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These days, it seems as though most of the movies made for or about teens are either crass comedies or dark adventures featuring vampires and werewolves. Fun-loving teen movies like the ones that graced the screen in the ‘80s, on the other hand, are few and far between. But director Tom Morris takes a crack at playful, ‘80s-style teen comedy in the indie romp General Education.
It’s a Collins family tradition to play tennis for Forestwood University—so when Levi Collins (Chris Sheffield) is offered a tennis scholarship, his dad (Larry Miller) is ecstatic. Levi, on the other hand, isn’t quite as thrilled, since he was hoping to give up tennis and go to a different school. But an even bigger problem arises when Levi discovers that his frequent tennis matches have caused him to fail his science class—which means that he didn’t actually graduate from high school.
After pulling off his first scheme, allowing him to walk at graduation and keep his parents in the dark, Levi sets out to find a way to change his grade. After every other plan fails, though, he winds up secretly attending summer school.
General Education is like an indie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off—a playful comedy about a teenager’s attempt to pull one over on his parents and teachers. The story is lightly funny, and some of Levi’s antics might even make you laugh out loud—especially the ones that border on the absurd (like when he tries to break into the school disguised as some sort of animal).
Still, Levi Collins is no Ferris Bueller. He doesn’t have the wit and charm that made Matthew Broderick’s hooky-playing teen an ‘80s icon. After a while, you might even start to think that Levi deserves whatever he gets. Though he can be pretty resourceful at times, he doesn’t always seem especially bright. And, despite the fact that his future is at stake, he doesn’t seem all that concerned. Instead, he continues to blow off assignments—and classes—assuming that he’ll be able to talk his way out of any problems that he may face. He’s constantly getting himself into more and more trouble, which quickly turns from funny to frustrating.
Fortunately, Levi is surrounded by plenty of quirky characters, who help to keep things light and entertaining—everyone from Levi’s wacky friends to his miming younger sister. Few of these characters get the attention (or the screen time) that they deserve, though, and some of the best comic cast members—especially Janeane Garofalo, who plays Levi’s ineffectual and tastefully drunken mom—are shamefully underused.
General Education isn’t the kind of teen classic that you’re going to want to watch over and over again. It definitely has its share of flaws, and it makes its share of missteps, too. For anyone who misses the light, playful teen comedy of the ‘80s, though, it gets a passing grade.
