Rating: 
Summary: Reckless
Review: This "classic" both confuses and saddens me. I am one of the very few people in this world who feels like our nation's universities should be places of higher learning and striving to better oneself. Thanks to movies such as this and the horrific "Old School", colleges have become partying first, studying second. And it's heartbreaking.I can't tell you what to buy, but I can encourage you to consider what you're supporting. There are plenty of ways to view a schooling system that works, namely "Dead Poets Society". Don't contribute to the downfall of our schools. I'm just asking you to care.
Rating:
Summary: TREMENDOUSLY bad movie
Review: About a dozen reviewers were able to be honest with themselves and say this movie was not funny at all. Like a David Lynch movie, or Sun Tzu's Art Of War, it must be one of those things you have to pretend that you "get" so you can be cool. I dunno, maybe its just dated. Just because someone says its a classic doesnt mean you are compelled to laugh, though.
Rating: 
Summary: The Monument to the Golden Age of Satire
Review: For those of us that remember the Golden Age of political and social satire - the late '60s through late '70s - this movie a complete joy. I've read many critical reviews, finding Animal House lame compared to American Pie, etc. You can't compare them. Modern film "satire", as represented by Pie, seems to equate satire with explicit references to alchohol, drugs, genitals, excrement, and sex nearly devoid of social or political context, or anything else (Christopher Guest's work is a refreshing sanctuary from this tiring trend). Animal House writers Miller, Kenney, and Ramis never delude themselves that genital jokes in themselves are satire. For these guys, a moon shot from a passing car can be funny, having to watch the same moon for the next thirty-five miles is just a bore. Perhaps you had to be there to understand the difference. Go back and read the brilliant work of Chris Miller, Doug Kenney, and Michael O'Donoghue from Nat Lamp from 1968-1979. Or find the Animal House movie book (now quite rare) that provides more background (Miller's hilarious "Pinto Stories"). Then come back and opine only after you can tell us why Larry is nicknamed "Pinto".
Rating:
Summary: Influential
Review: Okay, folks shouldn't have to fast-forward through ads to see the movie. Okay, got it. There is a WAR going on PEOPLE! Is hitting fast-forward for a few seconds gonna kill you!!! Animal House started many Toga parties across this great land of ours. Animal House also influenced many movies that pit the slobs against the snobs. (Including the one where Judd Nelson goes into a prep school and loosens folks up. Did you see it, it was beauty eh?). Animal House also rekindled butt slapping contests; a little slap and tickle is all in good fun, yes? But mostly, Animal House is the timeless tale of people near the top (Delta), kept down and then going after the top (Dean and snob Frat House). It's not the lunch room staff that erupts. And it's not "the people" who start a revolution or big stir... it's always folks right near the top. So the Delta guys go for a coup in the parade (where elites are so often "taken out"), and we cheer them on! The Delta revolters aren't exactly us -- but they're a lot closer to us than the snobs. In short: Delta faces apathy and frustration, then disrupts, then goes after the status quo with a vengeance unseen since Castro or the Little Rascals. And we love it! Party on dudes! A-.
Rating:
Summary: Review for the MOVIE, not the DVD!!!!!
Review: Animal House is the funniest movie ever made, period! On the AFI's list of the top 100 funniest movies ever, Animal House is 36, there wrong!!! Animal House has the funniest stuff, and when you least expect it, a car always runs into something!!! The best scene is in the cafeteria, all hell breaks loose!!!
Rating:
Summary: Give me an F, give me an A, give me a B....
Review: It is remarkable to me how well this film's appeal has held up over the years since its initial release more than 25 years ago. Ably directed by John Landis with a talented ensemble cast in which John Belushi (John "Bluto" Blutarsky) generates especially inspired mayhem, Animal House is within a tradition of earlier comedies, both on stage (dating back to ancient Greece) and on film (notably those directed by Preston Sturges), in which Irresponsible Youth and Civilized Society are in direct and constant conflict. In this instance, members of Delta House (anarchists and hedonists) versus the Omegas (prim and proper prudes) on the Faber College campus in 1962. The adversarial relationship between the two fraternities is exacerbated by Dean Vernon Wormer (brilliantly portrayed by John Vernon) who also seems determined to rid the college (if not the planet Earth) of the devilish Deltas. Rather than a carefully developed plot, Landis and the co-authors of the screenplay (who include Harold Ramis) prefer to present the action within a picaresque framework: one zany episode follows another as the Deltas' adventures evolve. Drunk or sober, Belushi (the pledge trainer, of course) and his fraternity brothers successfully reject all efforts to moderate their behavior. Sometimes life imitates art as when, following the release of this film, fraternities on campuses throughout the United States developed social activities (e.g. toga parties) no doubt inspired by the inmates of Delta House. Then (1978) and now, I think the Dexter Lake Club incident is unnecessary, indeed a mistake. (Yes, that's Robert Cray among the members of Otis Day's band.) Also the illicit rendezvous with a group of young ladies from Emily Dickinson University seems superfluous. (Obviously, Emily is preferable to Fairleigh.) However, the film ends with a brilliantly staged demolition by the Deltas of the town's annual Founder's Day parade. Be sure to remain for a brief but hilarious "Where are they now?" update. Within a relatively brief period of time, I saw both Animal House and Good News (1947) again. Both examine undergraduate life but that's about all they share in common. Those who plan to see Animal House for the first time (or again) are urged to see Good News first. It stars June Allyson (Connie Lane), Morris Ankrum (Dean Griswold), Tom Dugan (Pooch), Connie Gilchrist (Cora the Cook), Jane Green (Mrs. Drexel), and Peter Lawford (Tommy Marlowe). The portrayal of life on the Tait College campus in Good News establishes a frame-of-reference within which to appreciate even more the high level of satire at work throughout most (but not all) of Animal House.
Rating: 
Summary: What is all the fuss about?.........
Review: This movie is stupid. It's retarded. It's boring. And most of all, it's not funny. But, most people I talk to LOVE this movie. I have no idea why. I just wasted 2 hrs. of my life watching a movie that was supposed to be humorous, but turned out to be a huge disappointment. Maybe it's because I am getting older (I am only 28), but this humor just wasn't funny. Maybe it's because we live in the age of 'American Pie' movies and Hollywood has raised the bar for this kind of humor. This flick just seemed tame and rather cheesy. Set in 1963, the story centers around the Delta house fraternaty on fictitious Faber college. While the other houses on campus are more of the goody-goody type, the Delta house is filled with parties and beer drinking bums. It's the typical "we don't care about our grades, so let's get drunk" party house. It's members are the main characters in the movie. The dean of the college wants them all booted off. The house is an embarrassment to the school and the dean sets off a plan to get their charter revoked. Along the way, hilarity is supposed to insue. I found very little humor here. The only thing that saves this from being a complete turd is some good acting. John Belushi steals the show here as Bluto, the chubby alcoholic that can crush beer cans on his forehead. The rest of the cast isn't too bad either. Tim Matheson, Tom Hulce, Karen Allen, Donald Sutherland, and even Kevin Bacon in his first screen role. The problem with this movie, like I said before, is it seems tame and cheesy. When the movie is trying to convey crazy & gross out humor, it doesn't work. I mean since the days this flick was made (1978), we have seen a man eat dog poop in a movie, drink a cup of semen filled beer, and a guy get his hand glued to his penis. My point is that this film doesn't work anymore. It may have back in '78. And it may be a kick for people who actually went to college back in the 60's, but for the modern day person, it's nothing. I can't recommend this movie to anyone that isn't already a fan of it. You would be wasting your money. The DVD special features are ok, at best. It includes a couple of "where-are-they-now" featurettes on the cast and their characters. There is a music video and not much else. Even though I didn't like the movie, these supplements are a let down. Since they are not much more than the last version of this DVD that was released.
Rating:
Summary: Toga! Toga! Toga! Toga! Toga! Toga! Toga! Toga! Toga!
Review: John Belushie from SNL delivers one of the best preformences ever i love this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Say no to Universal's FORCED spam on DVDs
Review: Thanks to the other reviews here I now know not to buy this DVD. Forcing you to watch a ton of commercials every single time you put the disc in your player is apalling. Stay away from Universal's DVDs unless they knock it off. If you're the type of person who loves having an inbox full of spam, you should enjoy this DVD.
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Summary: Double Secret Probation Edition = RIPOFF
Review: I own the original release on dvd. I purchased the new release Double Secret Probation under the false pretenses that there was a difference. The few bonus features and lack of quality thereof leave this DVD lacking. Good job hollywood .. and you wonder why everyones stealing movies?
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