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Back to School

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Back to School

PG-13

Released Jun 13, 1986

1h 36m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

81%

Tomatometer

73 Reviews

68%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Thornton Melon (Rodney Dangerfield) is concerned that his son Jason (Keith Gordon) is unsure whether to go to college, so the uneducated self-made millionaire encourages him by signing up as a student as well. As Jason tries to establish himself among his peers and make the diving team, Thornton falls for a pretty professor (Sally Kellerman) and gets others do his schoolwork for him. When the suspicious dean (Paxton Whitehead) finds out, Thornton needs to show he can get by on his own.

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Critics Consensus

Back to School gives Rodney Dangerfield plenty of room to riff -- and supports the freewheeling funnyman with enough of a story to keep things interesting between punchlines.

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David Denby

New York Magazine/Vulture

...after a while, you begin to look a little closer, and you realize that, amazingly, [Rodney Dangerfield is] giving a performance.

Feb 27, 2025

Full Review

Paul Byrnes

Sydney Morning Herald

It's just as well that [Rodney Dangerfield] has so much charm and guile, because everything but his performance is pretty ghastly.

Feb 27, 2025

Full Review

Harper Barnes

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

You would think, out of seven people, including Harold Ramis of "Ghostbusters" and Rodney Dangerfield, someone could have written a few funny lines. Wrong.

Feb 27, 2025

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Eleanor O'Sullivan

Asbury Park Press (NJ)

"Back to School" is loaded with bawdy, crude and hilarious one-liners, double entendres and sight gags that are sure to offend the uptight. But if you stay away because you hear it's raunchy, you'll miss a good and surprisingly sweet movie.

Feb 27, 2025

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David Wilson

Tulsa World

"Back to School" is a one-joke movie made bearable by a steady stream of one-liners and Dangerfield's lovably hapless personality.

Rated: 2/4

Feb 27, 2025

Full Review

Michael D. Reid

Victoria Times Colonist (B.C., Canada)

Back to School is chock full of gags, trademark Dangerfield jokes and the comic's endearing personal warmth, resulting in belly laughs galore.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 27, 2025

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Stephen C

LOL, 1 hour and 36 minutes of humor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/13/25

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S R

Hilarious movie from one of the greatest stand up comedians in history!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/29/23

Full Review

Jason W

Rodney Dangerfield, Sam Kinison , an early Robert Downey Jr. hurt what more could you want. A perfectly fine popcorn comedies from the 80s.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/27/23

Full Review

Whats Good G

Back to School Rodney Dangerfield is a comedy great who is known to spit as many clever barbs against others as he does to himself. Who is a more perfect guy to take intellectuals in their ivory tower down a peg? The overall storyline is touching, it reminds us how important parental influence can be, and how sometimes your children can switch the roles on you when you need it. Other than that, if you're a fan of Rodney's one-liner-machine-gunnery, imagine if you got to experience it at a college-party, or at Economics class where he tells an obnoxious professor(Dr. Barbay) a thing or two about business! Anyone who snubs this film for lack of story complexity and consummate acting is probably as fun at a party as Dr. Barbay!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Unmissable, Dangerfield is great.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

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Audience Member

One of the classics. Rodney Dangerfield and Burt Young are so good from start to finish.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

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Alan Metter

Director

Rodney Dangerfield

Thornton Melon

Sally Kellerman

Dr. Diane Turner

Keith Gordon

Jason Melon

Burt Young

Lou

Robert Downey Jr.

Derek Lutz

Back to School: Official Clip - Springsteen in the Parking Lot

2:13

Back to School: Official Clip - The Triple Lindy

2:08

Back to School: Official Clip - Are You Fat?

2:04

Back to School: Official Clip - I Don't Take S*** From No One

2:10

Back to School: Official Clip - Academic Fraud

1:33

Back to School: Official Clip - Thornton Donates A Building

2:16

Back to School: Official Clip - Thornton Talks Business

3:03

Back to School: Official Clip - Professor Terguson Loses It

2:35

Back to School: Official Clip - I'm Kurt Vonnegut

1:34

Back to School: Official Clip - Marge Takes Notes

1:42

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Synopsis

Thornton Melon (Rodney Dangerfield) is concerned that his son Jason (Keith Gordon) is unsure whether to go to college, so the uneducated self-made millionaire encourages him by signing up as a student as well. As Jason tries to establish himself among his peers and make the diving team, Thornton falls for a pretty professor (Sally Kellerman) and gets others do his schoolwork for him. When the suspicious dean (Paxton Whitehead) finds out, Thornton needs to show he can get by on his own.

Director: Alan Metter
Producer: Chuck Russell
Screenwriter: Steven Kampmann, William Porter, PJ Torokvei, Harold Ramis
Production Co: Orion Pictures, Paper Clip Productions
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 13, 1986, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $89.2M
Runtime: 1h 36m
Sound Mix: Surround

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