Back to School 1986

Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune: In this very funny Rodney Dangerfield comedy, there has been an important shift in Rodney's entertainment persona, a shift that has made this small film a monster hit. Read more

Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times: Dangerfield seems to be setting the film's brisk pace and flawless timing himself. Read more

Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel: The vibes, here, are all wrong, and Dangerfield's unique timing is disrupted in most scenes. Read more

Desmond Ryan, Philadelphia Inquirer: I mean no disrespect to Rodney Dangerfield in suggesting that Back to School is a comedy that belongs back on the drawing board. Read more

Nina Darnton, New York Times: The film is a good-natured potpourri of gags, funny bits, populist sentiment and anti-intellectualism. Read more

Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader: It's a good character for Dangerfield, one that veers him away from the 'I don't get no respect' pathos that comes too easily to him, and enough attention is paid to the minimal plot to integrate Dangerfield's classically constructed one-liners. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: This is exactly the sort of plot Marx or Fields could have appeared in. Dangerfield brings it something they might also have brought along: a certain pathos. Read more

Time Out: [An] acceptable time-passer. Read more