MYST Post # 3: The Animal House

   A movie like no other in the 70s that shows just how crazy the frat life can really be, especially since the film takes place in 1962 and clearly this type of party going on was very unusual at Faber College in Pennsylvania. Universal pictures and National Lampoon were the studio and magazine that talked a lot about Animal House and other movies very similar. This movie starred actors such as the late John Belushi, Tim Matheson, Tom Hulce, and Donald Sutherland. The movie was directed by John Landis who also was the director of The Blues Brothers, which included John Belushi as one of the two brothers. This movie reminds of a few movies that were not exactly in the same period as this movie was, but they are under The National Lampoon title and they too, filmed about partying in the frats and lakehouses. Movies such as American Pie and Van Wilder, were released in theatres in the early 2000s. This surprised me to see that there were not too many movies during the 70's where most of the movie is about the dean and the other frat house right next door to Omega Theta Pi, which considerably is the best frat on campus and long time haters of John "Bluto" Blutarsky( Belushi) and his fraternity Delta Tau Chi. Since Dean Vernon Wermer has Bluto's frat on double secret probation for all the trouble they caused , it still does not stop the guys from having more fun getting drunk and having a toga party with Otis Day and The Knights. This film shows you just how out of control college can really get if all you do is party.

The style that John Landis goes for, is that escapist entertainment for those during the 70s to familiarize those from that era just how crazy and fun college can be, but at the same time should be taken seriously. The message he goes for, is that when your at college your free to basically almost do anything you want, as long as you keep the trouble all inside and not on the campus streets. The films itself moves at a much slower pace then I expected , since it really shows in little segments, how many different things can make these college kids look like a bunch of party animals and troublemakers. The part where the editing was very effective, was when they had the toga party, and Otis Day and The Knights, came to perform "Shout" at Delta Tau Chi, and the scene where they dance really got my attention just because it showed a little bit of what the music was like during that time and that kind of dancing they did was something you would only see at a frat like this one.

The scene that really was the icing on the cake was at the end when Faber College had their homecoming parade in downtown. They had these parade floats used for the walk through town. This scene happens right when all of the members of Delta Tau Chi get expelled off campus because of all the trouble they caused and plus their poor grades which were the worst in Faber's history. So to get back at Dean Wermer and Omega, they set up a scheme to get Wermer screwed over and fired, and hopefully for Bluto and the boys, another chance to finish the semester and graduate. All hell breaks lose right after Stork, a member of Delta Tau, comes into the parade and takes over the directors spot for the band. Right after he takes the band down a different path, smoke fills the streets and people start going crazy and chaos happens in town, but not in a bad way like a war, but more of something that some crazy college kids would do to get redemption. They take a car and have it under a parade float and drive it into the main bleachers where The dean and mayor were sitting to watch the parade. The guys end up getting another chance, but to say the least, not many people would get away with something as crazy as this. Overall I give the movie a 7 out of 10, since the movie had a lot of scenes I enjoyed seeing since I'm young, wild, and free like these guys.