''Fraternity Vacation'' is a 1985 American

sex comedy Sex comedy, erotic comedy or more broadly sexual comedy is a genre in which comedy is motivated by sexual situations and love affairs. Although "sex comedy" is primarily a description of dramatic forms such as theatre and film, literary works such ...

teen movie starring

Stephen Geoffreys Stephen Geoffrey Miller (born November 22, 1964), known professionally as Stephen Geoffreys, is an American actor. Rising to prominence in teen films in the 1980s, Geoffreys is perhaps best known for his role as high school misfit-turned vampire ...

as a nerdy pledge to the Theta Pi Gamma

fraternity A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, " brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternit ...

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...

, with

Tim Robbins Timothy Francis Robbins (born October 16, 1958) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for portraying Andy Dufresne in the film '' The Shawshank Redemption ''(1994), and has won an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards for his rol ...

and Cameron Dye as Theta Pi Gamma frat boys (or, as they are known to their Iowa State frat rivals, "Theta Pigs"). On spring break in

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, several boys compete for the affections of a sophisticated co-ed, played by Sheree J. Wilson.

Plot

Despite being saddled with a nerdy pledge during a Palm Springs weekend, two frat brothers vie for a poolside blonde.

Cast

as Wendell Tvedt * Sheree J. Wilson as Ashley Taylor * Cameron Dye as Joe Gillespie *

Leigh McCloskey Leigh Joseph McCloskey (born June 21, 1955) is an American actor, artist, author and philosopher. Throughout his acting career, McCloskey appeared in numerous television series and movies, including the popular American soap opera ''Dallas'' an ...

as Charles 'Chas' Lawlor III *

as Larry 'Mother' Tucker * Matt McCoy as J.C. Springer *

Amanda Bearse Amanda Bearse (born August 9, 1958) is an American actress, comedian and director. She starred in the 1985 supernatural horror film ''Fright Night'', and later starred as Marcy Rhoades D'Arcy in the Fox sitcom '' Married... with Children'' (1987- ...

as Nicole Ferret *

John Vernon John Keith Vernon (born Adolphus Raymondus Vernon Agopsowicz; February 24, 1932 February 1, 2005) was a Canadian actor. He made a career in Hollywood after achieving initial television stardom in Canada. He was best known for playing Dean Wormer ...

as Chief Ferret *

Nita Talbot Nita Talbot (born Anita Sokol) (born August 8, 1930) is an American actress. She received an Emmy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the 1967–68 season of '' Hogan's Heroes''. Film Born in New York City on Au ...

as Mrs. Ferret *

Barbara Crampton Barbara Crampton (born December 27, 1958) is an American actress and producer. She began her career in the 1980s in television soap operas before starring in horror and thriller films—both paths would define her continued accolade-winning care ...

as Chrissie * Kathleen Kinmont as Marianne * Max Wright as Millard Tvedt * Julie Payne as Naomi Tvedt *

Franklin Ajaye Franklyn Ajaye (born May 13, 1949) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. His nickname is "The Jazz Comedian" for his distinctive jazz-inflected style of delivery, timing, and astute use of silence. He released a series of comedy a ...

as Harry *

Charles Rocket Charles Adams Claverie (August 28, 1949 – October 7, 2005), known by stage names Charlie Hamburger, Charlie Kennedy and Charles Rocket, was an American actor, comedian, musician, and television news reporter. He was a cast member on ''Saturda ...

as 'Madman' Mac *

Britt Ekland Britt Ekland (; born Britt-Marie Eklund; 6 October 1942) is a Swedish actress, model and singer. She appeared in numerous films in her heyday throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including roles in '' The Double Man'' (1967), '' The Night They Raided ...

as Eyvette

Reception

''Fraternity Vacation'' was not a major success at the box office, earning just over $3 million. Critical reception for the film was also predominantly unfavorable.

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

gave the film one star out of four:

Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against dumb sex comedies. All I object to is the fact that "Fraternity Vacation" is playing with half a deck—the male half. The men are the characters and the women are the objects.

Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the '' Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his ...

gave the film zero stars, calling it "yet another dimwitted college sex comedy, a film that doesn't have a single redeeming facet."

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote, "The material is more smirky than funny, and the cast isn't particularly likable." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote, "Neither wildly gross nor unbearably funny, pic nevertheless maintains a cheerful attitude throughout as the single minded teenage characters pursue the opposite sex with all the subtlety of dogs checking each other out." Michael Wilmington of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' thought that the film did have a "bright cast" and "skillfully brisk direction," but was defeated by a script "devoid of surprises and ideas—and often characters." A review in '' The Tech'' (MIT) said that the film was a poor example of its genre, and "not worth seeing unless you're really in the mood for this type of movie".Dan Crean
review
first published April 26, 1985. '' The Tech'' (MIT). Accessed July 25, 2012.

References

External links

* * * {{James Frawley 1985 films 1980s sex comedy films American sex comedy films Films shot in California Films set in Palm Springs, California New World Pictures films Films about fraternities and sororities Films directed by James Frawley Films scored by Brad Fiedel Teen sex comedy films 1985 comedy films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films