School's Out (1992 Film)
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''School's Out'' (also referred to on home video as ''Degrassi High: School's Out'') is a Canadian
drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...
based on the ''
Degrassi ''Degrassi'' is a Canadian teen drama television franchise created by Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler, that follows the lives of youths attending the eponymous secondary school in Toronto. Each entry since 1987 has taken place in the same contin ...
'' teen drama franchise created by
Linda Schuyler Linda Schuyler (; née Bawcutt; born February 12, 1948) is a Canadian television producer. She is best known for being the co-creator and producer of the ''Degrassi'' franchise, which has spanned five series over four decades. She is a co-found ...
and
Kit Hood Christopher "Kit" Hood (24 March 1943 – 20 January 2020) was an English-born Canadian filmmaker who co-created the '' Degrassi'' television franchise and its first three entries: ''The Kids of Degrassi Street'' (1979–86), '' Degrassi Junior ...
in 1979. It was directed by Hood and written by
Yan Moore Yan Moore (born February 6, 1953) is a Canadian television writer and producer. He is best known as a writer for '' Degrassi Junior High'', '' Degrassi High'' and '' Degrassi: The Next Generation''. He was also the creator and producer of the C ...
, based on a story by Moore, Schuyler and Hood. It aired on
CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...
on January 5, 1992, and served as a finale to the series ''
Degrassi High ''Degrassi High'' is a Canadian teen drama television series created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood. It is the third entry in the '' Degrassi'' franchise and the direct continuation of '' Degrassi Junior High'', and was broadcast on the CBC fro ...
'' and its predecessor ''
Degrassi Junior High ''Degrassi Junior High'' is a Canadian teen drama television series created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood. It is the second entry of the '' Degrassi'' television franchise after ''The Kids of Degrassi Street'' and aired on the CBC from 18 Jan ...
,'' which are collectively known as the ''Degrassi Classic'' era of the franchise. The movie, centered on the Degrassi students during their first summer post-graduation, primarily focuses on the relationship between
Joey Jeremiah Joseph "Joey" Jeremiah is a fictional character from the ''Degrassi'' teen drama franchise. He is portrayed by Pat Mastroianni. He debuted in the first episode of ''Degrassi Junior High'' and appeared throughout ''Degrassi Junior High'', ''Degras ...
(
Pat Mastroianni Pasquale Mastroianni (born December 22, 1971), known professionally as Pat Mastroianni, is a Canadian actor who is best known for his role as Joey Jeremiah in the ''Degrassi'' television franchise, playing the role as a student in ''Degrassi J ...
) and Caitlin Ryan (
Stacie Mistysyn Stacie Moana Mistysyn (born July 23, 1971) is an American and Canadian actress who is best known for her role as Caitlin Ryan throughout multiple incarnations of the ''Degrassi'' teen drama franchise, from ''Degrassi Junior High'' through '' De ...
); after Caitlin politely rejects Joey's marriage proposal, he begins becoming romantically involved with Tessa Campanelli (Kirsten Bourne), while also still being involved with Caitlin; he has sex with both, with Tessa being first, and brags about it with his friends. Later, Joey's friend Archie "Snake" Simpson ( Stefan Brogren), frustrated of his inability to get a girlfriend, ultimately reveals this fact at a party while Caitlin is in the same room, causing her to break the relationship off. Joey and Snake's friend, Derek "Wheels" Wheeler ( Neil Hope) starts drinking heavily, resulting in a car crash which kills a two year old boy and blinds class valedictorian Lucy Fernandez (
Anais Granofsky Anais Granofsky (born May 14, 1973) is an American-born Canadian actress, screenwriter, producer and director, who is best known for playing the role of Lucy Fernandez in the '' Degrassi'' television franchise, appearing as a main character in ' ...
). The movie was noted for its inclusion of coarse language and more sexually-oriented content as opposed to the television series, including two instances of the word "
fuck ''Fuck'' () is profanity in the English language that often refers to the act of sexual intercourse, but is also commonly used as an intensifier or to convey disdain. While its origin is obscure, it is usually considered to be first attested ...
" during the movie's climax, and a scene depicting how a condom is applied, despite the CBC's refusal to run condom commercials. The film received a positive critical reception after its initial broadcast. In Canada, it drew in 2.3 million viewers, double that of what the preceding series usually received. In 1993, it was nominated for a Gemini Award for Best TV Movie. Despite being intended as a finale, the franchise was rebooted in 2001 with '' Degrassi: The Next Generation,'' whose premiere episode primarily centered around the ten-year reunion of the original class.


Plot

It is graduation time for the seniors at Degrassi High, and everyone is making plans for the summer and their future. Most are preparing for university or far-off travel. One who is not is
Joey Jeremiah Joseph "Joey" Jeremiah is a fictional character from the ''Degrassi'' teen drama franchise. He is portrayed by Pat Mastroianni. He debuted in the first episode of ''Degrassi Junior High'' and appeared throughout ''Degrassi Junior High'', ''Degras ...
, who is preparing for another year in high school. His longtime girlfriend Caitlin Ryan has taken a number of extra classes and completed high school in three years and has graduated with Joey's former peers. Eager to hold on to her before she leaves for university to study journalism, Joey proposes to Caitlin at a graduation party hosted by Lucy Fernandez. Caitlin demurs, explaining that she is not ready for that kind of commitment. Joey storms out, only to run into classmate Tessa Campanelli fresh from an argument with her boyfriend Todd, and agrees to give her a ride home. Arriving at the Campanelli house, Tessa pulls Joey toward her for a kiss. The next day, on a break from the photo shop where she works, Tessa visits Joey next door at the drug store where he works and asks him on a date. Joey, though initially hesitant, accepts Tessa's offer, has a great time, and, as he tells
Wheels A wheel is a rotating component (typically circular in shape) that is intended to turn on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axl ...
the next day, gets to "
third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...
." Tessa confides in her co-worker,
Spike Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (Broderick book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter ...
, the details of the relationship. Spike reminds her that Joey and Caitlin have a pattern of breaking up and reuniting. Tessa rejects Spike's argument, noting that Caitlin will be leaving for university in a matter of weeks anyway. With Caitlin working most evenings and weekends waiting tables at a
cafe A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargil ...
and Joey working days, they spend little time together and Joey starts seeing Tessa more frequently and they soon go all the way. As the summer goes on, Joey sees both Tessa and Caitlin with neither realizing he is dating them both. By the middle of August, Tessa discovers she is pregnant and decides to have an
abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
. When she realises that Joey is still with Caitlin with no intention of breaking up with her, she dumps him. Joey and Caitlin finally have sex on his nineteenth birthday, approximately a week before Caitlin, Lucy, and Snake are all scheduled to depart for university. It is Caitlin's first time, though she is unaware that it is not Joey's. Unbeknownst to Joey, Caitlin has decided to attend a local university in order to remain close to him. The next day, at an end of the summer lake house party, hosted by Lucy's boyfriend Bronco, Caitlin accepts Joey's earlier marriage proposal. Joey, who had been teasing
Snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...
all summer about his inability to get a girlfriend, brags once more about his abilities with women. Snake (citing that he's been living through the "summer from hell") finally lashes out at Joey for all the teasing and blurts out about him sleeping with Tessa. Caitlin overhears and confronts Joey about it. She storms out after breaking off their engagement and telling Joey of her would-be plans to study locally in order to be with him. Immediately after unintentionally breaking up Joey and Caitlin, Snake realises that former classmate Allison Hunter is drowning and rushes into the lake to rescue her. Everyone congratulates him for saving her life, but he breaks down in a flood of emotion and anxiety. Wheels, who had been drinking heavily, leaves the party with Lucy to get more chips but ends up crashing into another car. The crash kills a two-year-old boy in the other car, and seriously injures Lucy and the driver of the other car. The next day, Joey visits Wheels in jail, where Wheels tells him he has been charged with one count of criminal negligence causing death, two counts of criminal negligence causing injury, and drunk driving. He asserts that it was not his fault that the child was not wearing a seatbelt or that Lucy wanted to get more chips. Caitlin visits Lucy at the hospital where she is immobilized and unsure if she will ever see or walk again. Later, Joey stops to see Snake as he prepares to leave for university and asks why he will not accept Wheels' phone calls. Snake is disgusted by Wheels, particularly in light of Wheels having lost his own parents to a drunk driver. He apologizes to Joey for saying what he said at Bronco's place. Joey accepts his apology, saying that Caitlin would have found out sooner or later. Two months later, most of the gang get together for the wedding of Alexa Pappadopoulos and Simon Dexter. Absent are Wheels,
Erica Erica or ERICA may refer to: * Erica (given name) * Erica (plant), ''Erica'' (plant), a flowering plant genus * Erica (chatbot), a service of Bank of America * Erica (video game), ''Erica'' (video game), a 2019 FMV video game * Erica (spider), ' ...
, and Lucy. Wheels, still incarcerated, is planning to plead guilty for his crimes. Erica is teaching abroad in the
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
and has met a new boyfriend in the process. Meanwhile, Lucy has since regained vision in one of her eyes, but is still not well enough to attend the wedding. Snake is accompanied by his girlfriend Pam whom he met at university and is implied to have finally lost his virginity to her, and he appears considerably more self-assured; he still has yet to get into contact with Wheels. Joey and Snake have an awkward reunion, but make unspecific plans to hang out before he goes back to university. Joey also apologizes for hurting Caitlin, who forgives him, and as Simon and Alexa have their first dance as husband and wife, former fiancés Joey and Caitlin share a dance as friends.


Cast


Production

During development of ''School's Out'', six of ''Degrassi''s actors filmed ''
Degrassi Talks ''Degrassi Talks'' is a Canadian non-fiction documentary television miniseries and part of the ''Degrassi'' franchise created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood. Running six episodes from February 29 to March 30, 1992, it featured actors from ''Degras ...
'', a six-part non-fiction miniseries in which the actors interviewed teenagers and young adults across Canada about issues explored in the show. Principal photography for School's Out began on July 21, 1991.
Yan Moore Yan Moore (born February 6, 1953) is a Canadian television writer and producer. He is best known as a writer for '' Degrassi Junior High'', '' Degrassi High'' and '' Degrassi: The Next Generation''. He was also the creator and producer of the C ...
explained the use of the word "fuck" in the film: "There was a tension growing, especially between Joey and Snake. Snake had this tremendous frustration and the word had never been used in a script before. So, when Snake finally lost it with Joey, the word was included. Since Caitlin overheard the conversation, it just seemed right for her to use that totally un-Caitlin-like word."


Music

The film featured eight songs from the debut album of
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
-based
rock group A musical ensemble, also known as a music group, musical group, or a band is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumen ...
Harem Scarem Harem Scarem is a Canadian hard rock/melodic hard rock band from Toronto, Ontario. Harem Scarem initially (the early 1990s) achieved popularity in their native Canada and Japan. The band was active from 1987 to 2008, and again from 2013 after ...
. After the movie aired, Toronto radio station Q-107 received multiple requests to play Harem Scarem's music. The film also featured songs from top Canadian artists including Gowan (the song "
Moonlight Desires "Moonlight Desires" is a song by Scottish-born Canadian musician Lawrence Gowan. Released in March 1987 as the lead single from his third studio album, '' Great Dirty World'', it reached number ten in Canada. Yes's Jon Anderson, walking by the st ...
"),
The Box (band) The Box is a Canada, Canadian pop rock band from Montreal, Quebec,"The Box"
''The Canadian E ...
,
Spoons (band) Spoons is a Canadian new wave band, formed in Burlington, Ontario in 1979. They released several Canadian chart hits between 1982 and 1989, and in 1983, they were nominated for Most Promising Group of the Year at the Juno Awards. Their most ...
,
Amy Sky Amy Sky (born 24 September 1960) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, theatre actress, and television host. Sky started classical music lessons at the age of five, and plays piano, guitar, cello and recorder. She has a degree from t ...
,
Images in Vogue Images in Vogue is a Canadian new wave group formed in 1981 in Vancouver. It originally consisted of vocalist Dale Martindale, guitarist Don Gordon (later of Numb), synth players Joe Vizvary and Glen Nelson, bassist Gary Smith, and percussioni ...
and
Malcolm Burn Malcolm Burn (born October 4, 1960) is a Canadian-born music producer, recording engineer and musician. Emmylou Harris's '' Red Dirt Girl'', produced by Burn, won Best Contemporary Folk Album at the 2001 Grammys. Biography Born in Cornwall, Onta ...
.


Release


Broadcast

''School's Out'' aired on
CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...
at 8:00 p.m. on January 5, 1992. The film drew 2.3 million viewers on the network, doubling the average audience that ''Degrassi High'' received. In Australia, the film premiered on ABC TV at 8:30.p.m on May 17, 1993, preceded by an introduction from ''Afternoon Show'' host Michael Tunn.


Home media

''School's Out'' was released on VHS by
ABC Video ABC Commercial, formerly ABC Enterprises Limited, is the revenue-earning division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, one of the two national public broadcasters. ABC Commercial has operated in various forms since its establishment in ...
and
Roadshow Entertainment Roadshow Entertainment (formerly known as Roadshow Home Video from 1982–1993) is an Australian home video, production and distribution company that is a division of Village Roadshow (formerly Roadshow Home Video and Roadshow Entertainment) th ...
in Australia in 1993, and WGBH Boston Home Video in the United States on March 7, 2000. It was later released as part of the ''Degrassi High: The Complete Collection'' DVD box set by WGBH on October 9, 2007, and on the ''Degrassi High Collection'' set by Force Entertainment in Australia on March 12, 2008.


Critical reception

''School's Out'' received critical praise from the Canadian press on its original broadcast. Writing for the
Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, and is the larg ...
, Hester Riches felt that like the preceding series, the movie took risks, but "paid off in typical Degrassi style". Writing for
The Canadian Press The Canadian Press (CP; , ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Press has been a privately-held company, pr ...
, Bill Anderson stated that despite the main love triangle plot, "deft subplotting" resulted in a "memorable" end to the film's story, and that the movie put "a brilliant cap" on the "honest, compelling" tradition that the ''Degrassi'' shows had created. Riches, along with columnist Janice Kennedy, both noted the inclusion of a scene of Lucy Fernandez showing Caitlin Ryan how to apply a condom to a man's genitals, despite CBC's refusal to run advertisements about condoms. Writing for
Fashion Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...
magazine in the wake of the movie's 25th anniversary, Lesa Hannah called it "a truly iconic piece of Canadiana". Australian film critic
Adrian Martin Adrian Martin (born 1959) is an Australian film and arts critic. He now lives in Malgrat de Mar in Spain. He is Adjunct Associate Professor in Film Culture and Theory at Monash University. His work has appeared in many magazines, journals and ...
, a fan of the TV series, gave the film a mixed to negative review, feeling that the movie was "a little disappointing" and a departure from the "daggy everydayness" typical of the shows, and pointed out a "punishing sense of morality" exemplified by the catastrophic events experienced by several of its characters. Writing for the ''
Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...
'', Alison Stewart praised the film and called it "much more real television" than its American counterpart ''
Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to as ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling via his production company Spelling Television. The series ran for 10 seasons on Fo ...
''. Amanda Stepto, who played Spike, was critical of the film, calling it "too adult" and "not a very good send off". In a 2019 podcast interview, when asked about the film, Stepto responded; "Fuckin' hate that!". She noted how she had requested to be included in the film's party scene but ultimately did not, and questioned why character Tessa Campanelli, who played a minor role in the series, was given a lead role. The movie was nominated for a Gemini Award for Best TV Movie in 1993, the same year that ''
Degrassi Talks ''Degrassi Talks'' is a Canadian non-fiction documentary television miniseries and part of the ''Degrassi'' franchise created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood. Running six episodes from February 29 to March 30, 1992, it featured actors from ''Degras ...
'' was nominated for Best Youth Program Or Series.


References


External links


''School's Out''
at official Degrassi website
''School's Out''
at Degrassi.ca * {{Degrassi 1992 television films 1992 films 1992 drama films 1990s Canadian films 1990s coming-of-age drama films 1990s English-language films 1990s teen drama films Canadian coming-of-age drama films Canadian drama television films Canadian teen drama films CBC Television original films Degrassi WildBrain films Films set in Toronto Television films based on television series