How I Got Into College [1989]

Starting out as an animator (most famously creating the “Whammies” on lame-o 80’s game show Press Your Luck), Savage Steve Holland created a trio of teen comedies in the 80’s that have stood the test of time and gone on to cult status. How I Got To College is one of those movies and while it’s not as well known (or have as many laughs as) Better Off Dead... and One Crazy Summer it’s packed with all the expected sight gags, animated breaks, and the regular stable of character actors you’re sure to see in a movie directed by Holland.

Corey Parker plays Marlon, an indecisive high schooler who is dreading his SAT tests, doesn’t know what he’s going to do with his future, and has a major crush on class president and generally all around perfect Jessica (Lara Flynn Boyle). He’s been struggling with the tests, despite the help of Answer “A” and Answer “B” (played by Tom Kenny who’d go on to voice Spongebob Squarepants) in a batch of Marlon’s daydreams, and when he learns the object of his affection wants to go to Ramsey College he sets out to get admitted to the school, despite their high standards.

From there Holland and writer Terrel Seltzer take us through the trials and tribulations of getting into just the right school and also take time to focus on Ramsey recruiter Anthony Edwards who wants to bring in some “fresh blood” to help revitalize the school. There’s plenty of mishaps, a lot of “what if” dream sequences, and quite a bit of goofing around but they still manage to capture the rigors of teens deciding on their future quite well while making their cast likeable enough to root for.

Parker is fine in the lead, Boyle also does well in an early role but it’s really the side roles that steal the show here. Holland regular Curtis Armstrong (who was also “Booger” in the Revenge Of The Nerds movies) is amusing as the recruiter for a bible college while Saturday Night Live regulars Phil Hartman and Nora Dunn get the most laughs as a pair of shyster “preparation experts” who are just out to make a quick buck from unsuspecting newly graduated high schoolers.

How I Got Into College is probably Holland’s least successful comedy and it’s fairly easy to see why as it’s lacking in any real laughs and is a bit too scattershot (not that his previous films weren’t) for most, but it’s still a quirky little timewaster and worth a look for fans of his other two films. Since this he’s gone on to a career directing episodes of various television shows, he created the decent kids cartoon Eek! The Cat, and he’s currently taken on the scripting duties for the upcoming remake of the 1981 T&A comedy classic, Porky’s (which is being “presented” by shock radio disc jockey Howard Stern).

2.5 out of 4

Directed by Savage Steve Holland. Written by Terrel Seltzer. 87 minutes. PG-13