Three O'Clock High (1987)

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

From my favorite movies..

Too much about the plot just didn't add up, the writing was bad, some of the scenes were cringey and awkward,

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

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

Nerdy Jerry Mitchell (Casey Siemaszko) has a bad day. His parents are away. His little sister Brei Mitchell (Stacey Glick) is more put together. His best friend Franny Perrins (Annie Ryan) has a spirit guide Ethan. Infamous Buddy Revell (Richard Tyson) is new to their school who supposedly hates to be touched. His friend Vincent Costello (Jonathan Wise) wants a story done about Buddy in the school paper and Jerry is assigned the story. While at the urinals, Jerry tries to talk to Buddy but it goes horribly wrong and Jerry touches Buddy. Buddy orders him to fight at 3:00 in the parking lot. Mr. Rice (Jeffrey Tambor) runs the school store. Karen Clarke is the school hottie. Duke Herman is the overly aggressive security guard. No matter how hard he tries, he can't stop or escape the fight. He steals money from school store to pay for Buddy to be beaten up and detective Mulvahill (Philip Baker Hall) is called in to investigate.I love the fun comedic manic style. The editing style from director Phil Joanou reminds me of Edgar Wright. It's got that fast snappy cuts. I fell in love with Annie Ryan and her wacky character. The main problem is that Casey Siemaszko is too old and not necessarily that funny. Although he's very good at being a pathetic guy. I actually like the fact that he's not the nicest or a simple good guy. Richard Tyson is great as the strong threatening bully. He really sells the character with very few words. Sure it makes no sense that the library could be trashed and nothing happens. It's best not to get stuck with the logic of it all.

"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.