User reviews

Though this movie was clearly designed to have mass-market teen appeal, it has a serious side that makes it stand out from other movies of the same type. The premise, a teenage boy's first sexual encounter turns out to be with his roommate's mother, is contrived to arouse curiosity among adolescents. Combine this with unsophisticated humor and flaunting of authority and you have the formula for a popular teen romp. But it seems that there is a movie with some sensitivity and drama trapped within this rather restrictive framework. The boy is torn between his friendship with his roommate and his relationship with his friend's mother. The woman is repressed and intimidated by her husband and finds a sense of freedom in this forbidden relationship which she can't seem to let go. The result is a movie that tries to be both a high school date movie of the week and an adult drama, landing somewhat awkwardly somewhere in the middle. It does have some laughs though and some before-they-were-famous appearances that might make it worth while.

Class is the story of a shy, clumsy, but very intelligent young man played by Andrew MaCarthy who transfers to an exclusive prep school for his senior year of high school. He comes from a working-class background and has more than a little trouble getting comfortable in his new surroundings. It doesn't help matters that he has to share a room with an obnoxious rich kid played by Rob Lowe. Throughout the film we see McCarthy learn lessons about love, academics, and friendship.

This is a very uneven film; often switching from comedy to heavy-handed mature themes almost on a dime. The comedy for the most part hits the mark. The dramatic elements are just not believable.

I have never seen a film go to so much trouble to humiliate its main character. Some of the things that happen to McCarthy are pretty funny, but others almost make you feel sorry for the poor kid. McCarthy is barely on campus for five minutes before Lowe convinces him to put on women's underwear and parade around in the commons area. McCarthy thinks it is some type of senior ritual that is done every year, but he soon finds out that only he is participating in it. Lowe then locks him out of their dorm and he is forced to climb in through a second story window with hundreds of other students taunting him. Now that is the type of thing that can scar for life! There are a few other scenes where McCarthy's humiliation continues. He journeys to a trendy bar in Chicago and is made a fool of twice in front of the whole place. In a show of sympathy, a rich older woman feels sorry for him and takes him to a motel and nails him. In what has to be one of the biggest contrivances in movie history, that woman turns out to be Lowe's unbalanced alcoholic mother! They screw around for a few weekends before she finds out he goes to her son's school and then promptly runs out on him. (That would be a hell of a thing to learn!) The film's biggest laugh comes from the scene directly after that one. In it, McCarthy is sitting in the rain at a bus stop waiting for Lowe to show up and give him a lift back to school. He couldn't be any more depressed until Lowe comes screeching up to the stop; sending a tidal wave of rain water cascading over the dejected McCarthy! McCarthy is depressed for quite a while after being dumped, but he is still unaware that the woman of his dreams was his best friend's mother. In a truly uncomfortable scene at their home during the Xmas holiday, they meet again. The film gets way too serious from that point on.

The only laughs in the last half hour stem from the investigation of stolen SAT tests on the campus by a nerdy bureaucrat from the state attorney general's office. In one hilarious scene, the students think the officer is there to bust them for drugs. We see about a hundred young men scurrying to the bathroom to flush all of their joints, pills, and whatnot. One guy even tries to flush an entire pot plant that's about six feet high! Towards the end, things get really serious. Lowe finally finds out his mother and McCarthy are screwing around. He knows McCarthy illegally bought an SAT test. Will he turn him in? Will the boys get into Harvard? What will become of Lowe's parents? What will become of McCarthy's dog? If you care enough to find out, give this film a chance. If nothing else, it has some very early performances by some people who went on to greater things. It was McCarthy's debut. Alan Ruck, John Cusak, Virginia Madsen (nice boob shot, by the way!), and several other recognizable faces are present.

6 of 10 stars.

So sayeth the Hound.

Brats brought me here. I say that because without the 2024 documentary about the Brat Pack I would never have heard of this movie and I grew up in the 80's.

On the face of it Class is one of those all too common fish out of water movies in which a working class kid ends up at a posh university, and has to deal with fitting in.

However although it is made clear there is a class discrepancy between the two main characters, it is never discussed at any point in the movie. What instead we have is yet another one of those teenage guy makes it with a hot older woman movie. This was a very common 80's trope. The complication in this movie is the relationship that this older woman has to the two male leads.

This is a solid 6 out of 10, its entertaining enough to keep watching but not that memorable. This is probably why this isn't mention in the same breath as Ferris Bueller or Risky Business. Despite the Brat Pack member cast. Indeed you will realise that none of the characters are particularly strong or well written. There is nothing particularly taxing about watching this, aside from a few cringe moments. Its maybe a good nostalgia movie if you have seen it when it was released but there isn't much here for a younger audience. This is the kind of movie you rented from the video library when all the other stuff was out, based on the movie poster being suggestive of some hot older woman action. It doesn't quite deliver on that but none of these movies did.

This movie - one of many early 1980's movies used as vehicles for the likes of Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Judd Nelson and Matt Dillon - conveys many distinct qualities, which countless teen films of late seemingly lack.

What is immediately evident, is the way in which the director skillfully juxtapses the moody atmosphere with the hilarious antics of the Ivy League school boys. Regarding this movie from the point of view of intertextuality, a number of other texts immediately spring to mind: 'The Graduate', 'Animal House' and J.D. Salinger's 'Catcher in the Rye'. Lowe (The Outsiders, Youngblood, Oxford Blues), and McCarthy (St. Elmo's Fire, Mannequin, Catholic Boys) turn out meritable performances: one being the typically egotistical teenager(Lowe), and the other(McCarthy)conveyed as the naive, withdrawn 'new boy'. Jacqueline Bisset is, as always, aptly cast as the sultry seductress who, with an overbearing husband (Cliff Robertson) and a subsequent case of neurosis, seeks contentment in the shape of a teenage boy. Other striking performances come from - at the time, unknown actors - John Cusack and Alan Ruck.

'Class' is dark and moody at times, and the direction and setting conveys this aspect of the film aptly: the fight between Skip(Lowe) and Jonathan(McCarthy) takes place in the woods outside the school on a cold, grey afternoon during the fall. In contrast to this, there is the bright lights and bustle of New York City, where Jonathan embarks on a mission to apparently gain his manhood and 'save face' with the other students(here, there is that connection with the students in 'Catcher in the Rye' taking weekend trips to New York and the character 'Ackley' who is always boastful of his conquests with women). The film further depicts the antics of the school boys; for example, the incident at the neighboring girls' school and Jonathan's initiation on his first day. 'Class', like 'Oxford Blues', 'Youngblood', 'The Breakfast Club', 'Catholic Boys' and 'St. Elmo's Fire', to name but a few, is the quintessential movie for teenagers; it has depth and feeling, as well as displaying good comical dialogue.

This film is simply 'Class'.

The naive and clumsy Jonathan (Andrew McCarthy) joins the prep school Vernon Academy expecting to go to Harvard. He befriends his wealthy roommate Skip (Rob Lowe) and soon he sends Jonathan to Chicago to lose his virginity. Jonathan meets the thirty and something years old Ellen (Jacqueline Bisset) and they have a love affair. Jonathan lies to her about where he studies and he falls in love with her. When they decide to travel to New York, Ellen accidentally discovers that Jonathan studies at the Vernon Academy and she vanishes. In the Christmas break, Skip invites Jonathan to spend the holiday with his family, and Jonathan has a huge surprise finding who Ellen is.

"Class" is a pleasant movie that begins very funny, with Andrew McCarthy, Rob Lowe, John Cusack and Virginia Madsen very young. Jacqueline Bisset is extremely beautiful and fits perfectly to the role of Ellen. Unfortunately the story is lost between comedy and drama with a disappointing conclusion. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Uma Questão de Classe" ("A Question of Class")

Hooking up with a much older woman has unforeseen consequences for a shy prep school student in this comedy featuring Jacqueline Bisset as the older woman in question. The film is well known nowadays for a twist regarding Bisset's identity, but curiously enough, this twist does not come about until nearly an hour into the movie. The film actually works better before the twist is revealed with the focus instead on the very real bond that develops between roommates Andrew McCarthy and Rob Lowe who connect over a mutual love for practical gags and dislike of authority figures. Their first two pranks are in fact arguably the film's biggest highlights (a meeting gone awry at a sister school aside). Getting back to the twist, the key disappointment is that it is not milked for very many laughs, an awkward dinner table conversation aside. The tone of the film in fact shifts in a jolting manner from comedy to drama. Also, Bisset's motives and in particular, her persistence to carry on with McCarthy, do not quite ring true. That said, it is otherwise a solid late career performance for the Golden Globe winning actress. McCarthy and especially a charismatic and charming young Lowe steal the show though, and even with the plot twist, the overall film is about them coming to accept their faults and differences on the pathway to getting an education in life, and while abrupt, the ending perfectly captures just how genuine their friendship is. It is also interesting to see John Cusack and Alan Ruck younger than ever before and Cliff Robertson is always good to have on hand.

A romantic teen comedy dealing with love and sexual experiences. Andrew Mcarthy plays Johnathan a shy introverted high school student who attends a posh all boys private school, his roommate Skip Played very well by Rob love is the sexually charged playboy who gets the both of them into a lot of trouble. When one night Johnathan is pressured By Skip and fellow peers to go out on the town and have a sexual encounter. After making a fool of himself at seedy bar Johnathan meets an older, vivacious woman by the name of Ellen and the two embark on a passionate night of lovemaking.

This film was, in many ways, one of the brat pack films, and starred many actors from that era who were just getting started in the industry. Not only are the... love scenes between Andrew and Jacqueline convincing, they are beautiful and moving. The rest of the film is also enjoyable to watch. If you enjoyed the era of the 1980's and older, beautiful, and sophisticated women characters, then you'll enjoy this hilarious, if not moving film.

Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

Uneven film at best, but does offer a nostalgic look at some of the pre-famous actors of the 1980's. Not a great plot, but one that will hold your interest due to the likeable characters involved. The ending is rather abrupt and makes one wonder if the director ran out of time, money, or both. Anyway, Ms Bisset is stunning in this role and very appealing. Enjoy!

Failed cross-pollination of "The Graduate" with any number of frat-house romps does have one thing going for it: Rob Lowe (pre-"St. Elmo's Fire") gives a loose, frenetic performance as a prep-school student whose unstable mother has a secret affair with Lowe's roommate. As he got older, Lowe tended to lean heavily on his male-model good looks, resulting in some posturing performances. This vehicle for him and newcomer Andrew McCarthy is doomed, however. It wants to be a T&A comedy, a sensitive tale of friendship, and a slightly naughty love story between an older woman and a younger man. The romance is unpleasant from the outset, with Jacqueline Bisset TOO convincing as 40-ish trollop with mental problems. Bisset is definitely in the spirit of the thing, but it's a distressing role for the classy actress, who every once in a while stepped into the gutter. The kids are convincingly callow, but their slapstick antics go over-the-top. Director Lewis Carlino seems to think he's giving us something original. "Class" was lambasted at the time for an 11th-hour decision to edit out most of the seriousness in favor of the jokes, but heavy drama has no place in this story. What we're left with is the buddy-buddy stuff and the R-rated gags, but those don't work either. *1/2 out of ****

It's not perfect but it's a lot better than it really has any right to be, considering the paper-thin plot. It's interesting to see now-famous actors who were just starting out, and there are some parts of this movie that are weirdly striking in just how damn funny they are - there's a scene about 3/4 of the way through the movie, where some unseen random nobody in a crowd does this shrill, mocking laugh and I burst out laughing every single time I think about it (yes, including just now).

It's a dumb 1980s sex-comedy but it might honestly and no exaggerating be close to the pinnacle of the genre. This movie isn't going to change your life or anything but it's really fun to watch.

Class is another one of those 80's sex comedies you've seen already during that era. For the most part, they have more focus on the sex than the comedy, and this movie's no different. What saves it, though, is that they're putting more time and effort into the comedy scenes with slapstick writing that plays out like a domino effect. The execution in those scenes also benefits from the fresh performances of upcoming actors that went on to become key heartthrobs in the biggest teen movies from the 80's, such as Rob Lowe and Andrew McCarthy (St. Elmo's Fire), as well as Alan Ruck (Ferris Bueller's Day Off) and John Cusack (Say Anything). There are even some deep moments too, which touch on maturing into adulthood and building trust within male friendships, especially when McCarthy's character has a sexual relationship with Lowe's mom. Does Class have any class? Not a lot, but with a clever narrative and solid performances, it's worthy of consideration.

Class made a ton of money back in the day with Brat Pack king Rob Lowe starring in another teen film about some oversexed adults and undersexed young men. In this case the undersexed one is Andrew McCarthy who gets some love lessons from Jacqueline Bisset who is also Lowe's mother. Which makes it all nice and cozy.

McCarthy is a young country kid who wins a scholarship to an exclusive boy's prep school which is mostly inhabited by to the manor born types like Lowe. In fact Lowe has the ultimate prep school name of Skip.

Around women McCarthy makes Inspector Clousseau look like Errol Flynn and Lowe gives him some fateful advice about trying to hook up at a certain bar on Rush Street in Chicago where there are lots of women who are as longing as he is. Unfortunately one of them happens to be his mother and that's who McCarthy does it with. Right in one of those glass elevators.

Class veers uncomfortably back and forth from comedy to drama without any warning. The values of the Reagan era are upheld here, especially by Cliff Robertson as solid a venture capitalist as you'll ever find and Lowe's father. He's treating his wife like another of his possessions like his mansion or his yacht and no wonder she's looking for love in all the wrong places.

As we see noted, a whole lot of people like Andrew McCarthy, John Cusack, Casey Siemaszko, Lolita Davidovitch, and Virginia Madsen all made their screen debuts. That is probably what Class will go down in movie annals for.

Okay, I must admit, it is difficult for me to remain entirely rational about this film, because it evokes sentimental memories. But I love this film, I love it, what can I say. For me it has everything, the ivy league ambience, the lovable-I-own-the-place-swagger of Rob Lowe, the appropriate witticisms, at the appropriate times read by a cast to kill for.

The film begins and ends with the "kids" in complete control, theres no PC screwing around either, all of the students do drugs, with most of the action taking place at a prep boarding school there's poker games and smoking after lights out. I tried to re-enact the John Cussack 'tip truck' smoking trick for almost a decade, in fact it was the prime reason I took up smoking in the first place.

The New Renaissance has been indicated by many social historians as the years 1982 to 1987 with the peak beginning with the opening night of the movie ET, and the end coinciding with the closing ceremony of the 1984 LA olympics. This film, having been made in 1983, stands as a virtual document to the affirmations and values of Western Culture at its peak. The scene of the triumphal holiday return of Rob Lowes character to his ancestral home is resplendant with a punk version of 'the little drummer boy', as he tears through New England countryside in his Porshe charger......breathtaking.

Nothing since the death of communism comes close to replicating the self confidence that shimmers off this film with the possible exception of "The Chocolate War". This film is not to be taken as a trite story but should be viewed in the light that reflects what it is, an artistic vision of the height of teen existence at the height of human existence, not too big a call I'm sure you'd agree.

Naive, shy Jonathan Ogner (Andrew McCarthy in his film debut) goes to prep school and rooms with "Skip" (Rob Lowe) a fun-loving guy. Skip encourages Jon to go out and have sex. Jon ends up accidentally picking up Skip's mother (Jacqueline Bisset) and starting an affair with her! This is one strange movie. It starts off with very crude humor--poor McCarthy is humiliated again and again. Then it switches to sex with McCarthy and Bisset (nothing is shown in the bedroom scenes) and THEN to drama when Jon discovers who she is and vice versa. Some of the humor is funny but it mixes uneasily with the drama and the movie is constantly switching gears. It's not a terrible movie--just wildly uneven.

It is worth catching for quite a few now well-known people in their film debuts (McCarthy, Virginia Madesen and John Cusack are a few) and some good moments here and there. The acting is actually pretty good too. Bisset gives a much better performance than this material deserves; McCarthy is a bit too somber (but this WAS his first movie) and Lowe is actually lots of fun and he's so young! Cliff Robertson pops up in a few scenes and also isn't bad.

So not a great movie by any means but worth catching just for the cast.

Jonathan (Andrew McCarthy) comes from a working class family. He gets a scholarship to a prep school rooming with the rich Skip (Rob Lowe). Skip immediately plays a prank on Jonathan which he returns in spectacular fashion. They become fast friends. Coincentantal events would conspire for Jonathan to have an affair with Skip's mother Ellen (Jacqueline Bisset). They would realize their connection when Jonathan joins Skip back home for Christmas break.

The movie starts off as a pretty funny sex romp with some memorable pranks. The meeting between Jonathan and Skip's mother is beyond low probability, but it's not a big deal. I think the problem is that Jacqueline Bisset never fully committed or the writing never allowed her to. She's a rich housewife who has an affair. She could have been funnier as a raunchy cougar. When the affair was found out, the drama gets drained out of the movie. It's as if the writers couldn't figure out how to ramp up the drama. It fizzled out rather than exploded.

Watch out for John Cusack, and Alan Ruck as two of the school friends. Also Virginia Madsen appears in her first movie and promptly shows her boob. It was a bit of misdirection because this isn't really a sex romp as much as advertised.

Three contrived "products" foisted on an unsuspected and ultimately unwilling American public. Some Hollywood exec in the 80s snorted so much cocaine he actually believed that McCarthy, a sniveling, rodent-faced nonentity, had star potential so they stuck the cipher in a series of unfunny sex comedies throughout the decade. In "Class," no-talent pretty boy Rob Lowe teams up with no-talent ugly boy McCarthy to embarrass poor Jacqueline Bisset. Ms Bisset, as Lowe's mother and the only interesting character in the entire film, looks as ravishing as ever, even as she strains under the effort of pretending Andrew McCarthy is sexy.

The plot, such as it is, reflects the 80s fascination with inherited wealth: middle-class McCarthy winds up at a prep school full of studdly preppies like Lowe, who are actually poor little rich boys (see? There's no point in envying the wealthy because money isn't everything!). A series of plot machinations throw McCarthy into a glass elevator with Bisset, where they have sex. (Warning: there are multiple shots of an unclothed McCarthy in this film. Not recommended for the faint of heart.) The movie's real dead point is the leaden sequence when Lowe brings little Andrew home with him, where our hero discovers that he's been . . . big fat shocker . . . bonking his roommate's mother! The bigger shock is that Bisset is a drunken (and apparently nearsighted) nymphomaniac who deserves more sympathetic treatment and better co-stars than she gets from this movie. The one semi-saving grace of this movie is that it's blessedly free from drawn-out confrontations. Perhaps they filmmakers realized their young stars had absolutely no capacity for dialogue (or they couldn't hire enough cue-card holders) so they kept the major plot changes brief: during a morning horseback ride, McCarthy asks Bisset: "how are you?" "Get out of my house," she sneers. Lowe is unhappy at home, so instead of spouting some monologue about his pain and alienation that would exhaust his meager abilities, he just sort of takes McCarthy onto a lake in a rowboat and puts on his poutiest face. "Class" managed to destroy Jacqueline Bisset's career, but unfortunately we were stuck with five more years of McCarthy until "Less Than Zero" finally killed him off. (Like a cockroach, Lowe survives.)

How can you make a movie that tries to be half-comedy, half-romance, half-moral issues and half-teen exploitation?

That's four halves, I know. But none of them add up to a whole picture.

In "Class", the movie forgets what it's doing in some parts then just ventures off into another venue where it spends a few minutes before tiring and trying something else: it's fidgety.

The cast is good (take note - Rob Lowe and Andrew McCarthy actually turn in performances!) and there are a few effective moments (mostly comedy, weighed in at the beginning of the film), but once the business of the affair with Bissett begins, it gropes and falters its way to a pretty flimsy wrap-up-all-the-loose-ends conclusion.

I don't get it: if you're gonna make a comedy, fine. This is the kind of plot that cries out for someone like maybe Russ Meyer (imagine the possibilities!) or even the ZAZ (Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker) boys to tackle. But no: such points as cheating on college exams and infidelity and mental illness are shoe-horned into a movie that is supposed to be a comedy...and played straight, to boot!

Guys, you wimped out. Next time, do a movie like this with, say, Bluto Blutarsky in the McCarthy part...THEN you'll have a movie!

Two stars, mostly for the gags. The rest is likely to make you gag.

this movie is worth to see Andrew McCarthy and Rob Lowe. i mean the movie is of course fun ,but yeah pretty uneven . well anyway i love Andrew and Rob in this movie looks pretty hot . and there also john Cusack and other which is cool enough . and Andrew did th scene with Jacqueline on elevator pretty fine , Jacqueline looks very nice in this movie too . and those star are doing very well in those dramatic scenes , funny scenes. the costume is okay not that old and perfectly for the movie . well this is worth for whom that loves brat pack star movie ( such as i am ) . especially the fans of Rob or Andrew shouldn't' t missed this 1 i recommend it !

Watching Class in 2024 for the first time is quite an experience, since the now middle-aged Brat Packers were so young and appearing in their first major roles.

The story of an inhibited student and his more experienced roommate may be quite trivial, but in this case Lowe (Skip) and McCarthy (Jonathan) develop a believable relationship and I almost wish that the plot didn't stray as far as reaching Skip's mum.

Jacqueline Bisset was amazingly looking as Ellen, Skip's mother, an unhappy, alcoholic married woman who gets the hots for a teenager. Opinions differ as far as her performance is concerned, with some calling it nuanced and believable, while to me she seemed slightly deranged, over the top and hardly believable as someone madly attracted to Jonathan.

McCarthy was certainly not the hottest "brat". If Lowe had played his part, I would have bought Ellen falling for him.

The strongest scenes of the movies are with Jonathan and Skip "working" on their friendship and being consistently believable at it, while everything that had to do with Ellen seemed forced, especially her persistence in calling Jonathan, even after all the cards were on the table.

Still, lots of eye candy for a forgettable film.