Up the Academy (1980)

User Rating:

4.0/10   

Director:

Robert Downey Sr.

Writers:

Tom Patchett (writer) &
Jay Tarses (writer)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

The education they got wasn't in books.

Plot:

This puber-comedy is a kind of mixture between 'Animal House' and 'Police Academy'. Four boys are sent...

Plot Keywords:

Military School | Mad Magazine | Spoof | Box Office Flop | Magazine Tie In

Cast

Wendell Brown	...	Ike
Tommy Citera	...	Hash
Hutch Parker	...	Oliver (as J. Hutchison)
Ralph Macchio	...	Chooch
Harry Teinowitz	...	Rodney Ververgaert
Tom Poston	...	Sisson
Ian Wolfe	...	Commandant Causeway
Antonio Fargas	...	Coach
Stacey Nelkin	...	Candy
Barbara Bach	...	Bliss
Leonard Frey	...	Keck
Luke Andreas	...	Vitto
Candy Ann Brown	...	Nubia
King Coleman	...	Rev. MacArthur
Rosalie Citera	...	Mrs. Bombalazzi

Also Known As:

Mad Magazine Presents Up the Academy
Mad Magazine's Up the Academy
The Brave Young Men of Weinberg

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:M | USA:R | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:AA (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Salina, Kansas, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Rick Baker created the "Afred E. Neuman" masks used in the beginning and end of the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the scene where the boys are eating and Chooch is about to reveal the recorded conversation between Rodney and Liceman, Rodney gets up to leave because he is disgusted with the fact that they're eating "pig balls." In the next shot it, shows Chooch listening to the them at the next table. In the background, you can clearly see Rodney still sitting at the table.

Quotes:

Leisman: What did I tell you I'd do if I ever caught you stealing again?
Hash: You said you'd rip my balls off, sir.
Leisman: Say it again!
Hash: You said you'd rip my balls off, sir.
Leisman: Say it again!
Hash: You said you'd rip my balls off, sir.

Soundtrack:

Surrender

Up the Academy is an uneven yet harmless "adult" comedy from Mad Magazine

Before I comment on this movie I just watched on YouTube, I have to admit that the reason I checked this out was to rewatch something I first saw on the TV ads in 1980: Barbara Bach's cleavage. And since the movie received an R rating, I expected to see her nude. Alas, no dice for her or of the other gorgeous actress that appeared here: Stacey Nelkin who's supposed to be a teen but was actually 20 when she made this. Seeing her in a bra and panty and later in a belly dancer outfit was just as arousing as Ms. Bach. They provide some of the scattered laughs this movie provides. In fact, I don't blame Ron Leibman for having his name removed from the credits since his role as the tight-fisted Liceman is pretty embarrassing though I did like the "seduction" scene he did with Ms. Nelkin. This also happens to be the debut of Ralph Macchio who's the loner among the misfits sent to an academy school. The others are a black kid who really loves his stepmother and Ms. Bach, an Arab who worships motor oil, and a politician's son who loves his girlfriend Candy (Nelkin's character) so much, he risks sneaking in the middle of the night see her in the girls academy. Among the supporting cast, Tom Poston plays a swishy character named Sisson who I found partly amusing. With a screenplay by Tom Patchett and Jay Tarses and direction by Robert Downey Sr. (whose son Robert Downey Jr. has a cameo early on in a soccer scene), Up the Academy is uneven with the politically incorrect humor but unless you're really offended at the scatological and sexual content, this is actually a pretty harmless comedy that Mad Magazine and its trademark cover boy-Alfred E. Newman-shouldn't be ashamed of even though they once had their name and character taken off the picture...P.S. Another one of the "misfits" was Harry Teinowitz who was born in my birth town of Chicago, Ill. He played Rodney Ververgaert. He also says one of my favorite lines: "I'm trying to come."