Movie review: ‘How I Got Into College’

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A promotional “still” photograph from the movie “How I Got Into College.”

The definition of stereotype is “a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.” Stereotypes can certainly be true but most often they are misleading and certainly hurtful. However, one exception you’ll find most often is with movies. If a film presents itself with stereotypes, you probably can count on getting them. Yet, a bunch defy this definition. One exception is the teen flick “How I Got Into College.” It is a teen flick (stereotype in and of itself), but it is a decent little film that handles the stereotypes well. Further, it presents some truly creative comedy and the cast, while not a bunch of A-listers, does a better job than the stereotyped ones from more popular flicks. So, check out “How I Got Into College” for some light and fun entertainment.

How I Got Into College’
(1989; 86 minutes; rated PG-13; directed by Savage Steve Holland and starring Anthony Edwards, Corey Parker and Lara Flynn Boyle)

THE DEFINITION OF ‘BETTER THAN YOU’D THINK’

(NOTE: I updated this review from additional opinion and trivia and the updating of links on Aug. 11, 2015. I again updated the review on Nov. 1, 2019. I again expanded the review on Aug. 15, 2025.)

With the college application season in its stretch run for high school students across the country, there’s a funny little film about the angst and self-imposed stress over choosing a university or managing to get into the one that is their favorite. So, in the spirit of the educational season, let’s take a shot at one of the genre today: “How I Got Into College.”

Since teen movies almost always depend on stereotypes, there are some (a few?) in “How I Got Into College,” but the movie gets by more on its creative plot than by the work of any one or combination of its actors – although funnyman Phil Hartman does a good job as an SAT tutor here. It offers a look at getting into college from three views: the students, the college and, in the movie’s most creative turn, the odd SAT tutors and two squabbling SAT answers (“A” and “B”).

How I Got Into College” is just what the title suggests: it’s the story of a group of high school seniors trying to survive application season. The lead high school character, “Jessica Kailo” played by Lara Flynn Boyle, is an honors student, running for class president and just about everything else. She’s supposed to go to the University of Michigan, but she wants the fictional “Ramsey College.” Boyle is surrounded by friends desperate to be accepted at any university and pursued by a boy who has no chance to get into “Ramsey,” but will try to follow her there.

A promotional “still” photograph from the movie “How I Got Into College.”

At the same time, “Ramsey College” is sending out its admissions officers/recruiters and two of them are an item. Their story parallels that of the students, but, from inside looking out. Finally, you have the best subplot – the SAT tutors (Hartman and Nora Dunn as “Bennedict and Bauer”) and the guys who are imaginary SAT answers (“A” and “B”) sprinkled throughout the film.

The stereotypes include: the most sought-after jock who turns out to be a bookworm; the college football coach, who first can’t believe his fortune and then cries when his dream collapses; and then the complete turnaround that allows a little humanity creep into the process (even back then college admissions was an all-numbers game).

You’ll find that the SAT question guys “A” and “B” should have been utilized more. Here is the film’s best comedic idea. You have two of the four or five multiple-choice answers frantically giving their advice as to which one is correct, but whose advice is never accepted by Marlon. The duo is especially effective at the end when they mock a student who believes he’s done with standardized tests but will one day go to grad school.

I’ll break “How I Got Into College” down into the three segments I mentioned. Here are some of the students:

  • A Primetime Emmy nominee, Boyle is energetic here but does merely an acceptable job as the most popular girl in school. I’d say that “acceptable” is a peak for her acting ability, but she doesn’t disappoint (and that’s a solid vote for any actor). Her best moments are when she totally loses it during the personal interview at “Ramsey” when she’s hit by what she believes is a “stress question.” I guess she’s as good as any actor for the role. Boyle did much better work in “Wayne’s World” and she was also in the No. 10 film of the year, “Dead Poets Society” with Robin Williams. Her nomination was for “The Practice” and I liked her eight episodes on the TV series “Las Vegas” with James Caan as the witchy, rich owner of the casino-resort and who exited when her dress billowed while on top of the building and blew her through a designer shoe store far below on the Strip!
  • A promotional “still” photograph from the movie “How I Got Into College.”

    Corey Parker plays “Marlon Browne” and he’s chasing Boyle to the point that he’s going to “suicide it” by only applying to one college: “Ramsey,” of course). His stereotypes are that he’s a nerd but becomes attractive to Boyle; is creative where no one realizes his talent; and winds up with the girl. Like Boyle, Parker is energetic but only gives an OK performance. He was also in “Biloxi Blues” as well as a string of TV performances. Parker hasn’t had an acting credit since 2017.

  • Christopher Rydell plays “Oliver,” who is Parker’s best friend and Jack Keroac-wannabe. Rydell is wonderfully flippant and he distains college in favor of hitchhiking (of course he gets picked up by Bob Eubanks – in a nice cameo – and a couple of beautiful women in the first minute of his freedom from high school). Rydell has also been in “For the Boys” and “On Golden Pond.”

Here are some members of the “Ramsey” staff:

  • A Golden Globe winner (not for this one), Anthony Edwards plays “Kip Hammett,” who is the likable admissions officer who at first doesn’t want to succeed the outgoing dean of admissions. He’s in love with a co-worker and, like so many here, does an acceptable but unremarkable job. Edwards was better as the doomed “Goose” in “Top Gun” with Tom Cruise and was solid in “Revenge of the Nerds” (click here to read my review) and quietly outstanding in the forgotten “Gotcha!” about a pretend shooting game played at college that turns into a real spy mission for Edwards (click here to read my review). He won his Globe and was nominated three times for “ER” and was nominated four times for a Primetime Emmy for the show. He won an Emmy for one of seven executive producers of “Temple Grandin” with Claire Danes in 2010.
  • Finn Carter plays “Nina Sachie,” who is Edwards’ love interest and co-worker. She flits around the edges of the film, with the exception of a wonderful recruitment scene where she talks to both the big jock and a brainy poor girl at an inner-city school. Carter was also in the cult favorite horror flick “Tremors” (click here to read my review) with Kevin Bacon and the critically acclaimed drama “Ghosts of Mississippi.” She notched 34 acting credits before leaving the entertainment world in with a final credit in 2005. (Note: Go to the end of this review for her non-acting biography.)
  • The wonderfully stage-named Charles Rocket (his given name was Charles Adams Claverie) plays “Leo Whitman,” who is the numbers-blinded admissions officer who ultimately OKs an elephant for admission (stereotype alert!) because it had the right “numbers.” Rocket knocks this one out easily and he was also in “Dumb & Dumber” and “Dances with Wolves.” He took his own life in 2005 at age 56.

Then we have the SAT folks:

  • Hartman played the “Bennedict” half of the SAT tutor team. He’s wonderfully droll and only slightly condescending to the students. In the short time on screen though, he’s better than just about all. Hartman is a veteran of “Saturday Night Live” and was in “Jingle All the Way” (click here to read my review) and, in an obvious tragedy, was shot to death by his wife while sleeping at home in 1998. He was 49.
  • Dunn plays the “Bauer” half of the team and is also an “SNL” veteran. Dunn can snatch a student’s payment check quickly and she’s smooth and cool in the role. Her character, unlike Hartman’s, has a first name: “Francine.” Dunn has also been in “Bruce Almighty” and “Pineapple Express.”
  • As for the SAT answer boys, Bruce Wagner plays “A” and Tom Kenny plays “B.” They are wonderful together as the anxious answers that Parker never gets right and condemns to a variety of fates (falling object question or the sinking boat question). Wagner was in “I’m Losing You” and Kenny was in the execrable “Shakes the Clown” (remember that reprehensible stinkbomb?) and has voiced dozens of TV cartoon characters.

The single best supporting actor work is by Tichina Arnold as “Vera Cook.” Arnold is smart, sassy and looking to better herself while her mother wants her to work and go to school at night. She does an excellent job conveying her character and works well with all the different actors she encounters. Arnold was also in “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Big Momma’s House” and continues to turn out work on both the big and little screens today.

I could go on and on with a number of other supporting actors’ work, but I just don’t want to drag it out. So, watch the film … you’ll easily find worse ways to spend nearly 90 minutes.

“How I Got Into College” was a total bomb at the box office (with critics, too, but not here). It was the 152nd ranked film of 1989 with a paltry $1.6 million in ticket sales, according to Box Office Mojo. Although a stinker, “How I Got Into College” did do better than “Stepfather II” and “Apartment Zero.” Far ahead of this box office dreck was the No. 1 film: “Batman” with $251.1 million. Also in the top 10 was “Lethal Weapon 2” (3rd with $147.2 million). Here are the films from 1989 that I’ve reviewed:

Assorted cast notes (via IMDb.com):

  • Parker’s birth name is Corey Parker Haas; Carter’s birth name is Elizabeth Fearn Carter; and, as I noted before, Rocket’s birth name was Charles Adams Claverie and he stood 6-foot-5½ inches tall.
  • Taylor Negron plays a longsuffering mailman who delivers either good news or bad to the students. Negron was also in “Angels in the Outfield” as well as “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and a string of TV roles.
  • The original director of “How I Got Into College” was Jan Eliasberg, but he was replaced by Savage Steve Holland after production began. Holland also directed “Better Off Dead …” and “One Crazy Summer” before doing “How I Got Into College.”
  • Carter has quite a non-acting personal history. She is the daughter of Hodding Carter III, a member of former President Jimmy Carter’s administration and was once married to minor TV star Steven “Wings” Weber. In July 2019, Carter was arrested in Las Vegas and accused of possession of a stolen vehicle and multiple counts of improper possession of another person’s credit card. She was scheduled to have a court date in October 2019, but I couldn’t find an update online.
  • Directly from IMDb.com: “The marching band that chases Marlon through the college fair is the Matador Marching Band of California State University, Northridge.”

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