Combat Academy (DVD)

...this. Its also known as Combat High. You've got high school pranks, guaranteed to invoke a smile at least, with the song 'Be Cruel to your School' playing at the start, a touching friendship, and Max's inspiring outlook on life - if you watch it, you'll see what I mean when I say the 'kiss on the forehead' moment. Its not a headliner, but its a worthwhile watch. Unfortunately, there isnt much more I can say - only that I do indeed recommend it. I ...
...had that much luck post Combat Academy. Robert Culp who stars as General Edward Woods has had a long and successful career, whilst his on-screen sidekick, Col. Frierick, played by Jamie Farr, had previously played the cross-dressing Klinger in M*A*S*H. The judge at the start, played by Sherman Hemsley, may be recognised from a few episodes of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, amongst other things. Also, the boy that Biff forces to swim, despite the fact ... more

| Plot |:
Maxwell Mendellson and Percival Barnett are best friends of many years. Branded trouble-makers at high school, Max comes up with new ideas which Perry goes along with, the result being maximum chaos. They take the trouble they get into a bit too far with fooling construction workers into digging the wrong street; their sentence? A year at Kirkland Military Academy.

Of course, Max doesn't want to be at military academy, and the two get up to their old tricks only to find it doesn't work - they cant escape. They part ways for a time as Perry decides to do the right thing and actually try, and spends more of his time with Mary Beth, a girl he met there.

Max's roommate, Biff (played by a young George Clooney), is the son of General Edward Woods, the head of the school, and is a Major. It transpires that the thief plaguing Kirkland is actually Biff, trying to get attention from a father who sees him as a soldier rather than a son. Elsewhere, Andrea Pritchett, the Sergeant of Max and Perrys unit, has fallen for the good-looking and cruel Kevin, Perry's roommate. At the dance Max convinces Andrea to dance with him, whilst Perry is shunned by Mary Beth, who has her old boyfriend visiting for the ball. Biff takes the stealing too far - will he lose his status for the war games?

The war games between Kirkland and a Russian academy are a strong part of the plot. General Ed Woods is bent on winning, whatever the cost, much like Kevin. Biff wakes up hungover in the woods, with a merry bunch of men led by Max ready to follow him - what will the result of the war games be? A sad day for all mankind, or a happy day for all mankind?

| Opinion |:
Whilst this isn't the best acted film (released in 1986), and made for TV, it does have a charm about it, and it will have you laughing. It is quite a popular film in my household; we're certainly glad we bought this. Its also known as Combat High. You've got high school pranks, guaranteed to invoke a smile at least, with the song 'Be Cruel to your School' playing at the start, a touching friendship, and Max's inspiring outlook on life - if you watch it, you'll see what I mean when I say the 'kiss on the forehead' moment. Its not a headliner, but its a worthwhile watch. Unfortunately, there isnt much more I can say - only that I do indeed recommend it. I apologise for the lack of more detail to this review - as an old, lesser-known film, I'm limited as to what I can find out - really, I can only give a bit of info about the cast, and describe the film itself.

| Cast |:
The headlining hunk of this film is, of course, George Clooney. As it was done in his youth, he certainly looks good in this, despite the large eyebrows! Wallace Langham, who starred as Perry, has done a fair bit of acting since, and can currently be found in the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation TV Series and Little Miss Sunshine. Keith Gordon, who plays Max, hasn't had as much success, unlike George Clooney - do I even need to name some of the films hes done? I'm sure you already know some of them. Dana Hill, who plays Sergeant Andrea Pritchett, actually died of a stroke after complications resulting from diabetes in 1996, but not before doing some more acting - and a lot of voices for TV and film. The actress who plays Mary Beth - Tina Caspary, was originally going to be Kelly Bundy in the comic sitcom Married with Children, and starred in the unaired pilot, but the producers were not happy with her in the role. Kevin Haley, who plays his namesake Kevin in this, actually quit acting in 1994 to become an interior designer - he doesn't seem to have had that much luck post Combat Academy. Robert Culp who stars as General Edward Woods has had a long and successful career, whilst his on-screen sidekick, Col. Frierick, played by Jamie Farr, had previously played the cross-dressing Klinger in M*A*S*H. The judge at the start, played by Sherman Hemsley, may be recognised from a few episodes of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, amongst other things. Also, the boy that Biff forces to swim, despite the fact that he cant, Jai, is played by Danny Nucci, who has achieved a reasonable level of fame after the film.

The director, Neal Israel, was an executive producer in the recent hit Finding Neverland, starring Johnny Depp, amongst other titles in his filmography for directing, producing and writing. 

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