Old School

This rowdy, vulgar and often hilarious comedy about three 30-something buddies who attempt to recapture the hedonism of their college days begins with a wallop and then recklessly careens between Animal House high jinks and American Pie Lite grossness. Yuppie real estate attorney Mitch (Luke Wilson) returns home from work early one day to find his girlfriend (Juliette Lewis) hosting a small sex party. The flabbergasted legal adviser then moves into a house near campus. His former pals Beanie (Vince Vaughn as family man and electronics storeowner) and Frank (Will Ferrell as a newlywed whose past drinking earned him the name of Frank the Tank) try to cheer up their forlorn friend by turning the abode into a party-central frat house. The lead males give impressively modulated performances that keep the laughs flowing as all hell breaks loose. Directed by Todd Phillips (Frat House). M.H.