Animal House (1978) Review

 

Animal House (1978)

So, over the past year, I have had to not only explain to my mother but also to people interested in joining my own fraternity, TKE, that Greek and fraternity life IS NOT Animal House. It’s an infamous film and so it was great to finally put a face to this movie.

Set in 1962 at Faber College, the film mainly focuses on the ongoing rivalry between the Omega’s and the Delta’s. The former, rich preppy kids, and the latter, the neanderthalic but stupidly fun fraternity, who are fighting to stay on campus. But after the dean, who’s had it out for them for years, decides to kick them off campus, they turn to revenge against him and the Omega’s.

This film is not only super enjoyable, but it is, next to Revenge of the Nerds, the quintessential college flick that all college students should watch at least once in their time at university, especially if you are involved with Greek life. It’s completely outrageous but would make anyone long for the days of toga parties and college rivalries.

The casting is perfect for, I’d have to say, just about every part in this film. Fresh-faced Kevin Bacon, Karen Allen, Peter Reigert, and Tim Matheson all knock it out of the park, but it’s John Belushi, before he was on SNL and Jake from the Blues Brothers, that really shines in Animal House. His animated, man of few words, and absolutely stupidly funny portrayal of Bluto steals the show and makes for one of the most memorable college cinematic characters ever.

I can’t forget to mention that not only did it have a phenomenal cast, but it had an even better soundtrack, full of classics like Louie, Louie, a live performance of Shout! by Otis Day, and What a Wonderful World by Sam Cook.

The never-ending chaos of Animal House, mixed with the super cliched look at college culture is what makes it so enjoyable to watch and there’s no wonder that it’s a classic. If I had to accurately describe the tone, it’s like a mixture of Red Dawn and another National Lampoon’s classic Van Wilder.
As most of my current audience is college students, please do yourself a favor and check it out!

7.9/10