Class [1983] [DVD]

Description

Product Description Rob Lowe ( Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me ), John Cusack ( Being John Malkovich ) and Andrew McCarthy ( St. Elmo's Fire ) make their feature film debuts in this hilarious, sexy mixture of "fantasy and farce" ( Boxoffice ). Co-starring Jacqueline Bisset ( Dangerous Beauty ) and filled with lusty coeds, "wild times [and] outrageous scenes" ( L.A. Movie Guide ), this mother of all teen comedies is "pure fantasy for boys of all ages" ( Boxoffice )! When wealthy prep-school senior Skip (Lowe) learns that his shy new roommate Jonathan (McCarthy) isa total loser at romance, he sends the aspiring young Romeo to the city to learn the ropesbeforehe ruins both their reputations. But when Jonathan is seduced by a sexy older woman named Ellen (Bisset), he begins a zany romantic miseducation that starts with a double major in lust and deceptionand ends with the uproarious discovery that not only is Ellen the woman of his dreams'she's also Skip's mom! .co.uk Review As rites-of-passage films featuring a young man's sexual initiation in the arms of a beautiful woman go, Class (1983) has plenty going for it, not least its attractive cast: Andrew McCarthy as Jonathan, Rob Lowe as Gatsby-ish best friend Skip and Jacqueline Bisset as the beautiful woman who is old enough to know better and just happens to be Skip's mother. Lewis John Carlino's film has moments of insight, taking a few well-aimed shots at the vaguely sinister network of American public school life. In the first reel it neatly subverts the bullying scenario that threatens when the geekish Jonathan arrives at the school, while offering the briefly intriguing sight of Lowe in scarlet bra and pants. And there's a subplot of deceit and complicity that both strengthens and threatens the friendship that rapidly forms between Skip and Jonathan. In many ways, though, the most interesting element of the picture--Skip's relationship with his dysfunctional family--is left unexplored. Jonathan's deflowering and subsequent interludes are merely titillating. And Bisset's Ellen, a desperately sad character, becomes superfluous once the revelation that she is the "teacher" sets the boys' friendship on the path to fraternal solidarity. On the DVD: Class is presented in widescreen anamorphic format and looks as good as its leading players, although the Dolby Digital mono soundtrack has odd moments of flatness that detract from the cinematic experience. Extras are limited to the cinema trailer that now looks like a red rag to the puritanical objectors who were appalled by the graphic scenes in which Jonathan loses his virginity to the predatory Ellen. --Piers Ford