Life of the Party is no Back to School

Back to School is a classic with Rodney Dangerfeild playing a rich man named Thornton Mellon, who goes back to college and reconnects with his son. It is his best movie. It is driven by a subplot about a professor who doesn’t think Thorton belongs in college and Thornton’s belief that the professor is naive.

Life of the Party, which wisely does not use the classic song of the same name, is not as good as Back to School. (That is a sad song.) I could be biased, I really liked Rodney as a comedian and as an actor. I have seen the movie several times over the years, I could be overlooking its faults.

Melissa McCarthy stars as a woman who goes back to college after a divorce. Her ex-husband seems in a rush to get married to another woman. McCarthy’s character  has some misadventures adjusting to life on campus, including dating a guy half her age and dealing with mean girls, but the plot isn’t as strong as Back to School.

Also I feel like I know who Thornton Mellon was and I don’t feel the same way about Melissa McCarthy’s character from Life of the Party. I probably couldn’t write Thornton Mellon’s biography but I have a sense of who he is. Thorton is the only son of an Italian tailer and did badly in high school but later took his father’s business and grew it. Jason is his only son, Jason’s mother died when Jason was in high school and then Thornton feeling lonely married a younger woman who might have liked him for his money or social position.  Thornton’s bodyguard/chauffeur Lou is also a long time friend. I am missing some details obviously but that is a start. I am pretty sure Jason is Thornton’s only child.

I am not saying Melissa McCarthy and her husband/co-writer/director Ben Falcone really tried to remake Back to School but the basic plots of both films are similar. Life of the Party is not a terrible movie, it has a few good performances and it is likeable but Back to School is a classic. I think McCarthy has better movies ahead of her.


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