''PCU'' is a 1994 American
comedy film written by Adam Leff and
Zak Penn
Zak Penn (born March 23, 1968) is an American screenwriter. Penn wrote and directed '' Incident at Loch Ness'' and '' The Grand'', wrote the script for ''The Incredible Hulk'', co-wrote the scripts for '' X2'', '' X-Men: The Last Stand'', and t ...
and directed by
Hart Bochner
Hart Matthew Bochner (born October 3, 1956) is a Canadian actor, film director, screenwriter and producer. He has appeared in films such as '' Breaking Away'' (1979), '' Terror Train'' (1980), '' Rich and Famous'' (1981), '' The Wild Life'' (1984) ...
about college life at the fictional Port Chester University, and represents "an exaggerated view of contemporary college life". The film is based on the experiences of Leff and Penn at
Eclectic Society at
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the ...
in
Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, it is south of Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated by English settlers as a town under its ...
.
[DVD Director's commentary]
Plot
Preppy pre-freshman (''pre-
frosh'') Tom Lawrence visits Port Chester University (PCU), a college where
fraternities
A fraternity (from Latin '' frater'': "brother"; whence, " brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity i ...
have been outlawed and
political correctness
''Political correctness'' (adjectivally: ''politically correct''; commonly abbreviated ''PC'') is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in socie ...
is rampant. During his visit, accident-prone Tom makes enemies with nearly every group of students, and thus spends much of his visit evading the growing mob after him.
During his visit, Tom finds himself in the middle of a war between "The Pit" and "Balls and Shaft", two rival groups. Among the members of the latter is Rand McPherson, who, with the other Balls and Shaft members, want the outlawed
Greek system
Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America.
Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradua ...
to return.
Meanwhile, "The Pit" runs the former "Balls and Shaft" frat house in a highly disorganized manner. Currently inhabited by seniors Gutter and Mullaney, mid-year freshman co-ed Katy, and led by multi-year senior James "Droz" Andrews, The Pit is a party-centric house that rebels against politically correct protests; their counter-protests and parties are a frequent source of complaint forms.
Other factions on campus include a commune-style house of pot users called Jerrytown that Gutter often frequents, a
radical feminist
Radical feminism is a perspective within feminism that calls for a radical re-ordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all social and economic contexts, while recognizing that women's experiences are also affected by other s ...
group known as the Womynists, an Afrocentric group suspecting the Pit of conspiring against them, and the college president, Ms. Garcia-Thompson, who is obsessed with enforcing "sensitivity awareness" and
multiculturalism
The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for " ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchang ...
to an extreme. She proposes that Bisexual Asian Studies should have its own building, as well as a plan to change the campus mascot to a
whooping crane
The whooping crane (''Grus americana'') is the tallest North American bird, named for its whooping sound. It is an endangered crane species. Along with the sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis''), it is one of only two crane species native to N ...
instead of an
offensive Native American character during their bicentennial anniversary.
Garcia-Thompson conspires behind closed doors with Balls and Shaft to get the established residents of The Pit kicked off campus and give Rand control of the house. She provokes The Pit residents with a damage bill from their past semester. Left unpaid, the campus would seize their house, leaving them homeless and unable to continue attending PCU without getting jobs.
The Pit responds by throwing a party to raise the funds needed. The Womynists take offense to The Pit's flyers advertising the party and hold a protest outside as the house residents conspire to steal alcohol and convince students to attend. The party at first appears to be a failure. However, a series of unlikely events results in
George Clinton and
Parliament-Funkadelic
Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. Their distinctive f ...
performing at the party. Students begin streaming in (initially to seize Tom for his prior mistakes) and the party successfully raises the funds to keep the house.
Garcia-Thompson (after being locked in a room by Droz with the song "
Afternoon Delight" playing on repeat), decides to act on the many complaints against The Pit. She shuts down the party and expels the residents of The Pit in spite of their fundraising efforts. Tom then informs Droz about an overheard conversation with the Board of Trustees: the President's politically correct changes are negatively affecting both their past legacy and media publicity.
At the bicentennial ceremony the following morning, Droz and former Pit residents succeed in liberating the Whooping Crane and provoking the other students into an impromptu protest against protesting (chanting "We're not gonna protest!"). The demonstration establishes that even with The Pit shut down, the President cannot control the student population, resulting in the Board of Trustees summarily firing her. Meanwhile, Rand complains about all the other student groups, unaware that Droz has surreptitiously used the podium microphone to broadcast his rant to the entire campus.
Later, Tom heads home, having decided to commit to PCU as The Pit has moved back into their house. As he sits on the bus, he sees Rand, who is now in Tom's position at the beginning of the film: being chased by the students across campus.
Cast
The Pit
*
Jeremy Piven
Jeremy Samuel Piven (born July 26, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Ari Gold in the comedy series ''Entourage'', for which he won a Golden Globe Award and three consecutive Emmy Awards. He also starred in the British ...
as James "Droz" Andrews
*
Chris Young as Tom Lawrence
*
Alex Désert
Alex Désert (born July 18, 1968) is an American actor and musician, known for his roles in the TV series '' The Flash'', '' The Heights'' with Jamie Walters, '' Becker'' with Ted Danson, and Mr. Williams on '' Boy Meets World'', as well as the v ...
as Mullaney
*
Jon Favreau
Jonathan Kolia Favreau (; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as '' Rudy'' (1993), '' PCU'' (1994), '' Swingers'' (1996), '' Very Bad Things'' (1998), '' Deep Impact'' (1998 ...
as Gutter
*
Megan Ward
Megan Marie Ward (born September 24, 1969) is an American actress. She is best known for her numerous credits in science fiction and horror movies and television series. In 2007, she joined the cast of the American daytime drama ''General Hosp ...
as Katy
* Gale Mayron as Cecilia
*
Matt Ross as Raji
* Jake Grace and Darin Heames as "The Daves"
*
Stivi Paskoski
Stivi Paskoski (born 1974 or 1975) is an Macedonian American actor. He hosted the TV series ''Video Power'' as Johnny Arcade and played Pete McGonagle on ''Brotherhood''. Paskoski has also appeared in the film '' Cash Only'' and episodes of '' H ...
as Deege
* Jody Racicot as Pigman
Balls & Shaft
*
David Spade
David Wayne Spade (born July 22, 1964) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, television host, and writer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' in the 1990s, and he later began an acting career in both film and television. He also s ...
as Rand McPherson
*
Kevin Jubinville
Kevin Jubinville (born April 28, 1967) is a Canadian actor known for playing The Shep in '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' and Bob Venton in '' Rabbit Fall''.
Filmography
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jubinville, Kevin
1967 births
...
as Carter Prescott
* Thomas Mitchell as Bantam Draper
Womynist House
* Sarah Trigger as Samantha
*
Viveka Davis as Womynist #1
*
Maddie Corman
Maddie Corman (born Madeleine Cornman; August 15, 1970) is an American actress. She has appeared in over 25 films, including ''Seven Minutes in Heaven'', '' Some Kind of Wonderful'', ''The Adventures of Ford Fairlane'' and '' A Beautiful Day in t ...
as Womynist #2
Jerrytown
*
Jake Busey
William Jacob Busey is an American actor. Among his most prominent roles have been serial killer Johnny Bartlett in 1996's ''The Frighteners'', Ace Levy in 1997's ''Starship Troopers'', Kyle Brenner in 2001's '' Tomcats'', Aiden Tanner in the 20 ...
as Mersh
* Ted Kozma as Kosmo
* Theo Caldwell as The Giggler
Group Leaders
* Becky Thyre as Moonbeam (Cause-Heads)
* Kevin Thigpen as Afrocentrist
* Rob Gfroerer as Computer Geek
* Jonathan Wilson as Gay Activist
The Establishment
*
Jessica Walter
Jessica Walter (January 31, 1941 – March 24, 2021) was an American actress who appeared in over 170 film, stage and television productions. In film, she was best known for her role as a psychotic and obsessed fan of a local disc jockey in t ...
as President Garcia-Thompson
*
Colin Fox as Trustee #1
* Larry Reynolds as Trustees #2
Others
*
George Clinton as himself
*
Parliament-Funkadelic
Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. Their distinctive f ...
appearing as themselves
Production
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as ...
took place almost entirely in and around
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
with the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
serving as Port Chester University. Some limited second unit shots were shot on the Wesleyan campus.
Jeremy Piven
Jeremy Samuel Piven (born July 26, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Ari Gold in the comedy series ''Entourage'', for which he won a Golden Globe Award and three consecutive Emmy Awards. He also starred in the British ...
complains in the DVD
audio commentary
An audio commentary is an additional audio track, usually digital, consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with a video. Commentaries can be serious or entertaining in nature, and can add informatio ...
that actors were not allowed by the director to improvise at all. He was able to include some limited improvisation by appealing to the writers directly.
[ Production schedules were challenged when Piven, who is active in anti-malaria charities, contracted ]malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. ...
on a trip to Guatemala which affected him while filming.[Jeremy Piven Bio]
/ref>
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
the film has an approval rating of 44% based on reviews from 16 critics. On Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
the film has a score of 42% based on reviews from 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
said the film "begins with a terrific premise, but immediately loses faith in it." It has also been ranked among the ten best college movies by ''The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
''.
With a budget of $8 million, it grossed $2,129,483 on opening weekend contributing to a final domestic total of $4,330,020.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack, released on May 10, 1994 by Fox / Arista, features songs from the feature film. Steve Vai
Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist f ...
wrote the score for the movie, which he would later release on his compilation album The Elusive Light and Sound, Vol. 1. The album is notable for the Mudhoney
Mudhoney is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1988, following the demise of Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner, bassist Guy Maddison and drummer Dan Peters. ...
's cover of Pump It Up.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:PCU
1994 films
1994 comedy films
American comedy films
Films with screenplays by Zak Penn
Films about fraternities and sororities
Films set in universities and colleges
20th Century Fox films
Films directed by Hart Bochner
1994 directorial debut films
Films shot in Toronto
University of Toronto
1990s English-language films
1990s American films