Cheap School Ties (DVD) (Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon) (Robert Mandel) Price

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Customer Reviews of School Ties

Speaks of days past and a time almost forgotten
School Ties is a touching movie that is often compared to Dead Poets Society. While there are similarities (ie: teenage boys in a 1950s prep school setting), there are more differences. This is less of a movie about looking up to someone only to see them cut down before your eyes and the bonds and respect associated with that, and more of a story of the bonding and betrayal of friends.

A young Brendan Fraser is stunning as David Green, a working class Jewish kid accepted to one of the most prestigious preparatory schools in the country. It would only be for one year, but what a year. With dreams of going to Harvard, this was his way in. He keeps his religion a secret from the new friends he makes, but when it all comes out in the end, slurs are thrown and the people he thought he could trust leave David high and dry.

It speaks of an era when there were 100 different slurs for each religion and race, and the people who actually believed that somehow they were better. No character is portrayed in this negative light better than Charlie Dillon, brought to life by none other than Matt Damon. The seeds of his jealousy are planted within the first fifteen minutes and as the movie progresses you see Dillon become more desperate for his former status after David Green takes his position on the football team and in the life of a girl he thinks to be his.

Other standouts include Chris O'Donnell, playing Fraser's fictional roommate, who is forced to deal with the situation a bit more close up than some of their classmates. Randall Batinkoff, though not well known, gives a fabulous performance as Damon's fictional roommate, having to decide which is more important: his best friend and roommate of 4 years, or his morals and conscience urging him to speak up in defense of David Green. Surprisingly, Cole Hauser, who generally is cast as a not-so-nice guy comes off completely different in this picture. His character, Jack Connors seems rude and hard-nosed throughout, but when it's all on the line, he really delivers, making it known that Connors is not the bigot he has been made out as.

The movie was well scripted and brilliantly cast, from the guy who no one thought would come out on top (Fraser) to the guy who would be expected to rule the world (Damon). Set in a time when life was a little rougher and people were judged more harshly, School Ties really speaks of the fear and degradation one might face for being "different", and tells of the strength and courage that comes with being "different". Some might say that the movie is too harsh with its message of bigotry, but that was a time when it was very real and it must embraced in order to learn from it and not have it happen again.

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Dead Poets Society + Bigotry in 1950s
A star quarterback from a Pennsylvania steel town is recruited to play for an elite New England prep school so that they can defeat their arch-rival. The only problem is that the new guy is Jewish, and the school is as white and Christian as can be.

This is a good, but not great movie, well-paced, with some compelling scenes, and a good blend of action, suspense and romance. Starring as David Greene, Brendan Fraser shows more emotion and less woodenness than many of his later roles. Matt Damon also stands out as Dillon, the boy pushed out of the spotlight when Fraser's character arrives. There are some key scenes of developing friendship between the two that give their characters multi-dimensions, but in the end the screenplay makes Dillon less than likable.
First, a new QB joins the team and takes your spot, then he takes your girl. Finally, there is a challenge to the school honor code when someone cheats on a final exam.
I thought another key sequence, that probably could have been done even better, was the "12 Angry Men" like scene with the other boys trying to decide who cheated on the test. Some of them step forward to Greene's defense, while others show their true bigotry and anti-Semitism.
While Fraser and Damon stand out, most of the other characters fall into the usual prep school stereotypes: the understanding roommate, the wild boy, the geek narc, etc.
I would have liked to have seen more development of the Chris O'Donnell character as Greene's roommate, but he does stand up for him. I also would have liked to have seen more development of a mentor character, such as the coach.
In the end, Fraser shows David's growth from idealistic, small town guy to one working the system while retaining his personal honor code and dignity after realizing how he had not been true to himself.
It's also fun to see the early careers of Fraser, Damon, Ben Affleck and Chris O'Donnell.

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good message..good movie
Brendan Fraser(Mummy 1 and 2,Glory Daze) in one of his more better roles, plays David Greene, a Jewish kid who gets into a wealthy college as a star quarterback..there he meets his new friends, Dillon-MattDamon(Dogma, Glory Daze, Good Will Hunting), Randall Batinkoff(The Peacemaker and Buffy The Vampire Slayer), Anthony Rapp(A Beautiful Mind), Ed Lauter(Pythopn, Not Another Teen Movie), Ben Affleck(Glory Daze, Dogma, Good Will Hunting), Jayce Bartok(Suburbia, Spider-man, Swing Kids) and Chris O'Donnell(Batman Forever, Batman and Robin, 29 Palms) and David hides his ethnicity and then Damon finds it out and then chaos ensues...Fraser delivers a promising performance and so does Damon as the evil preppy rich kid who wants it his way..some good moments and not so much good moments..all in all its a movie not to be missed