ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

SnoopyStyle Phys-ed teacher Freddy Shoop (Mark Harmon) is set to leave for Hawaiian vacation when he's forced to teach the remedial English summer school. He's even less motivated than the students. The class includes flirty Pam (Courtney Thorne-Smith), sleepy Larry (Ken Olandt), football jock Kevin (Patrick Labyorteaux), pregnant Rhonda (Shawnee Smith), geek Alan (Richard Steven Horvitz), sassy Denise (Kelly Jo Minter), giant black guy Jerome (Duane Davis), Italian transfer student Anna-Maria (Fabiana Udenio), horror fanatics Dave (Gary Riley) and Francis aka 'Chainsaw' (Dean Cameron). Mr. Shoop keeps flirting with fellow teacher Robin Bishop (Kirstie Alley) who is actually dating Vice Principal Phil Gills (Robin Thomas).I love this movie and I don't care if it's critically panned. It's charming light fun with a little dig at the education system. I love all the characters. The kids are a fun group. Mark Harmon is perfect as a laid-back teacher. I think some critics are looking for something edgy from director Carl Reiner. These are slacker characters who find their inner voices. These are fun nice characters.

gwnightscream Mark Harmon, Kirstie Alley, Robin Thomas, Dean Cameron and Courtney Thorne-Smith star in Carl Reiner's 1987 comedy. This begins with the students and staff of Ocean Front high school counting down to their summer vacation. Gym teacher, Freddy Shoop (Harmon) is ready to go to Hawaii, but gets talked into teaching summer school English by vice principal, Phil Gills (Thomas) to a group of failing misfits. Alley (Cheers) plays teacher, Robin Bishop whom Freddy falls for and helps him with his class, Smith (According to Jim) plays Pam, one of Freddy's students who has a crush on him at first and Cameron (Men at Work) plays horror fanatic, Francis aka Chainsaw who is a huge fan of the film, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." I've always liked this good 80's comedy, Harmon and Alley are great together and Reiner also makes a cameo as a teacher. I recommend this.

jbartelone There are few teen movies that I really get into. One is The Breakfast Club for its poignant portrayal of stereotyped high school students. The other is Summer School, because it is fresh, funny, and fun, every time I watch it.The format is predictable. In Summer School we have Freddy Shoop, a slacker gym teacher who longs for summer vacations, so that he doesn't have to teach! Mr. Shoop is up for tenure. Therefore, when the original Remedial English teacher wins a lottery, the dead-pan, strict, vice principle Mr. Gills is forced to hire Mr. Shoop as his replacement.The fun begins with trips to such places as amusement parks and petting zoos! But when a student's grandmother discovers that her grandson came home from an allergy attack from the animals, she marches into Mr. Gill's office demanding that the field trips stop and the education begins.Gills initially suspends Mr. Shoop for this. But Shoop asks, "What if I become a model teacher?" Gills blackmails him into keeping his job. He must get all of the students in his class to pass the English Proficiency test by the end of the term, or he loses not only his tenure, but also his job.Mr Shoop's students are smarter than they are given credit for. Most of the kids have fine potential, but are lazy to get their work done. Mr. Shoop bribes them by granting a favor to each student in exchange for them to show up, make an effort, and study for the proficiency test.I suppose the sticking part of this movie is why the students should have to be bribed to want to learn? However, it is a plus how Shoop begins to believe in the kids and gets them to instill confidence in themselves. In this type of movie, there are several "set backs" along the way as expected. But in the end, despite the student's average scores being below a 70%, (And the average scores of the students incidentally are NOT correct when you calculate the number of students whose scores are announced at the film's conclusion! The producers forget to do some basic math homework!) The head principle over-rides Gills' recommendation that Mr. Shoop be fired based on the improvements from the pre-test scores to post test scores and grants Mr. Shoop's tenure.One can not expect a serious motivational movie such as Lean on Me or Stand and Deliver from this. However, Summer School has a pleasant comic element without disintegrating into slapstick. Mark Harmon is great as the teacher and two stand out performances are the actors who play "Chainsaw" and "Dave" who are the human equivalent of "Beavis and Butthead!" For parents, there is some gross "special effects violence" when the kids recreate a scene from "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," which gives the film a PG-13 rating. (Some commercial TV/standard cable stations edit out this scene completely.) There are maybe one or two swear words in the film, but nothing really objectionable for a young teen crowd.A very entertaining movie and fine repeated viewing for most teens and their families. I recommend that everyone attend "Summer School!" You'll have a great time!

ILoveCheapHorrorFlix Jethro Gibbs he is not in this movie. Mark Harmon is an all around fun grown up who hasn't grown up. Even though this movie was filmed in the 80s, the only real way to tell was Pam's uncles awful mullet, a bit of clothing, and the free sunglasses. This movie could've been filmed yesterday and you probably wouldn't even notice. Courtney Thorne-Smith is painfully sexy, Kirsty Allie coming in second. The acting is surprisingly good, and there are minimal obvious errors and goofs. This movie is fun, easy to watch, and a real "brighten up your day" kinda film. Mark Harmon, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Kirsty Allie, and Wonder Mut...all on the beach. What more could you want? Thumbs up twice for this gem!