Private School - Die Superanmacher

This was one I enjoyed in High School (and College) to see some T&A. Phoebe Cates plays Christine Ramsey, Matthew Modine plays Jim. He loves Chris, and Chris loves him. Enter Jordan Lee Jensen, played by Betsy Russell. She has the hots for Jim so she tries to break them up. In the meantime, you have plenty of T&A as Bubba tries to score and ends up in the girls shower. Sure, the plot is thin, the humor is thin, but Betsy Russell is so HOT! Probably the best scene is Russell riding topless on a horse. Even clothed this woman begs the male eye to revel and take in every inch of her skin. It's not Fast Times at Ridgemont High (also starring Cates) or The Breakfast Club--but Private School for Girls got me through those years when I wanted to see a lot of T&A. It is finally on DVD (much to the chagrin of Phoebe Cates), fully restored and in letterbox format to make the shower scene all the more pleasurable. It was about time, considering that lame movies like Night Patrol, Night of the Living Dead II and the Party Animal being put on DVD. In any case, I am truly sorry, Phoebe. However, the fans demanded it and Universal finally responded.

While a lot of the reviewers for this movie don't seem to like it, I seem to be in the minority. This movie for me has always ranked up there with other great '80s teen flicks like "Making the Grade", "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", "Sixteen Candles" and so on. The storyline is light, and there is a lot of bawdy humour, but the cast is what makes this movie. Everything from Betsy Russell riding horseback topless, to the 'mooning' at the end give this movie it's charm. I was surprised to see it still on video, and it's a treasured addition to my movie collection.

Rent this movie for the shower scene, you'll love it (though not as good as the one in "Hellhole"). Voyeurism is rampant in this flick... I loved Betsy Russell's character the most. A very funny movie and definitely worth spending $$ on.

Although "Private School" may be a little slim on story, that won't matter to fans of the genre. Typically, we don't watch this sort of thing for the story. But the main plot points involve Christine (an adorable Phoebe Cates), a nice gal at a girls' school, who is in love with nice guy Jim (Matthew Modine), who goes to a boys' boarding school nearby. She's just about ready to go all the way with Jim, but competing with her for his affections is Jordan (the delectable Betsy Russell), her stuck-up antagonist. Set pieces are derived from the attempts by Jim's sex-crazed friends to ogle as many of the fine female students as possible.

Director Noel Black and his writers (Dan Greenburg, who'd previously written "Private Lessons", and Suzanne O'Malley), truly let out all the stops, in this scenario in which even distinguished veteran actors have sex on the brain. In fact, the movie has such a high energy level that it's almost TOO much at times. It just moves right along, generating some chuckles and plenty of titillation. Viewers will be very pleased to note that the attractive female cast is disrobed at any and every opportunity. And yet, there *is* an appealing romance between Christine and Jim to give the shenanigans some real heart. The gags come fast and furious, with Jim and his incredibly horny buddy Bubba (Michael Zorek) and pal Roy (Jonathan Prince) dressing in drag (that classic comedy trope) in order to infiltrate the girls' school.

The cast is enthusiastic and full of familiar faces: Kathleen Wilhoite (as Christine's best friend Betsy), Fran Ryan (as the headmistress), Ray Walston (as a goofy chauffeur), Frances Bay (as a high society woman), sensual cult icon Sylvia Kristel (as the sex education teacher), Richard Stahl (as a drunken, lecherous father), etc. Martin Mull has a hilarious, unbilled cameo as a drugstore clerk; Paula Abdul did the choreography and has a bit as a cheerleader. Russell is irresistible as the "bad girl" (people will love her topless ride on a horse), while Cates displays a winning personality (and sings some of the songs on the soundtrack). Zorek plays such a sleazy sex fiend that he pretty much devours every scene in which he appears.

Good fun, for any fan of this genre, guaranteed to make the audience feel happy and horny.

Seven out of 10.

And I mean butts. Three of the best rears to grace the movies are shown in this one. Betsy Russell, Brinke Stevens, and Phoebe Cates (hers may have been a body double--but it looked like I had always imagined Phoebe's would look like) show us the goods, and they are good!

There are also some funny gags that not only the boys play on the girls, but also the girls play on each other and on the school faculty.

All the "established" actors are doing their best to drag this movie out of the muck and they just barely do it. (If you want to see how bad teen sex movies can get, just watch "ScrewBalls" and you will see that this movie is really a cut above)

Overall a pretty good "Animal House" rip-off that works much better.