Up the Creek (1984)

Early-1980s T&A humor at it's best (or worst).Okay, this is one of my guilty pleasures. This is definitely NOT deserving of my ranking of 9 out of 10 in the grand scheme of things. This is stupid, moronic, stereotypical, razor-thin plot,... basically every negative the actual movie critics use to crucify this movie is correct. The difference --- I LOVE IT!!! There are times in life where you just gotta throw out all the proper movie rules and just live vicariously through silly, dopey characters on-screen. The characters are funny, the settings are beautiful, the women are lovely, the dog is smarter than his masters... I could go on. There is no reasoning other than to say this movie always makes me feel good when I watch it. That's all I ask of this silliness.The story of four college dimwits blackmailed into representing the worst university in the America in a collegiate raft race against Ivy Academy, the Military Institute, etc... Basically, tiny David against the bleach-blonde, well-funded and egotistical Goliaths of the early-1980s. The poster when it came out called this "Animal House on the river". They aren't far off. They even employed two "Animal House" alums - Tim Matheson and Stephen Furth (Otter and Flounder). It's a raunchy, silly comedy where the raft race takes the background to the drinking, partying, and girl-chasing so prevalent in this generation of college party movies.I used to recommend this movie to college guys back in the late-80s/early-90s at the video store knowing they'd be drinking and laughing through the entire thing. This movie was designed for people who were not using their brain cells. It's just a fun movie with very little plot to follow. Grab your beer, sit back, and let loose. If you're watching this movie for any other reason than listed above, you'll be disappointed. VERY similar to "Strange Brew" and their awesome followers. It's a blast!! I bought this movie a few years ago on DVD when I found out it was available. Thank goodness since I'd already worn out two VHS copies over the years. Now, it has JUST been released on BluRay. I'm waiting for my copy in the mail. I do understand there is a new retrospective on the BluRay with some of the cast and casting director. That alone is worth the price. If you love silly, stupid, early-80s T&A films with zero plot and just a fun ride, this is one of the best of that generation.As a "real" movie, this can't rank more than a 3 or 4 (maybe a 5 simply because of the well-known cast). But as one of my favorite movies of all-time (no kidding!), I'd rank this a 9 out of 10. Now if Chuck the Dog SPOKE his lines instead of using charades, we'd be talking a 10 out of 10. I mean a line has to be drawn somewhere. :-)

What can I say?Good music. Cheesy acting. Silly script.This has to be one of the best Animal House Rip-Offs...and I don't mean that as an insult.Even by today's standards the movie has pretty good pacing and an awesome soundtrack. The movie has enough gags and comedy that will definitely not disappoint anyone who is a 80's movie junkie. As like other reviewers, I am just amazed more people don;t know about this film. Check out the YouTube video of Up the Creek by Cheap Trick to whet your appetite.What a great flick!

Tim Matheson is in rare form here. His cocky, brash, and free-spirited attitude keeps a smile on your face the whole time he's on screen.One of my favorite parts is when Tim is jumped in the parking lot outside of the bar. He's knocked out when his friends find him. They try to get him to come to, but then he starts swinging punches and knocks the crap out of one of his friends. When he gets his wits about him he says,"they got you to"? :) Hard to pick one moment because this film delivers laughs for 90 straight minutes. It's well-written, and well-acted for the genre.The soundtrack is great; out-dated but fantastic. This movie doesn't shy away from what it is... an 80's 'B' 'Boob-comedy' as I like to call them. This is one of the best - maybe THE best. Maybe not as nostalgic as Porky's or Animal House, but it's still at that level on the comedy meter.Never a dull moment. The fun runs like the river, and you'll be hooked from the opening sequence. A true cult-classic that deserves another viewing if it's been a while, and if you're a comedy fan whose put off finding this little gem - shame on you.HIGHLY recommended goof-ball comedy. 84/100One of the most sought-after out-of-print VHS to never get a DVD release. These VHS tapes(in good shape) can go for $25-$50.

Up the Creek (1984) ** (out of 4)Tim Matheson, Dan Monahan, Stephen Furst and Sandy Helberg are the four dumbest students at an overly dumb college. One day the four are brought together by the Dean and offered free Majors if they compete in a white water rafting contest and win it. Soon the four rejects are doing battle against a bunch of preps.Some people say that the films from the 80s are some of the rudest and dumbest of any decade in history. With horror films you had mindless slashers and with comedies the teen sex sub-genre was one of the biggest. Both genres seemed to have new films coming out weekly and if you're a fan of those genres then you know there are some great titles as well as some really bad ones. UP THE CREEK was rather smart as it got cast members from both NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE and PORKY'S and brought them together.So, if the film a winner? I'd say no. I'm not sure what it is but to me this is one of the unfunniest comedies to come out of the teen sex genre. I'm not going to say this is an awful movie because it's slightly entertaining but I've always been shocked at how it held my attention despite containing very few laughs. Whereas most sex comedies went for outrageous and dirty jokes that's not what UP THE CREEK does. While there is some nudity the majority of the film goes for really stupid laughs with a lot of them aimed at a military school who are constantly trying to destroy things.None of that stuff is overly funny and the film really drags in spots. Again, the lack of any real laughs really hurts things. The casting of the four dummies is quite good, although all of them are playing the type of roles you'd expect. Matheson is the good looking guy constantly looking out for women. This of course is the same role he did in ANIMAL HOUSE. Furst, also from that film, basically does nothing but eat. Monahan plays a horny guy and Helberg is the alcoholic. We also get Jennifer Runyon who of course is easy on the eyes.UP THE CREEK at least gets a rather catchy tune from Cheap Trick but outside of this there's really not too much going for the film.