School Ties (1992)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Robert Mandel

Writers (WGA):

Dick Wolf (story)
Dick Wolf (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

18 September 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Tagline:

Just Because You're Accepted Doesn't Mean You Belong.

Plot:

A Jewish boy goes to an elite prep school in the 1950's and hides his religion until a jealous bigot forces it out in the open.

Plot Keywords:

School | 1950s | Prep School | Cheating | Jew

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Brendan Fraser	...	David Greene
Matt Damon	...	Charlie Dillon
Chris O'Donnell	...	Chris Reece
Randall Batinkoff	...	Rip Van Kelt
Andrew Lowery	...	'Mack' McGivern
Cole Hauser	...	Jack Connors
Ben Affleck	...	Chesty Smith
Anthony Rapp	...	Richard 'McGoo' Collins
Amy Locane	...	Sally Wheeler
Peter Donat	...	Headmaster Dr. Bartram
Zeljko Ivanek	...	Mr. Cleary
Kevin Tighe	...	Coach McDevitt
Michael Higgins	...	Mr. Gierasch
Ed Lauter	...	Alan Greene
Peter McRobbie	...	Chaplain

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hebrew

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Norway:15 | Spain:13 | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Acton Indoor Tennis Club - 908 Main Street, Acton, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The marching band in the film is the Westford Academy (Westford, Massachusetts) marching band. One of the bass drum heads from the movie is on display in the music department at Westford Academy, signed by the cast and crew.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): After observing David's superior dancing skills at the ball, Dillon praises him for these skills, adding "I hope you're as fast on the floor as you are on the field." Presumably he means to say this the other way around, and he has already observed how fast Dillon is on the floor.

Quotes:

McGoo: [pretending to sneeze as David walks by] A-Jew!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Family Guy: The Story on Page One (#2.19)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

Earth Angel

"Is it worth breaking tradition"?

It's a line the headmaster of the school asks the star quarterback David Greene when he catches him praying at church after curfew but praying in observance of the Jewish new year. Greene's reply to the Headmaster of this Christian Prep Academy is..."mine or yours". This is the essence of the storyline. A Christian Prep Academy in New England is tired of mediocrity in football and losing to their arch rival so they compromise their admission standards by recruiting a brilliant student athlete from Pa. The problem isn't that David Greene doesn't measure up academically, it is that he is Jewish.

Soon after coming to school Greene realizes his classmates disdain and ridicule for Jews. They scorn them and make stereotype remarks that bother Greene but he is determined to fit in. Eventually his classmates and friends discover his secret and this is as far as I go. See the movie and see how David and his friends handle the situation.

Fine performances are put in by Brendan Fraser, as David Greene. You'll be astonished at the youthful talent in the movie as really good performances are put in by Matt Damon, his real life buddy Ben Affleck, Chris O'Donnell, and all the others. I really enjoyed the story, the time setting, and the substance of the message.