Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

School Daze

Play trailer Poster for School Daze R Released Feb 12, 1988 1h 54m Musical Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
58% Tomatometer 31 Reviews 79% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
At historically black Mission College, the activist-minded Dap (Larry Fishburne) immerses himself in a world of political rhetoric and social movements -- one day he hopes to rally the students as a united front. At the other end of the spectrum, Julian (Giancarlo Esposito), the head of the biggest fraternity on campus, is more concerned with maintaining a strict social order. In between, Dap's conflicted cousin, Half-Pint (Spike Lee), spends most of his time rushing the fraternity.
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

School Daze

School Daze

What to Know

Critics Consensus

School Daze is undeniably messy, but thought-provoking themes, strong performances, and Spike Lee's ingratiating energy help tie it all together.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (31)
Richard Brody The New Yorker A teeming showcase of invigorating performances... Mar 3, 2023 Full Review David Ehrenstein Chicago Reader The problem isn’t with School Daze; the problem is with a white culture that cannot deal with the spectacle of blacks on-screen on their own terms. Rated: 4/4 May 11, 2022 Full Review Derek Adams Time Out Lee has a small, intimate talent; here, he goes for the big podium and blows it. Jun 24, 2006 Full Review Justine Smith Vague Visages Borrowing the tropes from classical Hollywood musicals, early exploitation cinema and the popularity of the college raunch comedy, Lee subverts the values of the dominant social ethics and reaches into the heart of artifice ripping... Jun 6, 2024 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy An often insightful, often amateurish comedy-drama-musical. Rated: 2.5/4 Jan 1, 2024 Full Review Justin Brown Medium Popcorn There are some technical issues that Spike brings into films...I enjoyed the conversations that came from this movie...but as a standalone film, it was boring at times. Rated: 2/5 Oct 8, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (500)
thiago s Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 06/15/25 Full Review Steve D Spike is still figuring out his voice, Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/02/23 Full Review Audience Member This has plenty of thought provoking themes and a high enough bundle of energy to stand out getting the conversation started about the oppressed under apartheid South Africa with a great cast Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Truly horrible idiotic movie Rated 1 out of 5 stars 04/29/21 Full Review Audience Member Probably the best college movie of all time. Great cast and soundtrack. Also I always thought Spike was great in this not only as director but as an actor his character is always most memorable for me when I think of this film even though Larry Fishburne tried to steal the show. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review uncle p Story/Screenplay: (2/5) One of Spike Lee's weaker stories. It felt like he was still honing his skills when this particular work was put together. Uninteresting. Duration/Tempo: (2.5/5) At 2 hours and 1 minute, it's a long movie that felt long. Too long for the little content there was. Cast & Crew: (2.5/5) Laurence Fishburne and Spike Lee were OK, but the overall performance of the cast was lackluster. Summary: (2/5) The story was poor, the cast was mediocre, and the film felt long. A thumbs down. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
School Daze

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All

Spike Lee

Director

Laurence Fishburne

Dap

Giancarlo Esposito

Julian

Tisha Campbell-Martin

Jane Toussaint

Joe Seneca

President McPherson

Art Evans

Cedar Cloud

More Like This

View All
Torch Song Trilogy 76% 91% Torch Song Trilogy Watchlist The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas 50% 68% The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas Watchlist The Rocky Horror Picture Show 80% 85% The Rocky Horror Picture Show Watchlist TRAILER for The Rocky Horror Picture Show Romance & Cigarettes 53% 56% Romance & Cigarettes Watchlist Cannibal! The Musical 65% 82% Cannibal! The Musical Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All

School Daze

School Daze (1988) School Daze (1988) School Daze (1988) School Daze (1988) School Daze (1988) School Daze (1988) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis At historically black Mission College, the activist-minded Dap (Larry Fishburne) immerses himself in a world of political rhetoric and social movements -- one day he hopes to rally the students as a united front. At the other end of the spectrum, Julian (Giancarlo Esposito), the head of the biggest fraternity on campus, is more concerned with maintaining a strict social order. In between, Dap's conflicted cousin, Half-Pint (Spike Lee), spends most of his time rushing the fraternity.
Director
Spike Lee
Producer
Spike Lee
Screenwriter
Spike Lee
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Production Co
40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, Columbia Pictures Corporation
Rating
R
Genre
Musical, Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 12, 1988, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 1, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA)
$11.7M
Runtime
1h 54m
Sound Mix
Surround
Most Popular at Home Now