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National Lampoon's Class Reunion

In which Tron takes another look at a film from National Lampoon, that, while it isn't as good as Vacation, is better than Vegas Vacation . . . and that's gotta be a good thing.
Starring: Stephen Furst, Gerrit Graham, Zane Buzby, Michael Lerner, Blackie Dammett Runt
Rating: 8/10
Directed By: Michael Miller
Runtime: 84 minutes

After the blockbuster success of Animal House (1978) National Lampoon was faced with the daunting task of a follow-up and the big question was how do you follow one of the all-time comedy classics? Well, hire John Hughes (Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles) to write a slasher film, of course! Class Reunion (1982) is the other side of the horror/comedy coin. The movie is definitely a comedy but has a slasher premise one does not usually associate with Animal House, let alone a 1980s Molly Ringwald vehicle. Not quite a direct parody, Class Reunion wastes no time sending up the burgeoning slasher genre but also provides a criminally underrated comedy deserving of more attention.

The premise is as simple as any slasher. The Lizzie Borden High Class of 1972 is tearing it up and having a good time until Bob Spinnaker (Gerrit Graham) sets up Walter Baylor (Blackie Dammett) under the guise of a hand job from the class beauty Meredith (Shelly Smith). Meredith, it is told, is very shy so both she and Walter will be wearing paper bags. Walter is just wasted enough to think this is a good idea until, in flagrentč delecto, the bags are removed and Walter is getting the touch from his twin sister! This drives Walter batshit and he's locked down alá Michael Myers. Flash forward to the present and Lizzie Bordon High's ten year reunion where Walter makes his triumphant return.

The story progresses like a comedy reunion film should. There's the meet and greet where the primary cast is introduced but this being National Lampoon the traditional stereotypes are thrown over for some very non-traditional stereotypes. Among others: the crippled, the socially retarded, a blind nymphomaniac, a vampire, a girl possessed by Satan, a pair of stoners, a hari krishna, and Flounder (Steven Furst) from Animal House! Anne Ramsey (of Throw Mama from the Train fame) is the lunchlady and Chuck Berry stops by for a performance of "My Ding-A-Ling." A lot of blatant and subtle comedy reveals the worst idiosyncrasies of the characters and grounds the viewer for the silliness that follows. Everyone is festive and a slide-show commences which is pretty entertaining, especially when the dead hari krishna dude comes swinging in on a rope and it's pretty obvious Walter has been repressing serious anger for ten years for which now he's found his outlet.

What follows is Scooby Doo at it's finest as our primary cast splits up under the direction of the Van Helsing Dr. Loomis stand-in Dr. Robert Young (Michael Lerner), Walter's psychiatrist, in an effort to find Walter/effect escape while the secondary cast, led by the Vampire (Jim Staahl), holds impromptu church services, play bingo, sing songs and generally panic. Much of the humor is tremendously understated, crammed with sight gags (the lunchroom is stocked with creamed, chipped and powdered shit) and heinous dialog ("Mr. Spinnaker, are you a religious man?" "Certainly not! I'm Episcopalian." "My father didn't spend all that money to keep me out of Vietnam just so I could die in my own High School.") and the actors are good enough to sell the absurdity of their characters. Zane Buzby as the Satan-fueled Dolores and Mews Small's Iris the blind nympho stand out amongst a cast of already stand out characters. Iris' table walk is expertly choreographed and Anne Ramsey even gets to do kung-fu! All the while Walter is on the loose, the mere knowledge of which inspires comedy, let alone a paper-bagged appearance!

Make no mistake, Class Reunion is a comedy, and a damn good one, but Hughes' blending of reunion hijinx and the body part laden, nudity filled, dimly lit killed at any moment feel of a slasher may be off-putting to fans of both camps, as proven by Class Reunion's dismal box office failure and notoriously bad reputation. The Broken Lizard team behind Super Troopers (2001) seem to be following National Lampoon's trend of following a huge comedy with a slasher (2004's Club Dread) so I know I'm not the only one who feels this movie is worth another viewing or even a (deserved) dvd upgrade from the piece of crap no-frills version (get this: "play," "scenes," "subtitles" - that's it) I recommend to you today. Not quite Animal House or even Vacation (1983) which followed, Class Reunion nonetheless is one hell of a funny movie. Run this before Weird Science (1985) and see what happens.