I know some are quick to crown Judd Apatow “the King of comedy,” and let me be the first to say I definitely think he’s in the royal family, but I would just like to see a certain director and film given a bit more credit for paving the way for a comedy revolution. Todd Phillips, with his movie, Old School, wrote the formula on low-budget, R-rated comedies, balancing the right amount of raunch, one-liners, and shenanigans to attract the ever-sought-after teen/college crowd. It stands above all other films in shaping the new comedy genre – without Old School, I don’t think we ever see Judd Apatow films as we know them. Old School comforted the studios, allowing other comedy directors to push the humor envelope without concerns that an R rating would destroy the box office results.
Looking back at Old School's release, there is a lot of evidence that the studio executives weren’t aware of its potential. For one, Old School was released on February 21, and the dead of winter has often been considered a dumping ground for misfit films. Since Old School, most R-rated comedy films with recognizable actors have been released in the summer months, a more prime location for movies with a wider potential viewership.
Also, looking at the trailer, they seem to be pitching the film in the same vein of sex comedy as American Pie, evidenced by the threesome scene included in the opening. The clip is filled throughout with obvious and easy slapstick humor – pratfalls targeted at a more adolescent audience. It had a lot of quick cuts that really differed from the actual flow of the film, and the trailer really left out some of the funnier dialogue and subtle jokes that could have revealed the ensemble cast’s camaraderie – an element that is now highlighted in the selling of each and every Apatow or Seth Rogen film. No offense to American Pie, but I think that Old School had something more creative to offer.
Too often, Phillips gets completely left out in the cold in terms of bringing back the ensemble comedy cast. In an era of bromances and entourages, Old School was the film that brought about the term, “The Frat Pack.” Now, practically every actor in an arrested development comedy gets lumped into this family, but the original group is practically straight out of Old School – Vince Vaughn, Luke Wilson, and Will Ferrell are certainly three charter members. The Apatow gang, varying their team composition slightly form film to film but consistently replicating the Old School-style ensemble comedy, is in debt to Phillips et. all for making this acceptable again.
Furthermore, a big aspect of the comedy revolution is the addition of improvisation in the films. I think, as opposed to feeling like the dialogue is stale and pre-planned, the audience really enjoys seeing these guys banter off the cuff. Apatow is often credited as a genius for encouraging his actors to improvise on set, and it is an extremely smart move. I just wish that Phillips was touted as much for encouraging his actors to improvise, since he was doing it in 2003, two years before Apatow directed his first film.
This isn’t to say that Apatow doesn’t deserve a lot of the credit he gets – both as a great comedic filmmaker and a pioneer. The R-rated comedy is in a golden era as far as I’m concerned – and Phillips, Apatow, and extending onward to guys like Greg Motolla and Adam McKay – they all deserve a heap of credit. I just think that Phillips should be recognized more often as the trailblazer, and Old School as a game-changing film, because it truly ushered in this great generation of comedies.