How I Got Into College

"A horror story so intense, so barbaric, so frightening it will have you running for your local army recruiter."

1989 1h 26m EN

😐

6.0

MID

🥫

50%

ROTTEN

⭐

5.8

IMDB

★6.0TMDB · 44🥫50%Rotten Tomatoes★5.8IMDB · 2,520

ComedyRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

High school senior Marlon Bowne is smitten with overachieving classmate Jessica Kailo. But, if he wants to have a shot with her, he'll have to find a way to get into Ramsey College, Jessica's top choice of schools. It won't be easy, since the college is highly selective and Marlon's grades are hardly impressive. That means the lovelorn teen will have to find a way to score high on the SATs and win over the college admissions committee.

“A horror story so intense, so barbaric, so frightening it will have you running for your local army recruiter.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Anthony Edwards
Kip Hammett
Corey Parker
Marlon Browne
Lara Flynn Boyle
Jessica Kailo
Finn Carter
Nina Sachie
Charles Rocket
Leo Whitman
Christopher Rydell
Oliver
Gary Owens
Sports Announcer
Brian Doyle-Murray
Coach Evans

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Savage Steve Holland
Writers: Terrel Seltzer
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

86 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

37 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Savage Steve Holland, shot by Robert Elswit. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Joseph Vitarelli. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Sonya Sones shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Anthony Edwards and Corey Parker and Lara Flynn Boyle carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A horror story so intense, so barbaric, so frightening it will have you running for your local army recruiter.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0097530 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Savage Steve Holland directs. Robert Elswit behind the camera. Joseph Vitarelli scores. Sonya Sones cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

186 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
237 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Savage Steve Holland, shot by Robert Elswit. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Joseph Vitarelli. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Sonya Sones shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Anthony Edwards and Corey Parker and Lara Flynn Boyle carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "A horror story so intense, so barbaric, so frightening it will have you running for your local army recruiter.".
8IMDB entry: tt0097530 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 44 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Robert Elswit
Original score: Joseph Vitarelli
Editing: Sonya Sones
Production design: Ida Random
Costume design: Taryn De Chellis
Runtime: 86 min · 1h 26m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $1,642,239
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: How I Got Into College (1989)
Rotten Tomatoes: 50% 🥫 Rotten
IMDB rating: 5.8/10 · 2,520 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

1 nomination total

Also by

Savage Steve Holland

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Community reviews

What people are saying

GenerationofSwine2023-01-12
★ 10/10
People have called out the acting... and that is fair, but what did they think that they were walking into? It is a low budget comedy that bill itself as a low budget comedy and is ridiculous fun like a low budget comedy. So the acting waffles between good and bad. But the plot is sufficiently inane and stupid enough to be hysterical. And it gets the happy ending that comedies like these promise. In other words, you get exactly what the film claims it is without any pretenses, and you get to laugh for a while... and that, after all, was the point of making this film, to get the audience to laugh at some unbelievable things

Production companies