SAVAGE STEVE HOLLAND'S THIRD FILM 'HOW I GOT INTO COLLEGE'

year: 1989 cast: Corey Parker, Lara Flynn Boyle, Diane Franklin

Savage Steve Holland is an underrated/underused director, and yet, just about everyone knows of his first two films. Both starring John Cusack as a frustrated teenage cartoonist, BETTER OFF DEAD and ONE CRAZY SUMMER are character-driven cult classics...

In Holland’s third and final theatrical release, HOW I GOT INTO COLLEGE, about a lovelorn teenager attempting to con his way into higher education, the titular plot keeps Savage Steve from providing the usual frantic anything-goes adventure as Corey Parker, who transformed pretty well into a geeky private in BILOXI BLUES, provides decent comedy chops but lacks Cusack's universal every-kid charm, as well as the ability to headline an entire movie, comedy or otherwise. The signature Savage animation is replaced by two doomed goofballs stuck in dire situations, from being surrounded by sharks to skydiving, part of "Stress Questions" Parker can’t answer on his S.A.T. test. Sadly there are no David Lee Roth numbers here (Holland was Dave's stock video director and previously used his solo tunes, plus one by Roth-era Van Halen, in the first two of this Gen-X "teen trilogy" of sorts).

Taylor Negron w/ Corey Parker How I Got Into College SCORE **1/2

A pre-famous future TWIN PEAKS and WAYNE'S WORLD starlet Lara Flynn Boyle is a beautiful brain who yearns to attend the same coveted University, As the apple of Corey Parker’s eye, their romance blossoms without any struggle. And this quirky soup has way too many cooks...

Anthony Edwards and a group of competing admission officers distract from our hero’s plight. Worthy enough as side-characters, the grownups have so much screen time that the underdog theme gets lost in the mix. Yet despite its flaws, COLLEGE tries with a big heart. Plus it features the extraordinary cute BETTER OFF DEAD Diane Franklin's cameo as Richard Jenkins' (Parker's dad's) young trophy wife. Prepare to be envious.

Diane Franklin as a really hot young step mother

Diane Franklin in HOW I GOT INTO COLLEGE

Dan Schneider (right) as a hopeful college applicant

Diane Franklin and Richard Jenkins in HOW I GOT INTO COLLEGE