METTEL RAY

Thursday Movie Picks: Sororities/Fraternities/School Secret Societies

Another week, another Thursday Movie Pick, and since this week’s topic is quite similar to last week, I had a bit of a challenge on my hand. But do not be afraid, luckily enough, we have all those comedies that take place in college to choose from.

1. DEAD POETS SOCIETY, 1989

Known for the standing ovation on tables, Dead Poets Society is definitely one hell of a movie. Sad, emotional and motivational, the movie is about a teacher, played by the wonderful Robin Williams, who teaches them about poetry. Definitely a movie that has stayed with me ever since I watched it.

 2. NEIGHBORS, 2014

Even though I think the follow up is somehow a bit better, Neighbors is definitely one of those comedies that highlights all those things that are wrong and right with fraternities. Though they seem out for destruction, they also showcase brotherhood, and that especially shows in the chemistry between Efron and Franco.

3. GEOGRAPHY CLUB, 2013

So, Geography Club isn’t the best movie out there, but the topic of it is something special. A popular high school football player stumbles onto this club that’s actually secretly a support group for gay teens, and decides to join. And for what it’s wroth, I think that exploring these topics is important and that’s why this movie is worth watching, even if it does belong among the mediocre movies.

* GREEK, 2007-2011

There no better series that represents this topic than Greek does. It is all about fraternities and sororities and technically even secret societies. So even though it’s not a movie recommendation, I want to recommend this series too. It’s special, it has great characters, wonderful character developments and it’s all about growing up among your peers while staying true to yourself.

THIS SERIES IS CREATED BY WANDERING THROUGH THE SHELVES

mettelray

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14 responses to “Thursday Movie Picks: Sororities/Fraternities/School Secret Societies”

  1. filmsCine Avatar
    filmsCine

    Good list, buddy. The Breakfast Club is one great school movie!

    Reply
    1. mettelray Avatar
      mettelray

      Thank you! And it is, but considerinf the other topics this month, I kind of wanted to use it in a different topic. 😉

      Reply
  2. joelnox Avatar
    joelnox

    Good choices but….fraternities/sororities is next week’s theme, this week is college movies. However most of your picks work for that anyway. 🙂

    Whenever I think of Dead Poet’s Society School Ties comes to mind as well. Their stories aren’t necessarily identical but I think it’s the similarity of setting. Be that as it may I liked Poet’s without really loving it but it has some very good acting in it.

    I recently saw Geography Club for the first time, actually because it was used by someone a previous week and it sounded interesting. I liked it quite a bit.

    Neighbors…it was alright. I’ve heard of Greek but have never seen an episode but good catch.

    I tried for a mix of comedy and drama but except for my first I ended up with more serious stuff.

    Back to School (1986)-When business tycoon Thornton Melon (Rodney Dangerfield) discovers his second wife is cheating on him he gives her the boot and decides to visit his son Jason (Keith Gordon) at college. Discovering that the stories Jason has been feeding him about his success both in school and on the swim team aren’t true and he’s considering dropping out Thornton decides to enroll and offer support. Problem is Jason is a misfit with one oddball friend Derek (a purple haired Robert Downey Jr.) and Thornton the gregarious, party hardy type who sees studying as an inconvenience which he foists off on his employees until one of his professors catches on and threatens him with expulsion. Thornton’s under the gun but everyone including the sultry classics professor he’s fallen for (Sally Kellerman) pitch in to help. What distinguishes this from other college comedies is that Dangerfield’s character is so darn likable.

    The Paper Chase (1973)-James Hart (Timothy Bottoms), first-year law student at Harvard Law School feels the pressure of keeping up with all of his studies, especially when he engenders the enmity of contracts professor Kingsfield, the toughest teacher in the school (an Oscar winning John Houseman). Things don’t get any easier when he starts dating Kingsfield’s daughter (Lindsay Wagner).

    The Sterile Cuckoo (1969)-On a bus heading to their different but nearby colleges uptight Jerry meets the free spirited but insecure Pookie Adams (Liza Minnelli) and they become friends. When Pookie shows up on Jerry’s campus they become more intimately involved but her increasingly neurotic behavior puts a strain on their relationship. Billed as a comedy but really a mediation of loneliness and the struggles to mature. Liza is compelling, sad and raw.

    Groovylicious Time Warp-The Strawberry Statement (1970)-At a San Francisco college in the 60’s during the time of campus unrest and the counterculture, student Simon (Bruce Davison) is content to view all the upheaval from the sidelines until he meets the committed Linda. Becoming aware of the things they are protesting he becomes a leader and foments violent action during a sit-in leading to a confrontation with the police. Very much a document of its time with dialogue to match this tied for the Jury Prize at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival.

    Reply
    1. mettelray Avatar
      mettelray

      Well, thank you for noticing my mess up! I didn’t notice myself before it was too late.

      And again, haven’t seen any of these movies… this is becoming devastating.

      Reply
  3. joelnox Avatar
    joelnox

    Still good choices. I hadn’t realized Dead Poet’s Society was so popular but it’s shown up several places this time.

    I tried for a bit of a mix with one thriller (even though it is on the ridiculous side at times), a drama and a musical (one of the best of its kind)

    The Skulls (2000)-Thinking it will help grease the wheels for his entrance into Harvard Law School Luke (Joshua Jackson) joins the secret fraternity at his college “The Skulls”. At first everything seems great but a series of disturbing incidents causes him to look for answers to the real purpose of the fraternity and suddenly he finds that his life might be in danger.

    Fraternity Row (1977)-College Freshman Zac (Gregory Harrison) pledges a prestigious fraternity despite his girlfriend’s feeling that they are antiquated and discriminatory. Objecting to the brutality of hazing Zac, joined by some of the other pledges, rebels but the fraternity’s leader turns a deaf ear to their complaints leading to a terrible calamity. Scott Newman who plays the head of the fraternity was the son of Paul and died of a drug overdose not long after completion of this film.

    Good News (1947)-It’s football season at good ol’ Tait College and Big Man On Campus Tommy Marlowe (Peter Lawford), the star quarterback, is torn between two sorority sisters, the gold digging Pat McClellan and wholesome, down to earth Connie Lane (June Allyson). Flirty Pat turns his head which causes him to treat Connie badly but when he flunks a test and may not be able to play the Big Game it’s Connie he turns to so that he can make the grade! Tuneful musical is an almost perfect example of MGM at its peak. The finale, The Varsity Drag and the earlier Pass That Peace Pipe, are studies in color coordination and dancing precision while remaining breezy delights

    Reply
    1. mettelray Avatar
      mettelray

      Again, completely unknown movies for me. Though they sound familiar.. I don’t know anymore.

      Reply
  4. Brittani Avatar
    Brittani

    Neighbors is an awesome choice! I remember that Greek TV show but I never watched it. I think it had the girl from that lonelygirl webseries on youtube in it.

    Reply
    1. mettelray Avatar
      mettelray

      I don’t know what the lonelygirl thing is, but Greek was great in its own way.

      Reply
  5. soniacerca Avatar
    soniacerca

    I love Dead Poets Society, but I wasn’t crazy about Neighbors. I agree with you though about what’s wrong with frats and that brotherhood part.

    Reply
    1. mettelray Avatar
      mettelray

      I think I am still a bit crazy about Neighbors, I think it’s my soft spot for Dave Franco that does that.

      Reply
  6. Wendell Avatar
    Wendell

    I love DPS and really like Neighbors. Never saw Geography Club, but it does sound really good.

    Reply
    1. mettelray Avatar
      mettelray

      Geography Club isn’t that great, but I still appreciate movies with such topics that aren’t present in many teen movies.

      Reply
  7. abbiosbiston Avatar
    abbiosbiston

    Have you seen Riot Club? It’s not brilliant but it certainly fits the bill and has some good performances.

    Reply
    1. mettelray Avatar
      mettelray

      The name rings a bell but I bet I’ve just seen it around, and not watched it. I’ll keep it in my mind though! There’s always room for recommendations there!

      Reply

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