NEW Up The Creek (1984) (DVD)

This is the FIRST DVD REVIEW since Amazon piles all the VHS reviews in the DVD review slot.At the time I wrote this review the movie was 3 days after its DVD release date.

I do want to inform everyone ordering this on DVD.

THE NEGATIVES (some are very minor)

The Movie is "MGM ON-DEMAND" which is where MGM make a copy using DVD-R media to make the movie themselves. Same thing as Columbias version of on demand disks. This is not a bad thing but it does make some minor differences when you love movies.

The DVD only takes up 4 gigs of space so you knowledgeable people know what that means. Sound quality for one.
The sound on this is in mono and only plays on my center speaker so you will need to make some adjustments or find a good stereo setting to use. Dukes of Hazzard series was one that bugs me when its in mono. At least make it so it plays on at least two speakers in mono!

It may not play in some players as stated in print on the back. It says it will play on "play only" devices and may not play back on PCs or some DVD players. It would NOT play at all on my Xbox 360 for example. But it does play on my PC no problem. It also played on two of my portable players.
But dont assume it wont play for you. I wouldnt want to scare you :)

The printing on the disk is a standard MGM logo, some small print and the name "UP THE CREEK" in small lettering from a standard PC font. But at least its not a label stuck to the disk.

My wife gets mad when I ignore everything else when Heather Merriweather (Jennifer Runyon) is on the screen. Especially when she says that one line :)

I would say those last two negatives are very minor.

THE POSITIVES

At least its finally out for DVD release.

The video quality is pretty good on my Plasma 46 inch .of course you dont need hi definition video since its not known for its special effects :). Considering the source it the best they can do but I was still impressed how nice it looks. No pixelation as far as I could see. But I only watched 10 minutes so far.

It is in Widescreen which is nice since I never saw it in widescreen except on Netflix. I was glad since some companies make DVDs in full screen which is a waste and I was expecting a full screen to show up knowing some companies.

But I do give the movie 5 stars because it is funny all the way through. Better than Animal House and many of the others that came at that time. Except Porkys.
But I gave it 4 stars due to it being in mono and not playing on some players out there. 4 out of 5 players for me is not bad :)

Overall I did not mind spending 15 bucks to add this to my collection due to the fact I love the actual movie itself.

I hope this helps the people who just found out its available.

WHERE OH WHERE is the DVD Version?

This movie is funnier than Animal House, Revenge of the Nerds, Porky's, Meatballs, CaddyShack or any of the other similar comedies of its time... and in essence captures the best of each of those movies into one place. There are lots of fun characters and scenes... and best of all, in my opinion, some of the best funny dialog in a comedy. Tim Matheson absolutely shines in this... its a shame this movie wasnt a smash and he wasnt able to play more roles like this. McGraw (Matheson) delivers a classic line in this after the character Heather, played by Jennifer Runyon, says something to the effect of "You wouldnt lie to me, would you?"... he retorts... "Of course I'd lie to you, I'm a guy... but I'm not lying now...". That is still my alltime favorite line in a movie. I think there is alot of clever/sarcastic wit and dialog like that throughout the movie... perhaps why not everyone got it... it was alot more than T & A and relied more on comic timing than nudity (though it featured a bit of that as well). Many other movies were dirtier... this was simply funnier! This NEEDS to be on DVD!!!! Its sad how many crappy cheap comedy movies are on DVD and this gem has thus far been forgotten.

"Up The Creek" was released in 1984 starring Tim Matheson and the rest of the gang from the earlier and even more popular comedy "Animal House", about a wild college fraternity. They're back in this hilarious film about a river raft race and rivalry between college fraternities- the stereotypical snobby jocks and the average joes/nerds. Tim Matheson stars as Bob, who leads a ragtag group of guys who overcome great obstacles to win the race at the end. The script is tacky and often so bad in its attempt to be funny- i.e. the dog that uses body language to communicate with the guys that one of their friends is being held captive by the enemy without any clothes, even using liver as Japanese for river, the silly and slapstick comedy among the army guys that are conveniently close enough to the river to blow things up, the Revenge Of The Nerds style rivalry between jocks and suite and tie yuppies with the casual, average guys and Tim Matheson and the leading girl who plays his love interest repeating the same lines each time they have sex: was it good for you as it was for me ? This film is one of those 80's comedies that were very popular and paved the way for later college/fraternity films, which surprisingly still made it through the 90's and even in our current times. If you remember the 80's (and you're probably in your 30's and 40's if you do) this film will take you back. It's enjoyable in a campy and goofy sort of way, along the lines of the more loved Caddy Shack, Revenge Of The Nerd movies and Weekend At Bernies. Highly enjoyable film if you're a fan of the 80's and their comedies. Everything smells of the 80's in this movie- the music, even an original song "Up The Creek" with its rock rhythm, the clothes. Remember those slutty Madonna skirts and tops and girls with puffy hair ? And guys wearing white suite and ties ala Miami Vice ? All of it is here. This type of B-budget comedy never made it as big as the "Breakfast Club" which was even considered serious or even as mainstream comedy as the National Lampoon series starring Chevy Chase as the Griswald family father. But as obscure as this comedy is it will be sure to make you laugh at least once or twice. Check it out.