RELEASE DATE: 1982
RATED: R
REVIEWED BY: The DarkSider
This cult classic begins with an average day in good old inner city located Lincoln High School. Aka, kids walking through metal detectors, spray painting everything in sight, etc. Now let me say that although by today standards, that would be just about any suburban high school. Back then, it was unheard of accept in a few places. Talk about a movie ahead of it's time.
Anyhow, music teacher Andy Norris arrives to celebrate his first day teaching. He meets up with alcoholic and heat packing biology teacher Terry Corrigan played entertainingly by Roddy McDowell. Apparently the teachers make a monkey of him on a daily basis. Ok there it is...my one really lame Planet Of The Apes joke.
Corrigan gives Norris the rundown of the school which apparently has no control of it's kids. He suggests that he minds his own business and goes home safe at night. Well seeing we need a plot line, Norris does just the opposite. After he gets a brief job description from Principal Morganthau, he goes to his class of band geeks.
Immediately its apparent that a gang is running amuck in the class. They are lead by a kid named Stegman who is played in over the top fashion by Timothy Van Patten. After a brief confrontation, Stegman simply takes off with his gang leaving Mr. Holland's Opus to his duties.
Now I've always been a fan of "who would have known" acting roles. Who else is in the front seat but a young Michael J. Fox as a kid named Arthur. Interesting side point is that he actually gets credited in this film as "Michael Fox" without the "J".
Meanwhile in hallways, Stegman and his cronies sell thousands of dollars worth of drugs and muscles in on a rival gang's drug market. Indeed education can be lucrative for those willing to expand minds in extreme ways.
That evening Norris, after getting some graffiti removed from his car, goes home to his wife Diane. The young couple have all the reason to celebrate in their new home and Diane is several weeks pregnant with a baby. Well its safe to assume they're both screwed later in the film. No one can be that happy in a movie like this.
Across town Stegman and his friends beat the hell out of a rival gang and head out to the local punk club. After a bunch of slam dancing, Stegman plays the punk version of Don Corleone to several people from a kid applying for gang work to a wanna-be coke whore. After that they cap off the evening by going to Norris's house to spray him with blood. Those crazy kids...
The next day, Stegman invades Norris's class and wreaks havoc. However, he displays a different side when he starts playing a piece on the piano. Norris, although amazed by Stegman�s Liberace performance, kicks him out.
The plot moves on and eventually Arthur's friend Jimmy buys some angel dust off Stegman in the boys room. Norris, who was on hall duty at the time, busts in on the group. He finds the bag the angel dust was in and takes the gang to the principal's office. With no hard evidence, the principal tells the gang to behave in so many words which infuriates Norris.
Meanwhile outside Jimmy, in a drug induced stupor, climbs his way up the flag pole and dies when he falls off it. Norris, not happy about this extreme pledge of allegiance, confronts Arthur about who sold Jimmy the drugs. Fearing for his life, Arthur says that admitting who sold him the drugs won't bring Jimmy back. Maybe a Delorean time machine would help but nothing else. Ok...bad Michael J. Fox joke out of the way.
After school Norris and Corrigan go out for a drink. They end up coming across Stegman who is threatening Arthur. Norris finds out the rules of engagement are different on the streets when he gets his head sliced open by the gang. Later on that evening, the gang blows up Norris's car to cap off a busy day.
Norris goes in to file a report against Stegman and a Detective Stewiski says theres little he can do based on the testimony. The next day, Corrigan walks in to find his lab vandalized with his pet animals chopped up. This sets Norris off and he confronts Stegman in the bathroom. Stegman, in a bit of evil brilliancy, kicks his own ass to make it look Norris did the deed.
Well this causes Norris to get some heat from the cops. Norris decides its best to tell Stegman's mommy at home his side of the story. Turns out Stegman is a posh mamma's boy who has her thinking hes a good little cookie. She tells Norris to get lost and he repays Stegman by hot-wiring his car and smashing it up. All these are apparently resume skills needed to be a teacher in a violent school.
So, Arthur finds himself in a bit of trouble when one of Stegman's gang stabs him at lunch. Norris talks to Arthur in the hospital about coming forward about his attacker. This is still not enough to put Stegman and his group behind bars.
Meanwhile back at school, Corrigan officially goes off the deep end when he implements his gun as a teaching weapon. Corrigan almost offs Stegman when he fails to answer �what is an amphibian�. At this point I had a hard time believing Stegman, who the film set up as a genius, couldn�t answer that question. Well, Norris runs in and oddly saves the one kid who has been terrorizing him. This doesn�t help Corrigan much who dies trying to kill Stegman later that evening.
Norris finds time in his busy schedule of battling gangs to put together an evening concert. As he prepares to perform, his wife gets a little in-out in-out from Stegman and his gang across town. They take her hostage and bring her to the school. Norris finds out and heads off to take on the gang in the climax.
At first Norris continuously gets his ass handed to him in a game of cat and mouse. Then Norris turns it around by taking out several members of the gang. Finally on the roof, he takes on Stegman who has Diane in his clutches. This leads to Norris chucking Stegman through the roof window thus hanging him ending the movie
Class Of 1984 is a superbly done film that (as already mentioned) was way ahead of it's time. With all the school shootings you read about in the paper today, one has to wonder if there was something we could have learned from this film in the decade of access.
1.) We Don�t Need No Education: In the epic battle of teacher vs students, Norris takes out Stegman�s gang with blow torches, power saws and other hardware. Finally shop class paid off for someone in life.
Stegman�s Gang: Below are the top 5 hand written excerpts from the Class Of 1984's yearbook;
5.) Remember when Mr. Smith And Wesson taught biology class!
4.) Mr. Norris, your class was good but your wife was better!
3.) Remember the name �Michael Fox�, it will be huge one day with a �J� in the middle!
2.) Mr. Corrigan, can I have a swig of whats in your desk?
1.) Watch out for falling students!
