Three O'Clock High (1987)

Roger Ebert is one of the highest regarded film critics on the planet, but his review of this movie is so bizarre and out of touch that it's laughable. For those in a hurry: There's a simple, violent theme running through the movie that is both entertaining and dreadful. Jerry (Casey Siemaszko), a meek and unlikely hero, has an unfortunate encounter with a psychotic transfer student, Buddy (Richard Tyson), that leads to Buddy threatening Jerry to a fight after school. Most of the movie revolves around Jerry trying to find some way to escape his destiny but the more he struggles, the more the noose tightens. Well-meaning friends exacerbate the situation, the adults in the movie are self-centered and clueless and Buddy is a pitiless, force-of-nature juggernaut brushing aside any attempt to deny him his bloody satisfaction. This struggle sets the stage for several very funny scenes that also ratchet the tension quite nicely while leading the viewer to the final showdown.END OF REVIEWThis is a greatly underrated teen comedy that will also resonate with many adults. The film's poor reception may have been due to lackluster marketing as I do not remember seeing the movie in theaters or advertised anywhere. There's a rumor that the director angered someone on the production team (Steven Spielberg was an executive producer that later asked his name to be removed) and this may have been a factor.Back to Ebert: the theme of the movie may have cut too close to Ebert's own high school experiences for his comfort or maybe he's forgotten what that period of life is really like. The teenage years usually are the most violent and there is often very little help outside of your immediate peer group. Ebert's taking the obtuse school official to task for not believing Jerry's predicament is ridiculous because this is exactly what adults tend to do: form a preconceived notion about a teen and then view everything through that lens. Witness today how some schools will suspend both parties in a fight, even if one individual does not fight back or defend themselves. Jerry is victimized by both Buddy AND the adults. In a larger sense, Buddy is a metaphor for that dreaded life event--a demonic boss, a false arrest, an unexpected sickness or infirmity-- that all people will face at some point. When it happens you can choose to cower in fear, or, summon your courage and boldly turn to face the whirlwind.

Meek Jerry Mitchell (an excellent and engaging performance by Casey Siemaszko) gets challenged by scary and brutish bully Buddy Revell (a fearsome portrayal by the brawny Richard Tyson) to a big fight after school. Will Jerry come through when it counts most or try to find a way out of this nightmarish predicament? Director Phil Joanou keeps the absorbing story hurtling along at a breakneck pace, builds plenty of tension, offers a spot-on depiction of high school as a fascist prison-like hell on earth, pulls out the flashy stylistic stops with rip-snorting brio and breathtaking precision, and tops everything off with a wickedly sharp sense of fierce self-mocking humor. The smart and insightful script by Richard Christian Matheson and Tom Szolossi astutely presents a key male adolescent rite of passage in which a weak and passive boy learns how to become a much more strong and assertive man by standing up for himself and fighting his own battles instead of either running away from them or having someone else fight said battles for him.The fine acting from the ace cast keeps this movie humming: Annie Ryan as Jerry's kooky proto-Goth girlfriend Franny, Stacey Glick as Jerry's snarky sister Brei, Jonathan Wise as nerdy pal Vincent, Liza Morrow as sultry hot babe Karen, Jeffrey Tambor as amiable school store manager Mr. Rice, John P. Ryan as no-nonsense principal Mr. O'Rourke, Charles Macauley as stern disciplinarian Voytek Dolinski, Mitch Pileggi as overzealous security guard Duke Herman, Caitlin O'Heaney as prim English teacher Miss Farmer, and Philip Baker Hall as the hard-nosed Detective Mulvahill. Further energized by Tangerine Dream's vibrant pulsating score and bravura dynamic cinematography by Barry Sonnenfield, this baby rates highly as one of the best teen comedies from the 1980's.

Three O'Clock HighThe only way to really deal with a bully is to bully their younger sibling.Unfortunately, the bully in this comedy is an only child.High school geek Jerry (Casey Siemaszko) is tasked with writing a welcome article on his school's newest transfer: bad-boy Buddy (Richard Tyson). The assignment goes from bad to worse when Buddy challenges Jerry to an after-school fight.Terrified of fighting, Jerry employs every trick in the textbook in order to avoid the pending violence. Stashing contraband, getting detention, even trying to buy Buddy off doesn't dissuade the imminent beat down that has the student body placing bets.An out-there dark comedy, this 1987 high school sub-genre flop stands the test of time thanks to the enduring power of bullying. Awkwardly funny and brutally honest, this neglected after-school fistfight movie needs to be revisited. Incidentally, there'd be no after-school fights if child labour laws were abolished. Yellow Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.ca

"Three O'Clock High" used to be a very famous movie in Brazil, due to the elevated number of times that the main channel displayed it. I remember seeing this when I was a kid, and last night I gave it another chance. The get go and the main plot are really promising: a young boy threatened by the school's biggest bad boy. From that perspective, anyone who wants to see it, has to have in mind that the film won't be any serious. In fact, the story is never serious; characters are very caricatured, gathering the most famous clichés of the high school genre. However, this movie proves to be interesting when it entertained me in a good way, making me root for the good guy to get away with murder, even if he did all those bad things to escape from his unwanted destiny. Directing isn't anything marvelous, and so isn't the acting, but the story is well written, delivering some laughs and some identifications with the characters. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that it has a cool soundtrack, which may satisfy the whole audience. It is, surely, a nice piece of entertainment made in the crazy decade of the eighties. It's recommended, especially for the young audience.