User reviews

Malibu at sunset, Venice Beach, electric yellow radio headphones, "Cool Dude" sunglasses in a box, SHOOP on the chalkboard with two googly eyes / eyes poked through with #2 pencils, pregnant teenager in a onesie, surfer sarongs, Hawaiian shirts, a severed dolly head doggy toy, kissing in the surf, roller skates in jail, fresh safety pin through the ear, the principal's plaid blazer, Kirstie Alley's pumps and bottom swinging in pink, a cuffed severed-hand alarm clock, a drive-through photo developer, an Italian exchange student in a bikini, Mark Harmon's baby blues, a busted convertible and a driving test, dyslexia, tattered textbooks, mom's $5 in her son's g-string, fireworks on the couch, fish oven mitts, bubble sheets, Lamaze, leis, the football field in summer, the school hallways in summer, the lockers in summer, "there's no place like home."

When the summer vacation comes, the gym teacher Freddy Shoop (Mark Harmon) is ready to travel to Hawaii with his girlfriend. However, he assigned by Vice Principal Phil Gills (Robin Thomas) to give English classes in summer to undisciplined and mediocre high-school students. When Phil promises to fire Freddy unless his students pass the test, he agrees to grant a wish from each student if they study the English lessons he prepares with the support of the history teacher Ms. Robin Elizabeth Bishop (Kirstie Alley).

"Summer School" is a funny and entertaining comedy from the 80´s and underrated by professional critics. This movie certainly would never be an Oscar nominated but it is hilarious and makes the viewer laugh. Mark Harmon´s procedures and deal with the class is very funny and Kirstie Alley and Courtney Thorne-Smith very beautiful. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Curso de Verão" ("Summer School")

This is not a great movie and it got bad reviews, but it stays in the movie rotations of many television stations. Why? Because it is funny. Just watch it and enjoy. It is really aimed at young teens and they will probably like it best.

This movie is truly a blast from the past. The characters are funny and the plot is very interesting. Personally, the best character's are Dave and Chainsaw due to their "laid back" attitudes in the film. Mark Harmon also does a good job in his role. The movie is in the mid 80's but thats what makes it so interesting.If you have not seen the movie... go rent it, you just might enjoy it. Two thumbs wayyy up.

Seriously. Today's comedy is pure crap. This movie is long lost gem I tell you. It might not be a very good movie, but it's not meant to be. It meant to be funny and that's exactly what it gives - lot of funny moments.

Characters are likable, with two horror fanatics Chainsaw and Dave being the funniest of them all. Things they do and say in this movie are nuts. You can actually find a now-(in)famous names in this movie, then unknown.

If you are a horror\comedy fun, check this one out for sure since this movie gives some tribute to Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, since we are talking about characters who looooves horror and are experts in FX make up.

This movie is OK for a family watch or watching with lot of friends\girlfriend. Its one of my favorite B comedies of all time.

After reading through the reviews on here to date, there's not a single bad one !

NO! WAY! Party all-the-time! Party all-the-time!

This film really is as cool as everyone says. Dated 80's stuff doesn't get in the way of great characters and sharp wit. If you've not seen it yet, rent it & marvel at the goriest sequence in a high school comedy ever - these people are PSYCHOPATHS !

Particular favs of mine are the 'I don't know anything' dream gag, the Rick Baker essay sequence and the 'War puts a man through many, many changes' gag from Dave. Top stuff.

9/10

While John Hughes seems to have the monopoly on 80s teen comedies, anyone who loved Ferris Bueller etc... should check out this Carl Reiner masterpiece. Great writing, flawless direction and perfect performances from the lead roles help this film portray summer, school, (as you could guess from the title)and teenage rebellion with charm and wit. Mark Harman is widely considered to have made his name on his looks, but the performance he gives in Summer School is one of a comedy master, with subtle hints of a father figure who never grew up himself. A timeless feel-good classic.

two thumbs up.

Spencer Tracy was once asked what he looked for in a movie script and he answered 'days off'. Gym teacher Mark Harmon had the same attitude toward teaching, summers free. But when director Carl Reiner wins a lottery he who was stuck with teaching remedial English he says goodbye to the profession and this southern California high school needs a Summer School teacher.

And it's Harmon who lands the assignment because he still hasn't got his tenure and because he wasn't fast enough out of the parking lot. It's unanimous that these underachieving kids as well as the teacher don't want to be in class for July and August.

Stuck with it they are though. These kids are quite the collection, ranging from a pair of brain dead fans of slasher flicks, to a pregnant girl, to a kid who sleeps all day in class, to an athlete who thinks football is all there is in life. There's even a foreign exchange student from Italy who just wants to improve her English a bit before regular school starts.

School psychologist Kirstie Alley is there who Vice Principal Robin Thomas is putting the moves on. He's also the one who stuck Harmon in Summer School. As Alley shows more interest in Harmon he looks to sabotage him.

It wouldn't seem possible, but Harmon actually learns to care for his charges and is genuinely interested in them improving their literacy skills.

Although this film is a comedy it also has a subtle message against illiteracy. I was once involved with someone who was unable to read beyond a second grade level and he faked getting by in his short life. It's a terrible prison the mind is put in.

I have to say that Dean Cameron and Gary Riley who seem to be a harbinger of Bill&Ted were quite funny as the lunkheads who like slasher flicks. The greatest film ever made according to them is The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Harmon shows it in class to get their attention.

Summer School is an enjoyable view by a comedy master Carl Reiner.

This has to be the funniest film I have ever seen - no matter how many times I watch it I still laugh in all the same places. I love all the characters, but especially Freddy who has the right mix of cheese and charm and slobiness with a heart of gold and dashing good looks. And I love his dog too. He's soooo cute. Chainsaw and Dave are inspired, especially the scene where they turn the classroom into a horror scene, and their faces when the exchange student doesn't quite remove her bikini top. The only criticism I have is that at the beginning of summer the class is about twice the size, but mysteriously shinks until the exam at the end, and oh yes, it should have been twice as long. I really hope it gets released on DVD at some point.

I'm not a big fan of comedies, or romances, or, romantic comedies. But I had a chance to catch this on television last weekend, and I enjoyed it as much as when I first saw it.

Yes, it was utterly predictable (which is why I usually don't watch romantic comedies). But it had something that so many comedies, particularly the newer ones, don't -- heart -- what with how the main character (the under-rated Mark Harmon) and his students helped each other grow up. And it was clever and funny without being dirty or vulgar -- it has not a smidgen of the potty humor that infects more recent offerings. And there was no sex, but it showed a young single pregnant girl making the mature choice to have her baby adopted. If you like this movie, or this kind of movie, try also the original Meatballs, a similar story with the fabulous Bill Murray in the lead.

Being directed by Carl Reiner does not always mean an automatic hit. This is a typical high school flick with the usual teacher(Mark Harmon)that does not want to be there. Add in the misfit students that damn sure don't want to be in summer school. Somehow the "teach" hones in on the right wave length and actually gets the students to learn. Of course there has to be a love interest and it is Kirstie Alley looking probably her best. Goofy and off beat. No great shakes. Also in the cast are Robin Thomas, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Dean Cameron and the hot Shawnee Smith.

"Summer School" is a prime example of a film that over-achieves. It appears to be a typical teen comedy, but its screenplay is so smart that it is hard dislike. Carl Reiner's direction is substantial as he never tries to make the film more than it is. Mark Harmon does some of the best work of his ho-hum career as a high school physical education instructor who must teach a group of lazy students who all have more personality than brains. Kirstie Alley stars as the next-door teacher who teaches Harmon a few things about education. All of the students have their moments as well. However, it is Dean Cameron as "Chainsaw" who steals every scene and makes the film fun throughout. A strange over-achiever. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

This is one of those movies; If you're looking for intelligence or an Oscar worthy movie, forget it; With this movie, you won't get it. However, if you're looking for a movie where you're looking to be entertained, and laugh out loud, you've found it in this movie.

The characters were a "mixed bag" of people from the jock who got kicked off the football team; The pregnant girl; The boy whose hormones are in overdrive; The suffer girl and of course "Chainsaw" and Dave; the 2 borderline psychos with warped minds, sense of humor and they love the move, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (they were my favorites). They all flunked the English skills test and have the opportunity to retake it, but they have to take a remedial English class in summer school. And then there's Freddie Shoop; The gym teacher looking for tenure, and is forced to teach these kids.

What makes this movie funny, is Freddie Shoop (in addition of the above mentioned), gets in trouble with the school's Vice Principal, when he took his students on "Field trips" to the beach, the petting zoo, amusement parks (to name a few places). So he makes a deal with the Vice Principal; To have them all pass the English skills test; So he will be granted tenure and not be fired, while making a deal with the students; So they will study and pass as well. All this while trying to win the love and affection of a fellow summer school teacher.

What makes this movie interesting now, is this movie has 7 actors who have moved on to bigger and better things. Besides the obvious, (Mark Harmon), there's Kirsty Alley, in her Pre "Cheers" days. Then there's Patrick Labyorteaux (Bud from "Jag"), Ken Oldnt, Cortney Thorne-Smith, of "Melrose Place" and "Ally McBeal" fame and "According to Jim", Shawnee Smith (Linda, From "Becker")and Richard Steven Horovitz whose done many voice characterizations for various Saturday morning cartoons.

Great Movie. I bought this years ago for my video library and will purchase the DVD soon.

Summer School (1987) was one of the many high school teen movies that were revived during the 80's. Unlike most of them this wasn't as exploitive or filled with gratuitous nudity or really foul language. The movie has become a cable t.v. staple and found an audience on video as well.

The movie follows a bunch of misfits who failed to pass a basic high school English equivalence test. A gym coach (Mark Harmon) is given the unwanted assignment of teaching English over the summer. The cast is filled with several stars of the 80's (Dean Cameron, Kristy Alley, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Kelly Jo Minter and Shawnee Smith to name a few).

Not a classic by any means but a fun time killer and you'll be entertained. Be careful about watching it on broadcast t.v. because the foul language is looped badly.

Recommended.

Who doesn't love Mark Harmon?

Just a fun over the top summer beach romp. The 80s were full of these kind of silly but fun movies. Good times for sure.

I am not the type to say I wish I was back in school, but I sometimes to wish I was alive and in school in the 80's just to see how close it is to the movies of that time.

Also props to the horror effects done in this comedy.

I watched this film again for the first time in many years, and what I thought was funny then, I still think is funny now. I expected to be slightly embarrassed and disappointed with it, but the years haven't taken away what made the film so appealing to me as a teenager - it has a witty, quotable script, the comic acting from all the cast is excellent and it has a real heart. It's not a great surprise to see it was directed by a comic master - Carl Reiner (responsible for all of Steve Martin's best films) he directs it a perfect pace and tone. It's not high art and he knows it, so he just has a ball with his cast. It reminds me in many ways of the first Police Academy - silly, good-natured and extremely funny.

Mark Harmon is totally charming and is so at ease in this film it's impossible not to be taken along by him with a grin on your face. All the students do a great job - Dean Cameron as Chainsaw is hilarious and who would have thought the sexy little blond playing Pam would grow up to be so scarily square-jawed as Georgia in TV's 'Ally McBeal'. What I really love are the small details that raise this film out of the usual 'drop-out high school' comedies. The horror fixation of Chainsaw and Dave is brilliant and produces one of the most memorable scenes in 80s comedy. Finally, and most importantly, Wondermutt is one of the all-time great screen dogs. The return of Bob is daft feel-good genius. If you haven't already, see this film, and if you have, see it again!

This is a really silly teen movie, where all the teens are well into their twenties, as usual for Hollywood. I guess it was trying to hitch a ride on the success of "The Breakfast Club" two years earlier, but it lacks that cult classic's poignancy and dark humor. This one, about a gym teacher shanghaied into teaching remedial English instead of going to Hawaii, has its amusing moments, but basically is entirely predictable, and the characters are so shallow it's hard to care what happens to them, even for an hour and a half. I doubt that Phys Ed teachers, who have to graduate from college just like every other teacher, and who've always seemed to me like a decent bunch of people, would much appreciate the implication that they are all dummies. Oh well... For all you J.A.G. fans, you get to see Patrick Labyorteaux a decade before he became Bud Roberts.

Summer School is one of those movies where everything clicks, good story, good characters and tons of situations that just are down right hilarious. Can't ask for more then that in a comedy can you? While not a very memorable movie, I still think this was very well done and if you ever get a chance to see it, whether it be on television or a last minute rental from your movie store, you won't regret it.

Don't get me wrong. I think that this is a funny and amusing movie. I've seen it several times over the years. The major thing that bothers me though is at the beginning of the movie when the summer school class is first assembled, there are nearly 25-30 students in the classroom. In other words the class is almost full. Where did all the students go? When the "favors" are being passed out for the students to study, the number of students is greatly reduced. There are maybe 10 people that take the final tests.--Not counting the guy that went to the bathroom for six weeks. I looked over other reviews and nobody seems to notice the absence of the people that were there at the beginning of the movie. Also, no mention is made in the movie as to where the others went. I like the movie and think that it is a joy to watch but that's an observation that I notice every time I watch it.

80s Beach flick. My issue with it is that they literally show the ending to Texas Chainsaw massacre. Why? They spoiled the freaking movie! Just lazy film work if you ask me.