When you're the oldest kid in your family heading off to college with no one to pave the way and give you the real scoop on your next four years, collegiate cinema is there to fill in the gaps. Before I went off to school, it was my only frame of reference for college life, other than what I gathered from campus tours with university employees. Solo cups, toga parties, death by 8 am finals and fierce sorority rivalries was what I saw of college social life before ever arriving on the scene.
Now starting my third year, I can look back on my 7 favorite "educational" college movies and see what one would expect in hindsight--some major factual inaccuracies. But when I look closely, there also is some truth to what I may have learned from these outrageous plots. And whether or not they are accurate interpretations, the movies are still gold. Here are my seven favorite silver screen adaptations of college and the lessons I've learned from them.
1. Old School
Not only is this one of my favorite college movies of all time, but it is also one of my favorite comedies of all time. The 2003 comedy starring Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell tells the story of three friends who, for various personal reasons, seek to relive their glory days by opening up a fraternity at their old college.
Lesson Learned- Expect college to have a lot of beer bongs and half naked drunk people at parties with an average age of 40.
Accurate?You might see the occasional beer bong, but they definitely don't paint the hallways. And lucky for you, there are no streaking old people.
2. Legally Blonde
Law School might not exactly be college, but I will always count Legally Blonde as a great college movie. Elle Woods, UC sorority queen heads off to Harvard Law to chase after her ex-boyfriend, but ends up ditching him to become a strong, independent, kick*ss lawyer with amazing fashion sense--umm can you say inspiration?!
Lesson Learned- If you work really, really hard you can do anything that you put your mind to. Also the guys at law school are way more marriage material than losers you meet in undergrad like Warner.
Accurate?Honestly, there is a good deal of truth to the lessons in Legally Blonde. Though Elle's transformation from sorority ditz to Harvard Law valedictorian is quite extreme, she doesn't get there quickly or easily--which holds true in real-life college. Generally, with a lot of work, you can achieve great success even at a hard school. As for the marriage material part, undergrads are not losers and there are many, many wonderful ones. That being said, I'll get back to you when I'm in post grad.
3. Sydney White
Watch Amanda Bynes in her pre-psycho meltdown teen glory days in Sydney White, a modern day retelling of Snow White set at a fictional Floridian college. When banished from a sorority by the reigning "hot girl", Sydney goes to live with her own seven man crew of nerds in a condemned house, which she fights to save from the Greek life patriarchy in the name of normal college kids everywhere.
Lesson Learned- You will meet a very colorful mix of people in college, mostly really, really nerdy guys and rude sorority girls.
Accurate?Pretty much. You really will meet some of the most diverse, curious and interesting people at college. Maybe they won't all be nerds or sorority girls, but definitely expect those in the mix along with some others.
4. The Prince and Me
www.salon.com/2004/04/02/princess_3/
This heartwarming college rom-com-dram may require some tissues, cookies and wine for viewing, because by the end you will be crying because this movie isn't your reality. It tells the story of the typical ambitious college girl--a somewhat unsocial but certainly not unspoken, sweet, home-spun pre-med student. Her name is Paige, and she's played by the amazing Julia Stiles. The Prince of Denmark comes to the University of Wisconsin, where he hopes to chase after topless college girls, but instead falls in love with her, the sweet, unsuspecting bookie.
Lesson Learned- When you go to college you will meet a hot, handsome, funny and romantic prince who loves you for you and supports your professional goals while also being your fun, loving best friend.
Accurate? IF ONLY. Unfortunately, I have yet to meet a prince at school. Maybe I need to transfer to the University of Wisconsin. But putting aside the expectation of finding someone second in line to a throne, one can certainly find a whirlwind romance in college if they let the universe run its course and put in some initiative.
5. Pitch Perfect
Unless you've been living under a rock for the last three years, you know this movie. It hit theaters in 2012 and almost everyone has seen it, but if you haven't, someone in your life probably quotes it enough that you feel like you have. College freshman Becca helps transform a lame female a cappella group into an award winning, talented, sexy singing machine that gives the campus' adored men's group a run for their money and the nation something to talk about.
Lesson Learned- A Capella groups run the social scene in college, and when a guy likes you he courts you hard core and plans cute movie on the quad dates for you, even when you act like you aren't interested.
Accurate?Though A Capella groups are definitely popular on campuses (especially with a strong following and talented lineup of singers), but to say that they run the campus is certainly a stretch, at least at Notre Dame. As for the Becca-Jake romance, it couldn't be further from true. College guys seem so nervous to make a real gesture of interest, even if the girl is blatantly interested. From what I've seen, if a girl and guy are interested in each other, she could be laughing at his bad joke or batting her eyelashes while coyly looking at the ground and still wouldn't get a movie night out of it. In college, if someone likes you as more than a hookup they decide to handle it by exclusively acknowledging their feelings for you through dance floor make-outs. It is very adult and mature. Given all this information, if a girl were to be as actively uninterested in a guy as Becca is to Jake in Pitch Perfect, there is no way in hell she would be watching The Breakfast Club with him on the quad.
6. Road Trip
If you like raunch comedy, put Road Trip on the top of your "Movies to Watch" list. The movie follows four college friends (well… three friends and one weird guy they bring along for the car) on their road trip to Josh's long-distance girlfriend's school. They intend to retrieve a home sex tape Josh accidentally sent to his girlfriend, who is not his co-star in the video… scandalous, I know.
Lesson Learned- All college guys are insanely weird perverts. Also you will go on crazy road trips.
Accurate?I'm going to say that weird perverted guys are the exception, not the rule. Are there gross guys in college? Yes. Are there gross girls in college? Also a yes. There are always going to be bad people in this world, and against the backdrop of college debauchery, some people may seem particularly awful. The few lousy people you meet though will be vastly outnumbered by the amazing, cool and respectable ones who will go on to be your dear friends for life. Also you will go on road trips! But hopefully for you they won't be as absurd as this one.
7. Rudy
As a Notre Dame student, I can't leave this one out. Rudy, a walk-on football player/tackling squad member, who battled dyslexia and financial instability to make it into the University of Notre Dame, finally gets to play during his senior year and is carried off the field by the team when they win the game.
Lesson Learned- College football is the single greatest tradition of all time.
Accurate?Completely.
In conclusion, the life lessons from the silver screen are certainly not all helpful, but there are some tropes and ideas in them that certainly can provide an insight on the collegiate experience.
And if you haven't done so already, check out these seven movies on your next study break.
