“My advice to you is to start drinking heavily.”
These are the wise words of John “Bluto” Blutarsky (John Belushi) from John Landis’s 1978 “Animal House.” In this throwback film, audiences follow the adventures of two incoming freshmen, Lawrence Kroger and Kent Dorfman, both of whom are seeking to join a fraternity at Faber College. Being uncomfortable and finding themselves as outcasts during the prestigious Omega Theta Pi house party, the freshmen wander over next door to the disorderly Delta Tau Chi house where Kent is immediately recognized and accepted due to his brother being a Delta Tau Chi alumni. From chaotic crazy house parties to elaborate pranks and rebellious acts against their rivals, the Omegas, and their college dean, Vernon Wormer, members of the Delta Tau Chi brotherhood most definitely set the perfect guideline on how to successfully tackle the college experience.
The writers – Douglas Kenney, Chris Miller and Harold Ramis – all took their experiences from their own college fraternity days and incorporated them into the screenplay. The film was produced by National Lampoon, the most well-known humor college magazine from the 1970s, and it was well-received by college students since most of the writers were newly college graduates and focused on satirizing politics and popular culture.
Aesthetically, Animal House has a humorous and classic vintage look to it. The characters’ stereotypical personalities are reflected in their fashion and physical costumes such as Bluto’s iconic “college” sweatshirt to portray his jokester nature and Eric “Otter” Stratton’s (Tim Matheson) famous red plaid suit jacket and red tie to portray his character’s charismatic and facetious nature as well as his role as a leader within the fraternity. Other character’s costumes reflect their stereotypical role such as the cheerleader’s big pleated skirts, pigtail hairstyle and big, poofy pom-poms. This gives off a theatrically vibe since the costumes and coloring of the clothes are emphasized and over exaggerated as seen in most theater productions. I believe this adds to fun and light-heartedness of the movie, which makes it more enjoyable as viewer being aware of the performance and entertainment aspect of the film.
“Animal House” remains a classic film that guarantees some laughs with its satirical and playful humor whether viewers be current college undergraduates or past college alumni who reminiscence on their old university days. If you’re looking to watch a good throwback comedy one Friday night, definitely consider “Animal House.”
Contact Chelsea Red-Horse Mohl at cmohl2 ‘at’ stanford.edu.