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Summer School

Summer School

Comedy · 1987

A high-school gym teacher has big plans for the summer, but is forced to cancel them to teach a "bonehead" English class for misfit goof-off students. Fortunately, his unconventional brand of teaching fun field trips begins to connect with them, and even inspires ardor in some.

Movie details

Summer School

“At Ocean Front High, what do they call a guy who cuts classes, hates homework, and lives for summer vacations? Teacher.”

1987 Comedy 1h 37m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.4 / 10

Community rating

A high-school gym teacher has big plans for the summer, but is forced to cancel them to teach a "bonehead" English class for misfit goof-off students. Fortunately, his unconventional brand of teaching fun field trips begins to connect with them, and even inspires ardor in some.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Summer School?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Old Boys

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In the school-set re-working of Cyrano, an awkward but imaginative pupil helps the handsome but spectacularly dim school-hero pursue the fiery daughter of a visiting French teacher.

Airplane II: The Sequel

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A faulty computer causes a passenger space shuttle to head straight for the sun, and man-with-a-past Ted Striker must save the day and get the shuttle back on track – again – all the while trying to patch up his relationship with Elaine.

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Thunderstruck

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Carl Reiner

Written by

Jeff Franklin · David Dashev · Stuart Birnbaum

Mark Harmon

Mark Harmon

Freddy Shoop

Kirstie Alley

Kirstie Alley

Robin Bishop

Robin Thomas

Robin Thomas

Phil Gills

Patrick Labyorteaux

Patrick Labyorteaux

Kevin

Courtney Thorne-Smith

Courtney Thorne-Smith

Pam

Dean Cameron

Dean Cameron

Chainsaw

Gary Riley

Gary Riley

Dave

Court is in session

Put Summer School on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Popcorn Loyalist

“It owes the canon nothing.”

The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.

The prosecution The Big-Idea Head

“Easy pleasure, short half-life.”

It moves efficiently through the moment but offers little reason to keep arguing once the credits end.