Private School

Directed by Noel Black, Private School details the sex-fueled exploits of several characters – including Phoebe Cates’ Christine, Matthew Modine’s Jim, and Betsy Russell’s Jordan. It’s clear, ultimately, that Private School doesn’t boast a whole lot in the way of ingratiating, compelling elements, as the movie, written by Dan Greenburg and Suzanne O’Malley, has been saddled with an erratic, episodic structure that results in an almost total lack of momentum within the narrative – with this uneven feel certainly perpetuated by an ongoing emphasis on trying-too-hard segments and sequences that just aren’t as funny or amusing as intended (eg several boys dress up as women to sneak into the picture’s central all-girls-school locale). There’s little doubt, then, that Private School‘s mostly tolerable atmosphere is due almost entirely to the charm of the eclectic cast, as folks like Cates and Modine are generally able to transcend the aggressively hackneyed material to transform their thinly-developed characters into somewhat affable and sympathetic figures – although there’s certainly never a point at which their respective antics manage to become as amusing and compelling as Black has obviously intended (ie it’s all just so silly). The degree to which Private School ultimately peters out is hardly a surprise, to be sure, and it’s clear, in the end, that the film ranks somewhere in the middle of the ’80s roster of over-the-top sex comedies.

** out of ****