The Re-Visit: Three O’Clock High
The first “real” fight I ever got into was in grade school. It was me, a quiet lanky transfer student in grade 6, vs. some short chubby cunt in grade 8. I think his name was Tim but I don’t have any fucks left to give in this lifetime. To this day, I still don’t know why he wanted to pick a fight with me. I’ve always imagined it was because he hated his life and wanted to feel happy about stuff. Anyhoo, Chubby Cunt informed me throughout the day that I was going to die and, sure enough, was waiting for me after school with a horde of students. I was literally petrified with fear. The only time I moved was when he punched me in the face. And he kept doing that. Every time his fist hit my mouth I would back up a few steps and try to re-gain my stiffness. I was going to beat him with posture! I quickly ran out of room however and ended up pinned against the school. His next punch cracked my skull against a brick wall. Something changed. I’m not sure if it was the pain, or the sickening sound of the thud, or my body simply saying “What the fuck are you doing? Fight!”, but I came out swinging. I grabbed him by his tattered t-shirt and fed his face with, what felt like, a hundred fists in a row. The crowd went apeshit. I was going apeshit. There was some sort of frightening blood lust taking over the situation and poor ole’ Chubby Cunt was taking the brunt of it all. When he finally went down I’m pretty sure some of the little kids started eating him (maybe not though). It was a mess.
I tell you this story because a) it makes me sound awesome, and b) it’s the moment in my life that makes me connect with THREE O’CLOCK HIGH on such a personal level. I had never heard of the film until The Movie Network started running it 14 times a week (They had about 10 movies in rotation back then, aired between 659 daily episodes of ‘Dream On’). Whenever I caught it, the film grew more important to me. Even better, nobody I knew had ever even seen the film. It was my first hidden gem.
Like an old forgotten toy, however, it’s been years since I’ve enjoyed it. Cable television got bigger, girls at school got boobs, I discovered alcohol. These are just some of the thousands of distractions that can lead a young man away from his innocent pleasures. It’s time to sit down and re-connect with a classic and see if it still holds up.
It does. It’s hard to explain but, what makes this film so borderline forgettable is the same reason it’s so well made. Movies similar to this of the era (BETTER OFF DEAD, FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF, any other successful high school movie) were remembered for their quirks. Those little special somethings that set them apart from everybody else. THREE O’CLOCK HIGH just doesn’t do it. Nobody talks to the camera. There’s no hilarious sidekick, cute animals, alien visits, animation sequences, time travel, musical montage, or gratuitous nudity. Aside form some nifty camera work and great sound editing (both of which remind me of the EVIL DEAD films, oddly enough) you’re simply left with a really good story played out by some really good characters. It’s a really good movie. Really.
The difference for me this time around was how dark the humor was. I remember this being a laugh-out-loud comedy. It’s more of a uncomfortable giggle-fest. Buddy Revell (Richard Tyson) has some serious issues and, quite honestly, comes off as one of the scariest high school villains of all time. Casey Siemaszko plays Jerry with a paranoid flawlessness. I always wondered why this dude never showed up in anything else I ever watched. Then I figured out he was solid contributor to two of my favorite films of all time. First, he was Biff’s buddy, 3-D, in BACK TO THE FUTURE and it’s sequel.
And then he was punk-ass, Billy Tessio, in STAND BY ME.
Not a bad little 80s resume if he does say so himself. Everybody else does a decent job – including Jeffery Tambor as Mr. Rice, Philip Baker Hall as Detective Mulvahill, and Mitch Pileggi as Duke Herman (great name).
As a whole, it was great to catch up with one of my all-time favorite high school films ever made. It may be a little darker than I remember, but then again, maybe me beating Chubby Cunt’s face into a bloody pulp wasn’t as fun for everyone as I thought it was. Sorry Chubs. Not really.
Re-Visit Rating: 8/10
elmariachi
May 28, 2013 @ 12:25 pm
Don’t think I’ve ever seen this flick. Im gonna search it out
Barry Shitpeas
May 28, 2013 @ 2:27 pm
RIP chubby cunt
Abel
May 29, 2013 @ 5:14 am
I love this fucking film! It doesn’t get the love and respect it deserves. I don’t know this is because it should be rediscovered. As you stated, I’m glad it doesn’t have the typical high school comedy cliches. This film didn’t need ’em. On the rare times I would find it on cable, I would drop everything to watch it.
The Ragi
May 30, 2013 @ 12:49 am
I watched this so many times on reruns. Until I heard you guys talking about it on the binge cast I had completely forgotten about it. Damn solid movie.