''Making the Grade'' is a 1984 American

teen Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

. It was directed by Dorian Walker and written by Charles Gale and

Gene Quintano Gene Quintano (born 1946 as Eugene Francis Quintano Jr.) is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer and director. He is best known for writing sequels to the film ''Police Academy'' and directing the western '' Dollar for the Dead'' and act ...

. It was filmed at

Rhodes College Rhodes College is a private liberal arts college in Memphis, Tennessee. Historically affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), it is a member of the Associated Colleges of the South and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges a ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

Plot

Palmer Woodrow (

Dana Olsen Dana Olsen is an American actor, film producer and screenwriter. He is the co-creator of '' Henry Danger'' alongside Dan Schneider. His written works include ''George of the Jungle'', ''The 'Burbs'' and ''Inspector Gadget''. Filmography Writ ...

) is a rich prep school kid who rarely attends class and has been expelled from numerous prep schools. His parents are traveling internationally and inform him that he has been enrolled at Hoover Academy and he has one last chance to graduate or he will be cut off financially. Meanwhile, Eddie Keaton (

Judd Nelson Judd Asher Nelson (born November 28, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as John Bender in ''The Breakfast Club'', Alec Newbury in ''St. Elmo's Fire'', Joe Hunt in ''Billionaire Boys Club'', Nick Peretti in ''New Jack City ...

) is a small-time con artist and high school dropout who has run afoul of a local

loanshark A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high interest rates, has strict terms of collection upon failure, and generally operates outside the law. Description Because loan sharks operate mostly illegally, they cannot reasonably ...

named "Dice." Via a chance meeting, Woodrow hires Keaton for $10,000 and a

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...

to attend his prep school and graduate, freeing Woodrow to travel to Europe for skiing.

Cast

Production

This film marks the first appearance of Andrew Clay's "Dice" persona. During an appearance on the ''

Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour ''The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour'' is an American television panel game show that combined two panel games of the 1960s and 1970s – ''Match Game'' and ''Hollywood Squares'' – into an hour-long format. The series ran from October 31, ...

'',

Gordon Jump Alexander Gordon Jump (April 1, 1932 – September 22, 2003) was an American actor best known as the clueless, yet occasionally wise, radio station manager Arthur "Big Guy" Carlson in the TV series ''WKRP in Cincinnati'' and the incompetent Ch ...

mentioned the working title of the film was ''The Last American Preppie'' and that they were looking for a new title. At the start of the film's final credits, the characters Palmer and Eddie are touted as returning in the upcoming movie, ''Tourista''. However, after low theatrical interest in the duo and repeated missed deadlines (of which Olsen tried to contribute as a writer), the script for ''Tourista'' was never completed. The pair never teamed up in filmmaking again.

References

External links

* * * 1984 films 1980s coming-of-age comedy films 1980s teen comedy films American coming-of-age comedy films American teen comedy films Films about con artists Films scored by Basil Poledouris Films shot in Tennessee Films set in Memphis, Tennessee Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Golan-Globus films United Artists films Films with screenplays by Gene Quintano Films produced by Gene Quintano 1984 directorial debut films 1984 comedy films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films {{1980s-comedy-film-stub