Animal House still Big On Campus

Before Jason Biggs made it so people could never look at an apple pie the same way again in American Pie. Before Will Ferrell made heavy drinking while simultaneously streaking naked down the street funny again in 2003’s Old School. Before these modern-day college favorites was 1978’s ultimate frat boy classic National Lampoon’s Animal House.

Staring the legendary John Belushi as the sloppy, Jack Daniels-totting “Bluto” and Tim Matheson as the smooth-talking and flirtatious “Otter,” Animal House highlighted the crude and crazy lifestyles of the boys of Delta Tau Chi outside of the college classroom. With its crude humor (Otter pretends that a recently deceased college girl is his fiancé in order to get gullible sorority sisters to go out with him and his friends) and pure laugh-out-loud fun (Bluto pretends he’s popping a zit with his mouth, spewing chewed up food everywhere and causing mass hysteria in the cafeteria) Animal House makes for a classic that the college kids of today and the alumni of yesterday can both enjoy.

Directed by John Landis, Animal House received mixed reviews upon its first release in theaters, but over time has grown to become an American comedy icon, grossing over $141 million including video and DVD purchases. No matter how many times one watches this film, withholding smiles and laughs is simply impossible. Belushi makes for the perfect degenerate college kid, drinking and eating his days away instead of going to class, resulting in a 0.0 GPA. Stephen Furst makes for great fresh meat as “Flounder,” the stereotypical freshman and fraternity pledge, trying to please everyone while making a complete fool of himself in the process. The closing scene, where the whole fraternity crashes the annual homecoming parade, makes one want to get up and cheer for the underdog good guys who get the last laugh in the end. Who would not want to seek revenge on the town and school board after Bluto’s impassioned speech, where he proclaims, “Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?! Hell No!” What makes this comedy come full circle in the end is learning that each “bad seed” in Delta Tau hits it big later in life, with Bluto becoming a US Senator and Otter becoming a successful gynecologist in Beverly Hills.

Animal House has made it on the New York Times’ The 1000 Best Movies Ever Made and Bravo’s 100 Funniest Movies. With its wacky cast and its vile yet hilarious humor, Animal House remains a favorite among college campuses nationwide, with the Delta toga party theme still in full force.