School Daze

R

Released Feb 12, 1988

1 hr. 54 min.

Musical

Comedy

List

57%

30 Reviews

Tomatometer

79%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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.

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Critics Consensus

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

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frank a

This is a cult classic. Clearly a lot of people reviewing this movie have no sense of the cultural aspects Lee was tapping into and alluding to. It's meant to be disturbing and EXPLORES the mysoginistic and colorist culture of fraternity and sorority life prevalent on campus in the late 20th century. It's one of Lee's best films. At his peak, he was interested in the space between drama and camp, which is something that very few fillmmakers to date have explored as successfully.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/20/23

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

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Spike Lee

Director

Laurence Fishburne

Dap

Giancarlo Esposito

Julian

Tisha Campbell-Martin

Jane Toussaint

Joe Seneca

President McPherson

Art Evans

Cedar Cloud

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Richard Brody

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

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

Brandon Collins

Medium Popcorn

What a great launching pad for a lot of different actors...it's a movie that gets the conversation going, and I really liked the musical scene.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 8, 2020

Full Review

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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
Executive Producer: Grace Blake
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
Sound Mix: Surround

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