Common Sense Media Review
By Nell Minow , based on child development research. How do we rate?
age 17+
Very politically incorrect; funny for many adults.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
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Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
a lot
Drinking as male bonding, including drinking to excess.
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Language
a lot
Very strong frat-house language.
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Sex, Romance & Nudity
a lot
Nudity and sexual situations.
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Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this movie has a great deal of very mature and sometimes offensive material. There are homophobic references, a stereotyped Jewish character (wearing a "chai" necklace) shows up for group sex, characters drink to excess, and have casual sex. There are references to group sex and to other activities like wrestling with topless girls covered in KY jelly. There is a "fun" blow-up doll. A group of women hire a man to teach them how to give oral sex and we see them practicing on vegetables. The fraternity is welcoming to men of all races and ages and -- aside from some hazing of the pledges -- the men are all very supportive of each other. One character who seems most bent on abandoning all rules turns down sex with a young woman because he will not cheat on his wife. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Old School
Parent and Kid Reviews
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- Parents say (6)
- Kids say (13)
age 16+
Based on 6 parent reviews
Katherine R. Parent of 8, 10, 14, 18+, 18+ and 5-year-old
April 9, 2024
age 18+
GbMc Adult
January 14, 2022
age 17+
CSM is on the nose with 17+
Sexual content is pretty strong. From a group sex scene to BJ lessons, the sexual content is not something my 14yo should watch, let alone a 12yo as others have suggested. GREAT movie and so funny! But feeling uncomfortable with kids who are too young in the room takes away all the enjoyment.
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See all 6 parent reviews
What's the Story?
Think of OLD SCHOOL as the reunion of the gang from Animal House and Revenge of the Nerds. Three 30-year-old men, feeling squashed by responsibilities, end up turning a house into a fraternity with all of the fun of torturing pledges, throwing wild parties, and essentially relinquishing all trappings of civilization.
Is It Any Good?
Our review:
Parents say (6):
Kids say (13):
After a long, long series of gross-out slob would-be comedies that thought it was enough to be disgusting, it is a relief if not always a pleasure to see one that has some very funny moments. Yes, it is morally bankrupt and completely politically incorrect. But what can I say, I laughed.
In even the best of this genre, there is about a five-to-one joke ratio of failures to successes. It really isn't very funny when a character finds out after the fact that the young lady he had sex with while drunk was not just a high school student, but the daughter of his boss; when a character calls out "earmuffs" to his six year old son so that the boy will cover his ears when his father is about to use bad language; when a character's wife asks for a divorce just weeks after their marriage; or when an elderly character is so struck by the sight of slicked-up topless girls waiting to wrestle him that he keels over dead. But over and over, Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn throw themselves so completely into the material that they make it work much more often than it deserves.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about whether people need to feel that their responsibilities are suffocating when they become adults.
Movie Details
- In theaters: February 21, 2003
- On DVD or streaming: June 10, 2003
- Cast: Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrell
- Director: Todd Phillips
- Inclusion Information: Middle Eastern/North African actors
- Studio: DreamWorks
- Genre: Comedy
- Run time: 90 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: some strong sexual content, nudity, and language
- Last updated: August 2, 2024
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Old School
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