When Rodney Dangerfield Went Back to School

Director Alan Metter picked the UW–Madison location for its classic Big Ten charm, which reminded him of old-time sports movies. The Madison portion of the shoot kicked off on October 11, 1985, as thousands of would-be extras lined up to audition at the campus-area music venue Headliners. For nine days, the actors hit their marks in Wisconsin’s autumn light, striding across a carpet of multicolored leaves. The gorgeous UW setting proved worthy of its Hollywood closeup.

During his time on campus, Dangerfield delighted the throngs of local gawkers as he filmed a scene on Bascom Hill in slippers and a striped bathrobe. At a news conference for the film’s premiere in June 1986, the comedian claimed he’d considered attending UW–Madison as a teenager, insisting, “I like the song ‘On, Wisconsin!’ ”

Whether or not that story is true (and most likely not), filming at the UW brought out the best in Dangerfield. It transformed him from a standup comedian who dabbled in movies to a screen icon with a distinctive persona. With Back to School, he took his place in the cinematic pantheon alongside his contemporaries Bill Murray and Eddie Murphy.

A Role Model for Living Large

The movie introduces Dangerfield’s Thornton as a self-made millionaire who believes in education even though he’s barely seen the inside of a classroom. Concerned about Jason’s social struggles at college, he shows up at Grand Lakes University to serve as his son’s role model for living large. He wisecracks his way through the UW locations, bribes the school’s president (Ned Beatty), pays the author Kurt Vonnegut (playing himself) to write a paper on the subject of Kurt Vonnegut, woos a soulful English professor (Sally Kellerman), infuriates a combustible historian (Sam Kinison), and violates every known NCAA rule in an extravagantly silly finale with the campus diving team.

Thornton offends everyone and everything, to the point where the film itself can be offensive. Though some of the jokes are now unamusing, and some of the attitudes unpalatable — as is true in many decades-old comedies — Dangerfield’s performance stands the test of time. He positions himself on the crass end of 20th-century comedy, combining the verbal wit of Groucho Marx, the physical inventiveness of Curly Howard, and the funny faces of Jerry Lewis.

Dangerfield brings his own twitchy, eye-popping, head-bobbing style to the mix. He even incorporates snappy one-liners from his standup act. “The football team at my high school, they were tough,” he barks, assuming his “I don’t get no respect” persona. “After they sacked the quarterback, they went after his family!”

Following Caddyshack and Easy Money, Back to School offered nothing new in casting the comedian as a slob among snobs. But filming key scenes at sincere UW–Madison rather than in cynical Hollywood encouraged Dangerfield to express a previously unknown sensitivity. Here, he’s practically poignant. Thornton’s tenderness toward his son gives the ridiculous premise a whiff of credibility. His rapport with the English professor gives the love story an eccentric appeal. And his third-act dedication to passing his courses at Grand Lakes University gives the normally sarcastic Rodney Dangerfield the rare chance to touch a movie audience.

Facing a do-or-die test and the near-certainty of academic failure, Thornton delicately intones Dylan Thomas’s poem “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night.” To the astonishment of the university staffers who had underestimated him, he follows up with an impassioned statement of purpose: “I’m gonna pass this test! I’m stayin’ in school!”

Thornton scrapes by with D’s, but never have mediocre grades been so inspiring. •