National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978) - film review

Faber College, 1962.  Two freshman, Larry Kroger and Kent Dorfman, roam their campus in search of a fraternity that will accept them.  Having been turned away from the elite Omega Theta Pi House, they end up next-door, at Delta Tau Chi, a rowdy pigsty whose inmates wallow in drunken debauchery and their lack of academic prowess.   The college Dean, Vernor Wormer, has become so exasperated by the antics of Delta House that he puts it on Double Secret Probation and enlists Omega House president Gregg Marmalard to find an excuse to have Delta House closed down.   A riotous toga party and poor results in a midterm exam provide the Dean with an excuse to banish the Delta House scourge from his campus.  But the boys in Delta are not ready to go without a fight and make plans to sabotage the annual homecoming parade...

The most successful film comedy of all time, National Lampoon’s Animal House spawned a whole new sub-genre of gross comedies depicting juveniles behaving badly but is superior to its imitators in just about every respect.  For all its low humour (which consists mainly of tacky innuendo, boisterous slapstick and gags revolving around bodily functions), the film is a highly effective satire on the American college system and society in general, parodying the class system and the gulf between the generations.   It also evokes brilliantly the rumbustious anti-authoritarian mood of the time, which came in the wake of the Watergate scandal and America’s withdrawal from Vietnam.  Scripted by the writers of the popular adult humour magazine National Lampoon, and directed with flair by John Landis (who would later helm out another hit, An American Werewolf in London, 1981), Animal House is one of the funniest American comedies ever made, although admittedly not everyone will appreciate its raunchy concoction of vulgarity and political incorrectness.

Most of the cast are non-professionals, although some would go on to pursue successful acting careers after the film.  At the time of its release, the only stars were John Belushi and Donald Sutherland.  Belushi made his movie debut here after finding fame on radio and television through The National Lampoon Radio Hour and Saturday Night Live.  Whilst he is only one face in a large and colourful ensemble of talented performers, Belushi makes his presence felt in each of his scenes and gives his best comedic performance in a career that would end prematurely four years later with his untimely death.  Sutherland also gives great value as a pot-smoking teacher who admits to finding Milton as boring and humourless as his students.  Another standout performance is supplied by John Vernon, who plays the Dean from Hell with a spine-chilling relish and more than a touch of the Richard Nixons.

Still hugely popular at university campuses across the United States, National Lampoon’s Animal House has become an institution in its own right, an outrageously funny film that puts today’s juvenile comedies to shame.  It may be as filthy and chaotic as a student’s bedroom after an end-of-term binge, but it is also smart and engaging, and an irresistible nostalgia fest for university graduates everywhere.  Lowbrow American comedy doesn’t come much funnier than this.  If the sidesplitting finale doesn’t have you rolling on the floor in hysterics there is obviously a gap in your education.  This one is in a class of its own.

© Derek Adamson 2011

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