SUMMER SCHOOL
A film review by Dan Frank
Copyright 1987 Dan Frank
It's gotten to the point now that when I see a Carl Reiner film advertised, I say, "Aha! That's like a Rob Reiner film, except that it's not original!" Both father and son make technically clean movies with good laughs and pleasant people. Apparently, Rob takes a little more time choosing his scripts, which is probably why we see his work a little less frequently.
If you've seen the previews (trailers?) for SUMMER SCHOOL, you know the plot and have seen the best jokes, so you don't have to go. If you haven't, here's the basic idea: Mark Harmon plays the gym teacher, who lives for and on the beach, on a teacher's salary no less. He teaches at Ocean Front High, which in the real world would have been turned into condos years ago. When the fellow who was supposed to teach summer school (in a cameo appearance by the director) backs out, Harmon is drafted by the evil, politically ambitious assistant principal to babysit a class of semi-literate misfits through remedial English.
Of course, neither Harmon nor the kids wants to be there, so at first he tries to show them and himself a good time. But then, threatened by the assistant principal, and coached by the sultry honors teacher in the next classroom (played by Kirstie Alley, reprising her Lt. Saavik persona), he does an about-face, and tries to whip the kids into shape in time for the test.
The rest of the movie is a disconnected episodic farce, as Harmon gives the kids an incentive to perform (he bribes them), and helps them become concerned and decent students. Sort of. Reiner can't decide if he's really serious about this stuff, so the plot veers between melodrama, social conscience, and utter nonsense. He even manages to suggest at the end that the kids would have done better if Harmon had sent them to the bathroom for six weeks.
Harmon himself doesn't disappoint us. If you liked his Coors Beer commercials, you'll like him in SUMMER SCHOOL. He roller-skates his way through the film in a good-natured way, doing his earnest best, and funny things happen to him. There is no chemistry between him and Alley, which is no surprise, either. You could have replaced either or both with a cardboard cutout labeled, "Teacher," and had the kids carry it around from scene to scene, with no difference in effect.
Still, SUMMER SCHOOL is pleasant enough fare for a summer matinee, when you'd just be hot outside, and you're not paying full price. If you want to kill some time, and they're not asking more than two bucks, go for it.
-- Dan
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