After one too many run ins with the law, a punk teenager from a working class background is sent to prep school by his frustrated dad, and learns a thing or two.After one too many run ins with the law, a punk teenager from a working class background is sent to prep school by his frustrated dad, and learns a thing or two.After one too many run ins with the law, a punk teenager from a working class background is sent to prep school by his frustrated dad, and learns a thing or two.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
- Tommy the Wire
- (as Adam Lavorgna)
- Mr. Funderburk
- (as Tim Crowe)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFilmed at the University of Rhode Island Kingston campus.
- GoofsIn Dunph's first day of school, he is in a math class where the teacher calls on him to solve a problem. The problem is written on the blackboard behind him. Later on in the film, what should be months have passed, and back in the classroom, the blackboard remains completely unchanged.
- Quotes
[last lines]
Old Man Dunphy: So, Dildo, whatever happened to that girlfriend of yours?
Timothy Dunphy: She's goin' to Brown University next year.
Old Man Dunphy: Brown University? They got one of those in Providence, you know.
Timothy Dunphy: There's only one, pop.
Old Man Dunphy: [laughs] You hot shit. How do you think she's gonna like ridin' around Providence in this shitbox?
Jackie Dunphy: She's gonna be Mrs. Dildo!
Timothy Dunphy, Old Man Dunphy: Shut up, you little hard-on.
- Alternate versionsThe video version features an alternate ending which was cut from the final print. The ending, which takes place after the graduation conmencement, features Jane Weston and Jackie Dunphy instead of Mr. Dunphy and Jackie meeting Tim outside the auditorum where she thanks him for helping her get into Brown University. They kiss which is interupted by Mr. Funderberk who yells at them for making a public scene and Tim responds by punching Mr. Funderberk in the face, to the delight of his friends standing nearby. Tim and Jane stroll off, pushing Jackie in his wheelchair, as Tim contemplates his future.
- ConnectionsFeatures The Odd Couple (1970)
- SoundtracksWon't Get Fooled Again
Written by Pete Townshend
Performed by The Who
Courtesy of MCA Records/Polydor Limited
Under License from Universal Music Special Markets
Shawn Hatosy was Tim Dunphy - the kid who gets sent off to this school. We find out early on that he has a troubled home life, loyally devoted to his wheelchair bound little brother Jackie (Tommy Bone) but with a distant relationship with his father, who's played by Baldwin, and who seems to have time to do little else but play poker with his buddies. (As an aside, dad's "buddies" are played by a pretty decent cast of actors, including George Wendt and Richard Jenkins.) For much of the movie we know nothing about Tim's mother, except that she isn't there. When her absence finally gets explained, it resolves some of the issues about what's going on between Tim and his dad, and perhaps explains his dad's emotional emptiness.
The prep school part of the story is also more interesting than expected at first glance. There's some "teen cliché" stuff going on, but really less than I expected. Yes, as I noted, there's a lot of weed smoked over the course of an hour and a half, and there's the requisite "evil" adult character, in this case represented by My. Funderburk, played by Timothy Crowe, but even Funderburke (while a bit ridiculous at times) is less over the top than most similar characters in teen movies. As I said, there's neither sex nor nudity in this, but there is a surprisingly well portrayed romance between Tim and Jane (played by Amy Smart) - a girl from the right side of the tracks. It's one of those unlikely and somewhat unbelievable romances that nevertheless worked in this case, and I thought that Hatosy and Smart were good together. Ultimately, of course, what hijinks there were at the school leads to problems, and Tim has to decide whether to take responsibility for his actions or not, and the revelation of why Tim's mother is absent even leads ultimately to a sort of warming in the relationship between Tim and his dad.
This actually turns out to be a much more interesting movie than one might anticipate. In fact, although it's set in a prep school and is at times humorous, I wouldn't really call this a teen comedy at all. It's got too much going on for that; it raises too many issues to be dismissed as just that. It's surprisingly well done. (7/10)
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $7,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $7,302,522
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,631,411
- Sep 5, 1999
- Gross worldwide
- $7,302,522
- Runtime1 hour 36 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1