Up The Academy DVD

 a lost classic finally available!!!
this movie was a gut buster in its time and was destined to be a cult classic(no matter what promotions had tried to push it).the comedy was a bit transparent in some parts and not everyone got it,but the characters were memorable and this is a great piece of early 80's party cinema and one of the many MOVIE CHANNEL gems i had the privelage to view again and again shortly after seeing it in the thater when i was 9 yrs old(and loving it).if you love 80's movies in general,the only thing you'll regret about watching this one is not seeing it in 1981.not to forget the great soundtrack wich features Cheap Trick,The Kinks,Blondie and all great songs as well.get this...especially for the price ,as i doubt this movie will see a special edition with all the cool xtras any time soon...
Submitted by JOHN HATE RAMOS (Hoston Tx)
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 Down the Drain
This movie was to be MAD magazine's answer to National Lampoon's Animal House. (The original title was "MAD Magazine's Up the Academy".) Sadly for MAD, the movie turned out to be a millstone instead of a milestone. How bad is it? Star Ron Liebman had his name removed from the credits of the film prior to its release in 1980. One week after its release, MAD itself (after heavily promoting the film on TV and radio, and in numerous print ads, especially in MAD) took its name of the credits and title, plus had footage of its mascot, Alfred E. "What, Me Worry?" Newman, removed from the film. The premise of the film - the students of the Weinberg Military Academy taking revenge against the by-the-book and outright meaness of an evil Academy officer, played by Liebman - does have promise; done in the right hands, such a premise could be funny. Not these hands - the comedy seems forced, obvious, and heavy-handed. (Example: An off-key vocal group called the Landmines drives people away with their terrible singing, but overdoes the whole thing by putting in grainy footage of buildings being knocked down and other things happening. Cheech and Chong executed a similar idea better- and far quicker - in "Cheech and Chong's Next Movie.") It is any wonder that National Lampoon supplanted MAD as the standard of comic book comedy in the 1970's? That said, there are some things were checking out in "Up the Academy". This film was the debut of Ralph "The Karate Kid" Macchio, who acquits himself quite well, despite the material. The soundtrack is terrific, with great songs of the late 1970's/early 1980's, including Cheap Trick ("Surrender"), Lou Reed ("Street Hassle"), and Nick Lowe ("Heart of the City"). (The soundtrack alone prevents this film from getting a one star rating.) Plus, the rest of the actors who are the kids in the Academy are real kids (and not adults playing kids - see "Taps" for a counterpoint), which does give the film a sense of sincerity absent from like-minded films. "Up the Academy" is worth a quick look, and a definite listen for the music on the soundtrack. It's also an example of how far a once-prominent magazine can fall on its face.
Submitted by JetblastAZ (Tempe, AZ USA)
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