Michael Scott
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Three O'clock High
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Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:
Movie:

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Extras:

Final Score:

Movies about teenage fights at school have been a staple of film making for quite some time. That’s basically the premise of most “brat pack” films like The Breakfast Club and Three O’Clock High from the 80s and early 90s. However, films like The Breakfast Club rose to stardom and iconic fame, while Three O’Clock High faded into obscurity, but with a rabid cult following. I hadn’t seen the strange, satirical, dark comedy since I was just a kid, but I remember liking it when I was 15 or so. The movie bombed badly when it was released back in 1987 (only making 3.5 million off of a 5 million dollar budget), with Ebert calling it one of the worst movies year, but it has garnered itself a cult following as time has gone by. A following that pretty much insures that you’ll either love the forgotten 80s film, or be completely indifferent. Myself, I fall much closer to the indifferent side of the spectrum, as I feel the movie has aged rather badly over the years.
The plot basically follows the same plot line as 2017’s Fist Fight with Charlie Day and Ice Cube. Except instead of the rough and tumble teacher beating up poor Charlie Day, it’s two high school students. It’s a life in the day of high school nerd Jerry Mitchell (Casey Siemasko) who is not having the best day today. First he’s late for school, his goth girlfriend is pressuring him to “bond” (hint hint) and he’s got bigger problems. Today is the day that a new student comes to the school in the form of Buddy Revell (Richard Tyson). Buddy is basically the Terminator, except in a teenage form. He’s a hulking brute of a student (standing a good foot and a half above Jerry) who has been kicked out of every school in the city after breaking a student’s neck, beating up a principal, and basically raising cain wherever he goes (yeah, you can tell that it’s kind of a satire can’t you?). Thinking that Buddy is a bit misunderstood and over inflated, Jerry decides to humanize the brute by going and having a conversation with him. During the talk he ends up touching Buddy, only to find out that being touched is Buddy’s biggest pet peeve. Now Buddy has given Jerry till 3 O’clock to gather his affairs before getting the living snot kicked out of him out behind the school.
This is where things get a bit bizarre and crazy. Jerry starts to panic, as buddy is no one to be trifled with, and desperately tries to find a way out of this situation. His best friend makes it worse by stuffing a knife into Buddy’s locker to get him expelled, but the plan ends up back firing on the two nerds when our resident bully finds the knife first and starts taunting him. Jerry even ends up robbing the school supply store that he helps run with Mr. Rice (a young Jeffrey Tambor) to pay an older student as a bodyguard (which naturally ends badly), as well as try to get out of school by getting detention (which ends up with him making out with an over sexed English teacher), as well as have the police investigate the robbery. All while preparing for that inevitable 3:00 date with destiny that can’t be denied.
If I had to really put a genre label on the film, I’d call it a Horror/comedy instead of a dark comedy. The movie plays out very much like a horror film, with the comedy coming from the fact that this is just so stupidly ridiculous. What makes it a bit frustrating is that the opening act is actually quite good, but the film loses steam during the second act. I guess it was relying on the upcoming fight to keep the tension high, but Jerry’s antics to get out of fighting Buddy come across as tired and rather weary by the time the actual fight rolls around. A fight that is filmed magnificently I might add, but a fight that feels pointless and rather dilapidated by the time we actually get to it.
Rating:
Rated PG-13 by the MPAA
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Audio:

Extras:

• "Head Of The Class" – an interview with Director Phil Joanou
• "Passing The Test" – interviews with screenwriters Richard Christian Matheson and Tom Szolossi
• "School Clothes" – an interview with costume designer Jane Ruhm
• Theatrical trailer
• Still gallery
Final Score:

Three O’Clock High is really an interesting little jaunt from the late 80s. It came out in a time where “Brat Pack” films were incredibly popular and it SEEMS like it should have been a slam dunk. I surmise that the dark, almost horror like, tone of the film was a turnoff to people of the time, but it has gained quite a cult following over the decades. I personally have a hard time with the dark nature of the film and seemingly pointless meandering leading up to the fight. But I seem to be in a minority compared to all my other 80s friends who grew up with this flick. Shout has done a good job bringing it to Blu-ray with their Shout Select lineup, and the nice extras make for some juicy treats if you like digging into the backstory of the film. If you’re a fan, this is a no brainer, but for everyone else I would suggest a rental first to see if it’s your cup of tea.
Technical Specifications:
Starring: Casey Siemaszko, Annie Ryan, Richard Tyson
Directed by: Phil Joanou
Written by: Richard Christian Matheson, Tom Szolossi
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 2.0
Studio: Shout Factory
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 90 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: October 17th, 2017
Recommendation: Decent Rental