High School High
Encyclopedia
High School High is a 1996 comedy film
about an inner city
high school
in the Los Angeles, California
area, starring Jon Lovitz
, Tia Carrere
, Mekhi Phifer
, Louise Fletcher
, Malinda Williams and Brian Hooks
. It is a spoof
of movies concerning idealistic teachers being confronted with a class of cynical teenagers, disengaged by conventional schooling and loosely parodies The Principal
, Dangerous Minds
, Lean on Me
, Stand and Deliver
. It also notably parodies the LA River drag race from Grease
.
). Together they turn the school around in the ghetto to become a fine establishment suitable for education. In the end of the film, Doyle, the principal, is exposed as a drug dealer and is arrested, The main six kids throughout the movie graduate (but only those six) and Clark is now principal, and is in a relationship with Victoria.
died in a road accident shortly after completing this movie. Trey Parker
turned down the chance to direct this movie. The school in the movie is named Marion Barry High, a reference to the then Washington, D.C.
mayor Marion Barry
. In some countries, like Portugal
, the translated title is a pun
to the also translated title of Dangerous Minds
. Adult actress Jeannie Pepper
appears in the film as Mrs. McReynolds. She is credited as Joan Rudelstein.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
about an inner city
Inner city
The inner city is the central area of a major city or metropolis. In the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland, the term is often applied to the lower-income residential districts in the city centre and nearby areas...
high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in the Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
area, starring Jon Lovitz
Jon Lovitz
Jonathan "Jon" Lovitz is an American comedian, actor, and singer. He is best known as a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1990.-Early life:...
, Tia Carrere
Tia Carrere
Tia Carrere is an American actress, model, voice artist, and singer, perhaps most widely known for her role as Cassandra Wong in the feature films Wayne's World and Wayne's World 2, Queen Tyr'ahnee in Duck Dodgers, and as Sydney Fox in the TV series Relic Hunter.-Early life:Carrere was born in...
, Mekhi Phifer
Mekhi Phifer
Mekhi Thira Phifer is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his multi-year role as Dr. Greg Pratt on NBC's long-running medical drama ER and his co-starring role opposite Eminem in the feature film 8 Mile...
, Louise Fletcher
Louise Fletcher
Louise Fletcher is an American actress best known for her role as Nurse Ratched in One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress, and as Kai Winn Adami in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. She also guest starred on the science fiction television series Heroes...
, Malinda Williams and Brian Hooks
Brian Hooks
Brian Hooks is an actor, producer and director. He is perhaps best known for his role as Nick Delaney on the UPN television sitcom Eve.-Movie career:...
. It is a spoof
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of movies concerning idealistic teachers being confronted with a class of cynical teenagers, disengaged by conventional schooling and loosely parodies The Principal
The Principal
The Principal is a 1987 action film, starring James Belushi and Louis Gossett, Jr. It was written by Frank Deese and directed by Christopher Cain, and filmed in Oakland, California.-Plot:...
, Dangerous Minds
Dangerous Minds
Dangerous Minds is an American drama film based on the autobiography My Posse Don't Do Homework by former U.S. Marine LouAnne Johnson, who took up a teaching position at Carlmont High School in Belmont, California, where most of her students were African-American and Hispanic teenagers from East...
, Lean on Me
Lean on Me (film)
Lean on Me is a 1989 dramatized biographical written by Michael Schiffer, directed by John G. Avildsen and starring Morgan Freeman. Lean on Me is loosely based on the story of Joe Louis Clark, a real life inner city high school principal in Paterson, New Jersey, whose school is at risk of being...
, Stand and Deliver
Stand and Deliver
Stand and Deliver is a 1988 American drama film, based on the true story of high school mathematics teacher Jaime Escalante. Edward James Olmos portrayed Escalante in the film and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.-Plot:...
. It also notably parodies the LA River drag race from Grease
Grease (film)
Grease is a 1978 American musical film directed by Randal Kleiser and based on Warren Casey's and Jim Jacobs's 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway...
.
Plot
The plot focuses on Jon Lovitz's character, Richard Clark, attempting to improve the school where he is teaching, which is extreme to the point that there are reserved parking spaces for SWAT team and National Guard members. He is assisted by his co-worker turned girlfriend, Victoria Chapell (Tia CarrereTia Carrere
Tia Carrere is an American actress, model, voice artist, and singer, perhaps most widely known for her role as Cassandra Wong in the feature films Wayne's World and Wayne's World 2, Queen Tyr'ahnee in Duck Dodgers, and as Sydney Fox in the TV series Relic Hunter.-Early life:Carrere was born in...
). Together they turn the school around in the ghetto to become a fine establishment suitable for education. In the end of the film, Doyle, the principal, is exposed as a drug dealer and is arrested, The main six kids throughout the movie graduate (but only those six) and Clark is now principal, and is in a relationship with Victoria.
Production notes
Lexie BighamLexie Bigham
Lexie Donnell Bigham, Jr. was an American film and television actor. Bigham appeared in numerous independent films and television series. His prominent roles came in the films Se7en, Boyz n the Hood, South Central, Dave, Drop Zone, Airheads, Up Close & Personal, and High School High...
died in a road accident shortly after completing this movie. Trey Parker
Trey Parker
Trey Parker is an American animator, screenwriter, director, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of the television series South Park along with his creative partner and best friend Matt Stone.Parker started his film career in 1992, making a holiday short...
turned down the chance to direct this movie. The school in the movie is named Marion Barry High, a reference to the then Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
mayor Marion Barry
Marion Barry
Marion Shepilov Barry, Jr. is an American Democratic politician who is currently serving as a member of the Council of the District of Columbia, representing DC's Ward 8. Barry served as the second elected mayor of the District of Columbia from 1979 to 1991, and again as the fourth mayor from 1995...
. In some countries, like Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, the translated title is a pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
to the also translated title of Dangerous Minds
Dangerous Minds
Dangerous Minds is an American drama film based on the autobiography My Posse Don't Do Homework by former U.S. Marine LouAnne Johnson, who took up a teaching position at Carlmont High School in Belmont, California, where most of her students were African-American and Hispanic teenagers from East...
. Adult actress Jeannie Pepper
Jeannie Pepper
Jeannie Pepper , is a pornographic actress. She began in the business in 1984 at age 26 and has appeared in over 200 adult films. She was still an active actress as recently as 2007, participating in the mature adult genre.Pepper was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame in 1997, the first African...
appears in the film as Mrs. McReynolds. She is credited as Joan Rudelstein.
Cast
- Jon LovitzJon LovitzJonathan "Jon" Lovitz is an American comedian, actor, and singer. He is best known as a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1990.-Early life:...
as Richard Clark, a naive CaucasianCaucasian raceThe term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
teacher who's main goal is to help underachieving students at Marion Berry High School succeed. - Tia CarrereTia CarrereTia Carrere is an American actress, model, voice artist, and singer, perhaps most widely known for her role as Cassandra Wong in the feature films Wayne's World and Wayne's World 2, Queen Tyr'ahnee in Duck Dodgers, and as Sydney Fox in the TV series Relic Hunter.-Early life:Carrere was born in...
as Victoria Chapel, a fellow teacher who sympathizes with Richard. - Louise FletcherLouise FletcherLouise Fletcher is an American actress best known for her role as Nurse Ratched in One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress, and as Kai Winn Adami in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. She also guest starred on the science fiction television series Heroes...
as Principal Evelyn Doyle, who believes Richard will fail. - Mekhi PhiferMekhi PhiferMekhi Thira Phifer is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his multi-year role as Dr. Greg Pratt on NBC's long-running medical drama ER and his co-starring role opposite Eminem in the feature film 8 Mile...
as Griff McReynolds, one of Clark's students and a former gang member who aspires to graduate high school and attend college. - Malinda Williams as Natalie Thompson, Griff's girlfriend.
- Guillermo Díaz as Paco de la Vega al Camino Cordoba Jose Cuervo Sanchez Rodriguez Jr., Griff's former gang partner.
- Brian HooksBrian HooksBrian Hooks is an actor, producer and director. He is perhaps best known for his role as Nick Delaney on the UPN television sitcom Eve.-Movie career:...
as Anferny Jefferson, one of Clark's students. He is a slightly dimwitted gang member who only knows of urban pop culture. - Natasha Gregson WagnerNatasha Gregson WagnerNatasha Gregson Wagner is an American actress.Gregson Wagner was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Richard Gregson, a film producer, and the late actress Natalie Wood...
as Julie Rubels, one of Clark's students who is a teenage mother with many children. - Marco Rodríguez as Mr. DeMarco, a gangster who is in the midst of a shady "business" deal with Paco and another mysterious gangster known as "Mr. A".
- John Neville as Thaddeus Clark, Richard's father.
- Lexie BighamLexie BighamLexie Donnell Bigham, Jr. was an American film and television actor. Bigham appeared in numerous independent films and television series. His prominent roles came in the films Se7en, Boyz n the Hood, South Central, Dave, Drop Zone, Airheads, Up Close & Personal, and High School High...
as Two-Bags, a member of Paco's gang. - Gil Espinoza as Alonzo, a member of Paco's gang.
Release
The film opened at #2 on the weekend of October 25, 1996, behind the film Sleepers. The film remained in the top 5 for the next two weekends, making it a modest box office success.Reception
The film received generally mixed to negative reviews upon its release. It currently holds a 13% rating of "Rotten" on the Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes along with a 40% rating of "Liked it" by audiences.Soundtrack
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... ) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
U.S. R&B Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
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| 1996 | High School High
|
20 | 4 |
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... : Gold |