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bezerkerchris
Reviews
School's Out! (1992)
Well done overall but a downer *spoilers*
'Schools Out' was the big finale to the original 'DEGRASSI JUNIOR HIGH' and 'DEGRASSI HIGH' series'. The kids graduate and go their ways during the summer. Joey romances both Tessa and Caitlin, Snake works as a lifeguard in hopes of scoring a girlfriend and Wheels tries fixing up an old car and generally drinks a lot.
It seems like they tried to make the overall "Degrassi-verse" a little more mature then the original show to reflect the gang getting older as time passes but unfortunately the movie suffers for it. We have many dramatic elements but unlike the show it just doesn't feel REAL. When you watch the original shows you feel like you're right there with these people experiencing what they're going through, whether it's good, funny or bad. Here you feel like you're watching a typical soap opera with a good deal of heavy-handed BAD.
Also sadly missing are the humorous elements and likable aspects of the characters. Instead we get heavy, seemingly endless amounts of mello-drama (and even a little shock value). Tessa gets pregnant and gets an abortion, Wheels gets into a drunk driving accident that kills a kid and blinds Lucy. And you also get the characters just plain acting like jerks. Joey cheating on Caitlin with barely any remorse, Wheels not feeling sorry he killed a kid, Snake starting a fight. Joey was always a fun, wisecracking dude. What happened? By the end of the movie you end up feeling bad for some people and just flat-out disliking others. No one is really redeemed by the end (except maybe Snake who saves someone from drowning) and it ends on a fairly big down-note.
Overall I wouldn't call this a failure. Not at all. It's worth a look and even essential viewing if you're a fan as it ties up the original series. Just that it doesn't FEEL like the DEGRASSI we know and love.
Fortunately though the original gang lives on in DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION, which features appearances from many of the old cast members. So if anything SCHOOL'S OUT bridges the gap between the old series and the new series.