Going Greek (2001) User Reviews

Imitation Spawns Brilliance (For Once)

[MPR6197030 · 6/10 · 2 April 2007]

Let's get this straight up front: "Going Greek" does not deviate from the college-sex-party genre first established by "Animal House." Nor does it rise about fare like "Old School" or "American Pie." However, without the benefit of marquee names, "Going Greek" unearths a gem that is seldom found in most of the dredge released these days by National Lampoon: comedy. "Going Greek" is genuinely funny, with a fantastic no-name cast and terrific story to boot. If anything, the film is more akin to "PCU," another cult college film made way before Jeremy Piven joined an "Entourage" and John Favreau launched "Zathura."

And who knows? Maybe wider audiences will someday know the names Dylan Bruno and Dublin James.

Check it out.

For some strange reason....I liked it.

[I_can_get_you_a_toe · 6/10 · 7 May 2006]

I went into this movie with some really loooow expectations, but the cast, Dylan Bruno, Oliver Hudson, Susan Ward and more actors whose faces i recognize convinced me to hire this out.

And for some strange reason...i liked it.

Jake is a failed football star who decides to help his geeky cousin get into a fraternity, and while this movie doesn't really teach us anything that we all haven't seen before, i have to say that it is the first time i have ever seen a 'Soggy Biscuit' as we call it in New Zealand, portrayed on screen.

Yes its stupid and immature - but i somehow get the feeling this was exactly what the filmmakers were striving for. Great acting, great cast and a sweet underlying message about friendship make this movie watchable at least.

My only complaints are firstly the tag line on the cover 'Animal House meets American Pie' Animal House is a classic and i don't think this movie will ever come close to the cult status Animal House enjoys. And secondly the lighting in this movie was grainy and horrendous, when i first started watching it my first thought was that i was watching a pirate copy and as the film went along i started thinking that maybe they were using hand held cameras from 1995.

But all in all, a decent movie to watch if you have the time.

Let's enjoy some bullying, torture and inhumanity ... it's comedy, isn't it?

[khaktus · 4/10 · 16 October 2011]

Does this movie take itself seriously? Meaning, seriously as a comedy targeted on young audience? While I know the (self imposed) limitations of American campus comedy and know what to expect from such a movie, I must say, that only a few moments were worth a laugh (and I can take even cheesy or perverse jokes).

The point is, that many moments probably were meant to be laughed on, but in the same time they were pretty sad... Sad in a way, that the movie, without its end (that I don't want to reveal for those who might want to watch this movie "seriously" as it is) could be pretty illustrative sociological study of the American youth, or even of the birth of many specific pathological features of the American society.

Bearing all the possible inhumane hazing, torture, ridiculous rituals, laws of the mass, do-what-group-does mentality, declaring machismo and pure male chauvinism as "tradition", or self-destructive alcoholism as "culture" ... for what? "Being part of"? "Helping friend being part of"? The motivation of characters is not very believable - considering the amount of dignity they are willing to sacrifice, with absurd indifference.

With all this said, the movie might be pretty good serious study of the college fraternity mentality system - evoking the despair from any well-known tragedies, invoking lot's of anger in viewer. But in this sense, it lacks something like catharsis. One can see, how genre framing can deform our view of certain situations. We try to laugh on what is really a matter of anger and sadness.

Thus, one has a feeling, that all this inhumanity is just fun, part of wonderful students life, something to be consumed and laughed on ... and forgotten. As this movie should be.

Modern Day Animal House - Very Funny

[cm-35724 · 21 October 2017]

A modern day version of Animal House with all the funny antics of the Greek Fraternity and Sorority life on a college campus. Lots of laughs. The story goes well and is fun to watch. The film is well put together for a first time director Justin Zackham. The cast of characters work well together.

not good

[bclough-1 · 1/10 · 6 January 2006]

OK , i am in a fraternity but this movie is just bad. I wanted to like this movie but the acting is just very bad, and I cant get through it. I just felt that this movie does not do any justice to any of the college movies. I mean I enjoyed animal house and van wilder, but this movie just was a pit of bad acting, with a simple screen play. I do realize that I am not out there writing and producing movies, and give the director and screenplay credit for that, but I still don't see this movie as a great movie, or even decent. I have never even heard of any of the actors in this movie, but that doest bother me. There are many movies that I enjoy where there are actors that I have never heard of, and thats how most good movies start. On this movie however, I see no career for these future actors (wait scratch that) HACKS.

Plain bad..

[killbillroxxorz · 1/10 · 30 June 2005]

The basis of this film is simple. Two college guys wanting to get into the best fraternity on campus. Except Jake doesn't want to pledge, he just wants to keep his scholarship and continue studying. But his nerdy cousin drags him along and sooner he is obligated to stay because of his cousin.

Basically.. Avoid this film, its not funny.. It uses basic cheesy humor, that hardly even brought a smile to my face.. The 90 minute movie is pretty much;

What happens if you pledge at a major fraternity..

It includes..

Circle Jerks Binge Drinking Sleeping with Women and.. A lame Scavanger Hunt.

If you feel like watching a cheesy frat boy movie where half of them just want to get laid, or you like looking at half naked men for 90 minutes.. Rent it..

Do not Buy.. Horrible!

Interesting and to Be Commended

[shootthepier · 1/10 · 14 November 2004]

However, "Going Greek" is not a well-made movie in any way. Sure, much

leeway should be afforded to any filmmaker who sets out to make a film, with

such low budget constraints. In the end, the film fails to do exactly that which it set out to do, make people laugh. Even with leeways given to the filmmakers, this film is so horrible and a waste of time that I can't even believe I wasted a whole Saturday night watching it. I have only written reviews for a few other movies, but I was so moved by this flop that I just had to write one here. There is obviously little thought put into any of the female characters. They are all weak and stupid. What could have been a great movie with a great premise

was wasted on a horribly cast, horribly written, and yes, horribly directed, gritty movie that doesn't even have good music. Even a low budget film can find good indi bands and good music. More careful analysis, testing, and more attention to films would've helped this film out immensely. There is a reason this is a straight to video production. Rent it if you like, but just know you have been warned. One interesting moment is the Director commentary on DVD. He is

actually a well-spoken gentleman with a lot to be said about film-making.

I'm sorry, but...

[bennyp81 · 3/10 · 23 September 2003]

...having seen this movie, I must disagree with most of the other commentators. This film is quite bad in just about every basic aspect.

For one, instead of having a strong story that drives our heroes Gil and Jake to strive for inclusion at the expense of their dignity, we have nothing more than a series of episodic gross-out gags and ruses, not to mention a slapped-on romance. The razor-thin plot consists of fraternity brothers inducting Gil in hopes that Jake would join the fraternity as well and, with his former football skills, beat a rival fraternity (of which we know nothing of, by the way) in a football game that exists only because there was a need for an uplifting and climactic ending.

Second, the gags are gross in the extreme, yet they are neither funny (thanks to poor timing aided by the aforementioned episodic approach, despite well-done delivery) nor disgusting (Yes, every conceivable example of displaying people's by-products is in this movie.). Some of the humor is good only when taken out of the context of the film, but for the most part it is just plain sad, because it leaves little for the audience to fill in with their imagination.

Third, the bad-enough one-dimensional stereotypes that unfortunately are the characters are in addition plagued with an air of arrogance and self-importance. Moreover, some of the characters are not completely fleshed out and, because of it, they miss moments that could've been ripe with humor. For example, Charlie Talbert gives a memorable and hilarious comedic performance as Dooly, but even that can't save his poorly written on-screen persona. (Early on he says he "likes pussy", but near the end it shows that he is clearly a homosexual. The actual problem is that there is no comedic arc to discern whether that was the case all along, he developed a taste for it, or if he was bi.) Try as I might, these problems couldn't be ignored and ultimately soured the film for me.

I gave the film a 3: The lowest rating you can go + Basic principles of film-making are followed + Charlie Talbert.

you gotta be kidding, no really...

[bbbl67 · 2/10 · 5 January 2004]

They compared this movie to Animal House and American Pie on the cover! No really, I'm not joking, they did. This movie has all of the hallmarks of a bunch of buddies getting drunk one night and deciding to make a movie. These are those types of guys who get stupid whenever they start hanging around with each other, cracking each other up, laughing at their own jokes, and never figuring out that the rest of the world don't get their jokes one bit.

Similar to a movie like Super Troopers, or Jackass.

If Robert Altman made a boys will be boys fraternity movie, this would be it.

[jeremy-134 · 7/10 · 11 September 2002]

Going Greek is a satisfying, ensemble meditation on the morals and mores of the modern fraternity house. More than the simpleminded 'gross out' comedy that the title suggests, Going Greek is an uncompromising and reverent look at a dying way of life. The suple direction, sly writing, and chemistry amongst the leading players elevates this sleeper above the typical fraternity formula movie. While 'Going Greek' cannot claim to be as artistically inventive as 'Animal House' (The Seventh Seal of frat movies), it is certainly above the fodder of films like 'PCU', 'Revenge of the Nerds 3: Nerds in Paradise', and 'Fraternity Vacation'. The "cookie" scene is easily on a comic par with classic scenes such as Chaplin eating his shoe in "Gold Rush", the 'hair gel' scene from "Something About Mary", Jack Lemmon kissing the man on the boat in "Some Like It Hot", and mama getting thrown into the trash compactor in "Dr. Detroit". The performances are universally excellent, but Corey Pearson as Sully harkens back to the golden age of cinema when men were men and women were women. Like a young Brando or Dudley Moore, Pearson carves through the screen with a brooding intensity and sly sense of humor. He is a star in the making. I caught a screening of this movie on VHS, and I can't wait for the final edit to be released in theatres. An enterprising distributer will find that this is a sleeper hit in the making.

Final Rating 7/10

Horrible.

[Spaceham · 1/10 · 22 July 2004]

This movie was, as the summary says, absolutely horrible. I can't understand how a script like this ever even got read by anyone other than the writer/director's mother and dog. Seriously, this had to have been written by a twelve year old boy. The film is full of horrible one liners, terribly developed characters, and things that aren't really gross out gags, but just gross. In the end it does nothing but glorify fraternities, and reveal the weaknesses inherent in the individuals who join them.

By the way, if you think you're going to rent this for a light evening of fart jokes and titties, think again. The scenes are completely random with absolutely no comedic build up or timing, much less any witty sight gags or slap stick. There are about two sets of boobs, and one of them is the worst pair of implants I've ever seen in my life. And I watch a lot of this crap.

I laughed once, and that was only to keep from crying from embarrassment for the "creative" team behind this schlock.

Anyway, it probably seems as if I've written quite a bit for something I claim to not be worth my time; I'm just outraged that my friend spent a three dollar rental fee on this. Simply outraged.

Really funny with excellent pacing

[agibian · 8/10 · 3 July 2003]

I had the pleasure of catching this film at a screening in New York and wanted to make sure others got word that this is a film to see. First off, let's have no misconceptions here: Going Greek is not Saving Private Ryan, The Godfather or Gone With the Wind. It is, however, an excellent addition to the genre set by Animal House and further embellished by Porky's and American Pie. Is it an "important" film? Of course not, but if you want to laugh A LOT and spend a very amusing 90 minutes with a crisp, well directed and thoughtful film, then check it out.

Other reviewers have said a lot of what I would say, so I won't bore you with repetitive details, but nobody thus far has commented on the pacing of the film. A lot of movies, comedy or otherwise, spend too much time on individual scenes. The special quality of this film, and the effectiveness of Director Justin Zackham (watch for more from this guy) is that the movie drops into each scene, delivers its joke - good or bad - and gets out quickly. The result is that you are never bored. Humor being what it is, you won't be able to satisfy everyone with every joke. Zackham intuitively understands this and makes sure you don't get the chance to get restless waiting for a scene to end. The odds of this are mitigated somewhat as the writing is good enough that most of the scenes are actually really funny.

Overall, this is a film worth seeing. High art it ain't, but good laughs, a well written script and really good directing made it very worthwhile.

Good No-Brainer

[BlackSox1919 · 7/10 · 11 December 2003]

This movie isn't going to change the world, or bring all people together in the spirit of unity. It's a good no-brainer (turn your brain off and enjoy). Yes, you've seen the movie before; there aren't many, if any, surprises here. But it is still an engaging cast, and has the feel of a movie that was made to be fun and fun to make.

Rent the DVD, however, for the deleted scenes. It seems to me they cut out some things that were important to the story, such as it was.

Trying waaaay too hard!

[duckbutter · 2/10 · 20 September 2003]

I rented this movie despite the cheap looking box. What I found out was...trust the box. This is one of those movies that never quite feels like a movie. The story is totally predictable, the gross out humor is sparce and the acting is wooden and totally unbelievable. This film was trying to be Animal House and Porky's but ends up more like...ah nothing, because there's no story here. Do yourself a favor and watch Police Academy instead. Yaar!

Great movie, especially if you're in a fraternity!!!

[n8gray315 · 11 November 2003]

A great comedy with alot on snazz and fun. If you are a brother of a fraternity, or have at least gone through pledgeship, you will definately enjoy the humor in this movie. With plenty of beer drinking, experiences through "hell week", and plenty of girls this movie will entertain you til' the very end!!!

It would have been better...

[raindroprhythm · 4/10 · 13 June 2005]

Had the more of the actors been under 29 and not over 30. It's fun if you're bored with nothing else to do, but Jake Taylor and Paige 1) Had no chemistry 2) She should've apologized to him...eehf. That and Jake Taylor was one of the nastiest actors I've ever laid eyes on. He didn't speak up, was not flamboyant enough to appear like he had a brain. He was very mechanical and not camera friendly at all- the whole thing of him caring about Gil wasn't pulled off because of his detachment. I loved the Gil and Sully characters- in fact, the movie had a lot of potentially good actors. I suppose if you're a 15 year old boy this movie kicks a lot of butt.

Funny with heart

[stopthemusic2000 · 10/10 · 25 May 2003]

Didn't expect to like this - actually I didn't expect to watch the whole thing, but this movie actually grabbed me. I had to cover my eyes a couple of times (what is it with guys and body fluids??) but I laughed a lot more than I cried. The story of the geeky cousin actually pulled me in, and I found myself really wanting him to succeed.

While this certainly isn't my genre, this (small?) film is waaay better than many of the other "teen" movies I've seen in the last few years.

Really funny!

[noodleman · 9/10 · 29 August 2004]

I've always liked American comedies, and this little gem is one of my all time favorites. What more can I say. The girls are nice to look at, the jokes are really funny...did I mention the girls are nice to look at?

The story is about two cousins who help each other through pledging a fraternity - since we don't have fraternities Down Under I don't know how realistic the portrayals are but it looks like a blast!

I don't think it came out in theaters - definitely not in Austalia - but it's well worth your time to check it out on video.

Also has really well done DVD goodies including a deleted scene with the scrumptious Claire Forlani. The director's commentary is the best I've ever heard - he really goes into the bits and pieces of what it took to get the film made and has lots of advice for other aspriing directors.

Well worth a look!

As good as American Pie, better than Old School

[blackgirlpearl2000 · 8/10 · 28 July 2003]

A girl in my dorm, yeah, I'm in summer school, had a copy of this, and we thought it would be a stupid knock-off of the above films. And while it does stick to most of the conventional situational comedy gags, there really was a lot to offer here, including some jokes I never even imagined... Do frat boys really do some of this??!!

Knowing the guys as UCSB, I wouldn't put it past them, but this movie did a really good job of telling the story in a way that made it feel more real and less Hollywood - which I mean as a good thing.

The cast was really good, I only recognized a few of them from other movies, and it felt like a really well made film - waaay better than 99% of the recent teen sex "comedies". My friend said it's coming out soon, so I would definitely recommend it to anyone in college.

secret hilarity in extras

[dhanig-2 · 10/10 · 12 May 2008]

I can understand why some people might not like this movie. It was fairly non-creative, the acting was average, and some of the scenes were like an after school special on fraternities. However...the one saving grace of this film is the bonus features on the DVD. If there is an award for funniest DVD commentary of all time, let this be the winner. The director, Justin Zachham, brought the actors Corey Pearson, Dylan Bruno, and Scott Viscomi into a recording studio to lay down the commentary. They apparently brought tons of beer, and the effect is downright magical. If only the director could have channeled these three actors off the cuff, nonchalant humor into the movie, it would have been a blazing success. Over the course of the movie, they knock each other out with boxing gloves, break a hand, knock everything over, completely ignore the movie, tell hilarious stories about the production of the movie, and fart on each other. I urge you, buy the DVD for this alone, you will not be disappointed.

Unexpected good time!

[krazydazee2001 · 9/10 · 7 September 2003]

Didn't know what to expect when I picked this one up at Tower. I was in a bad mood, in need of some silly fun and this flick looked like it stood a chance.

Well, it did...and then some!!

Man was I surprised. I can't believe I never heard of this before - it didn't have a studio name on it except for Hart Sharp and LIttle Fish which I never heard of.

The movie is HILARIOUS. I could go into all of the scenes (Elevator and Circle Jerk being the best!) but you'll just have to trust me on this one.

I went in expecting little and ended up loving it. Chalk this one up for the collection!

What can I say...

[gravyrock · 9/10 · 24 June 2003]

Great movie... Funny, charming and tons of fun.... It's hard to find a comedy these days that is both smart and funny at the same time. Going Greek is both from beginning to end. I hope that this movie starts to get the attention it deserves...

TOO, TOO FUNNY TO MISS!

[blueeyezz15 · 10/10 · 30 September 2003]

I've seen the film Going Greek with a bunch of friends. We laughed all the way through. We actually rented Animal House at the same time just to compare, since it clearly says on the Going Greek DVD cover that it is an "Animal House meets American Pie" type of comedy. I have to say Going Greek was so much better by a long shot than those movies. Maybe because they couldn't get away with much back in the 80's. They clearly got away with a lot in Going Greek. As for the cast, that Susan Ward girl is hot...!!! I recognized a few actors. The kid Simon Rex from "What I like About You" was funny. I've seen Harvey Silver(T.J.) in "Last Resort" w/ Scott Caan, "The Price of Love" w/ Peter Facinelli and he also starred in a TV show back in 1994 called "Street Gear" w/ Gregory Hines and "One World" in 1998 on tnbc w/ Michelle Krusiec from "Pumpkin" w/ Christina Ricci. I'm surprised they didn't use HARVEY SILVER'S face to sell the DVD cover. I Love his work, he kind of reminds me of a Larenz Tate. I also enjoyed the "ANGUS" kid Charlie Talbert. I think he's pretty funny! Laura Harris was typical but she really shined in "Just The Ticket" w/ Andy Garcia. I saw the deleted scenes and I think Claire Forlani from "Meet Joe Black" w/ Brad Pitt is the one that should have played the leading lady. I would truly say pick up this film and even more own it on DVD because it's worth having it for your DVD library right their next to "Old School", "Animal House" and "American Pie".

The fresh cast is excellent, character development soars, and whoever didn't have a good time with this one needs to go back to playing bridge.

[jmpearson2 · 10/10 · 24 June 2003]

I have seen this film in a private screening and for anyone to give it a rating of 3 or lower obviously has some sort of mission to denounce the deserved success of the film for one reason or another. Now, I'm not saying that GG is an epic saga for the ages that will make you laugh, cry and cheer; but it will most certainly make you laugh. Most of the acting performances are quite commendable and take on a refreshing new approach. The characters themselves are well developed-- a few of them brilliantly. Justin Zackham deserves to be applauded for writing and directing a "frat movie" that goes where none have gone before. Don't be surprised to find that Going Greek becomes a cult favorite.

Funny comedy!

[angeloc · 10/10 · 18 September 2003]

The t-comm department here at Ball State has a series of "professionals in residence". Usually boring, they surprised us with a screening and Q&A with a hollywood filmmaker.

Never heard of the guy or the movie before the show, but figured it had to be better than the usual talking corpses we get.

Just to clarify my background, I'm an Aussie transfer student enjoying a year out here in corn country. I've enjoyed one or two fraternity parties, and maybe one or two sorority sisters, but never really went in for all the greek hardcore lot.

This number didn't change my mind, but it definitely gave me a few ideas to take back to Oz next year.

All's I can say is that this movie is flat out hysterical. The characters all had a sense of realism that you never find in American comedies anymore... Where are you Albert Brooks???...

Anyway, I really enjoyed the film and the director and one of the actors (BSU alum Corey Person) stayed after for a really funny Q&A session in which they talked about the trials and tribulations of getting a movie made.

All in all, a really well worthwhile film.