Sibling Rivalry (1990) and Fatal Instinct (1993)- have a handful of laughs apiece. The general plot (\u201cUnderdogs rule!\u201d) of Summer School<\/strong> has been used many times before. Off the top of my head, I can name Meatballs, Police Academy and Revenge of the Nerds as primary examples. In the right hands, it works!<\/p>\n

\u00a0That being said, I have to admit that Summer School<\/strong> took me by surprise. When I went to see it that day, I was more familiar with the director than leading man Harmon. All I really knew about the actor was that he had been on the TV medical drama St. Elsewhere, a show that I never watched. I knew who Kirstie Alley was from her roles in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) and Runaway (1984). I think they both do a very good job. It goes without saying that my favorite students are Chainsaw and Dave; a gorehound instantly recognizes his own. I also developed dual crushes on Shawnee Smith and Courtney Thorne-Smith (no relation). Although I had seen them before in Iron Eagle and Revenge of the Nerds II respectively, this is the first time that I really stood and took notice of them.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Of course, the most important thing about Summer School<\/strong> is that it\u2019s funny. That\u2019s really the bottom line when it comes to comedies, isn\u2019t it? Harmon is easy to like as are his students. There\u2019s something inherently appealing about a group of misfits who have been made to feel inferior by the constant put-downs and insults of their arrogant peers (or teachers, bosses, commanding officers, etc.). The viewer just knows they will step up and prove their tormentors wrong. It usually makes for a movie that\u2019s as fun as it is funny. As for other factors influencing my positive feelings for Summer School<\/strong>, all I can say is that it brings back happy memories every time I watch it. A triple bill with a really awesome gal (my first true love, for the record), what could be better than that?\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summer School (1987)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Paramount\/Comedy\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 97 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG-13 (language\/obscene gestures, brief partial nudity, teen drinking, gruesome images)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Carl Reiner\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Jeff Franklin\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Danny Elfman\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: David M. Walsh\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: July 22, 1987 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Mark Harmon, Kirstie Alley, Robin Thomas, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Dean Cameron, Gary Riley, Patrick Labyorteaux, Shawnee Smith, Kelly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14653,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[18,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-comedies","category-thats-some-funny-stuff"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Summer-School-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14651"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14651\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14655,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14651\/revisions\/14655"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}