Appreciating all that makes America special

Film: Animal House

The great Tim Matheson as "Otter." Uploaded by onlineducation.net.

The great Tim Matheson as "Otter." Uploaded by onlineducation.net.

Let’s total up the number of Academy Award nominations Animal House accumulated. Hmm. None. Then surely it’s on the American Film Institute’s list of 100 Best Films? Uh, nope. Then how did it make this list?

Because it has one classic, memorable scene after another. The pledge party with Mohammet, Jugdish, Clayton, and Sidney. Dean Wormer putting the Deltas on double secret probation. Flounder shooting a blank gun and frightening Neidermeyer’s horse to death. Belushi piling food on his tray in the cafeteria line. The frat boys taking their dates to an all-black club.  The toga party.

I grant that guys probably love this movie more than women. (I mean, more than most women love this movie.) And some will say its humor is sophomoric. Yes. It is. I wouldn’t be surprised if “sophomoric” was invented to describe Animal House. And the producers and writers would probably take it as a compliment.

Uploaded by supak.com

Uploaded by supak.com

John Belushi, fresh after making his mark on Saturday Night Live, owned every scene in which he appeared. Director John Landis had to limit Belushi’s scenes so as not to diminish his impact. But I loved Tim Matheson as Otter. He was perfect as the smooth-talking president of the frat. “Hi, Eric Stratton, rush chairman. Damn glad to meet you.”

Donald Sutherland was the highest-paid cast member, earning $40,000 for his role. The movie cost $2.7 million to make. To date, it’s cleared over $140 million, making it one of the most profitable films ever. I’m not a fan of teen sex comedies, but I think Animal House is so much more than that. It’s one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. Relive some of the best bits in this 10-minute video:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6OBwSaHRRY&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1]

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3 Comments

  1. The first time I saw this I nearly wet my pants. Great music, too.

  2. I don’t know why the writer of this article on ANIMAL HOUSE would think that men would like this film better than women. Such a sexist comment because I love this film !! Men get over that Dark Age thinking !!

    It is a great film from beginning to end. And , of course, I loved Tim Matheson as Otter and the actor who played Dean Wormer !! Even though John Belushi is disgusting in some scenes , he is still so funny.

    Karen Allen was great as was the entire cast. I watch it over and over again.

    I watch it over and over again !! Thank you for the review !!

  3. I don’t know why the writer of this article on ANIMAL HOUSE would think that men would like this film better than women. Such a sexist comment because I love this film !! Men get over that Dark Age thinking !!

    It is a great film from beginning to end. And , of course, I loved Tim Matheson as Otter and the actor who played Dean Wormer !! Even though John Belushi is disgusting in some scenes , he is still so funny.

    Karen Allen was great as was the entire cast. I watch it over and over again. ! Thank you for the review !!

    But I did not upon rereading the review that the writer did not discuss any female characters or actresses. This doesn’t work anymore because we are watching you

    You probably will not let me enter this amended comment again !!