Thinking about Back to School

Melissa McCarthy’s Life of the Party movie was compared to the classic Back to School (both are about older people who go to college) and I started to think about Back to School. I think Back to School might really be a classic.

I think there are three reasons Back to School holds up. One is Dangerfeild was never better in a lead role than he was as Thornton Mellon. He is really likeable in the role but there is some sadness in the role too.

Another reason the movie holds up is there is a strong conflict between Thornton and one of his professors. Thornton bought his way into college and a business professor resents that. Thornton thinks the business professor is naive or too idealistic  and unwisely says so at times. This increases the conflict between the two.

The relationship Thornton has with his son, Jason, is the third reason the movie holds up.  Thornton and Jason are a bit estranged at the start of the movie and their relationship develops over the movie.

Back to School is worth seeing or worth rewatching if you haven’t seen it in a while.

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