On his first day in a new school, gullible young Andrew McCarthy (as Jonathan) is talked into changing into a black bra and panties by preppy roommate Rob Lowe (as Skip), who disrobes to reveal a similar taste in underwear. It's a funny, wildly implausible scene that sets a tone not kept throughout the story. Things will get decidedly more serious. Shortly before the half-hour mark, we receive confirmation that these guys are supposed to be high school-aged prep students; in the opening, Mr. McCarthy appears to be an arriving college underclassman. Naturally, the teen "boys" are interested in pranks and sex...Sensing McCarthy is a virgin, Mr. Lowe urges him to go to town and find a sex partner (it's an all-boys school). McCarthy finds sexy older Jacqueline Bisset (as Ellen). Lucky guy, but there are complications. She's a trifle unstable, married to hard-nosed Cliff Robertson (as Mr. Burroughs), and has a secret that threatens the friendship between McCarthy and Lowe. They are really smart and want to go to Harvard, but another secret will unfold... In the lead role, film-debuting McCarthy manages to both connect with and keep from being upstaged by Lowe (who makes a classy Jesus). All handle the assignment well.****** Class (7/6/83) Lewis John Carlino ~ Andrew McCarthy, Rob Lowe, Jacqueline Bisset, Cliff Robertson

Class made a ton of money back in the day with Brat Pack king Rob Lowe starring in another teen film about some oversexed adults and undersexed young men. In this case the undersexed one is Andrew McCarthy who gets some love lessons from Jacqueline Bisset who is also Lowe's mother. Which makes it all nice and cozy.McCarthy is a young country kid who wins a scholarship to an exclusive boy's prep school which is mostly inhabited by to the manor born types like Lowe. In fact Lowe has the ultimate prep school name of Skip.Around women McCarthy makes Inspector Clousseau look like Errol Flynn and Lowe gives him some fateful advice about trying to hook up at a certain bar on Rush Street in Chicago where there are lots of women who are as longing as he is. Unfortunately one of them happens to be his mother and that's who McCarthy does it with. Right in one of those glass elevators.Class veers uncomfortably back and forth from comedy to drama without any warning. The values of the Reagan era are upheld here, especially by Cliff Robertson as solid a venture capitalist as you'll ever find and Lowe's father. He's treating his wife like another of his possessions like his mansion or his yacht and no wonder she's looking for love in all the wrong places.As we see noted, a whole lot of people like Andrew McCarthy, John Cusack, Casey Siemaszko, Lolita Davidovitch, and Virginia Madsen all made their screen debuts. That is probably what Class will go down in movie annals for.

As many others have noted with the film, 'Class', is that it is quite uneven! It doesn't know if it's a comedy, romance, or even tense drama. It's a weird 80s teen film, but I don't even think I could call it that! And, even when it's all said and done and the credits start to roll, one is left wondering what this film was actually all about. I'm guessing crossing the lines of friendship, given the situation with Jonathan and Skip's Mom. And I'm guessing the film was about loyalty and friendship overall given the ending! Chuck in a few themes about "class" itself, and the film seems to make sense! However, the film is still uneven overall, but the performances from a young Andrew McCarthy (Jonathan) and Rob Lowe (Skip) are worth watching- and there is some excellent scenes within the film! Like Skip's "F*** you!" moment after the inquisitor belittles his background and insinuates him of cheating! Some funny moments when Jonathan in the girl's campus causing chaos, and when he's trying to talk to a girl at the bar! I know I'll never roll a quarter for my aura on my face in a club or pub! Also, he transition of Skip being loud prank-loving fun to Jonathan's "morose" depressing personality being swapped over after Skip discovers Jonathan with his Mom was pretty interesting! Skip becomes colder and hard to approach by Jonathan, whereas Skip would overwhelm Jonathan and put him unwillingly in awkward situations! I didn't really like the closure between Jonathan and Ellen (Jacqueline Bisset), and I would have liked a scene with Skip addressing his mother in regard to Jonathan! Would a friendship between them really survive that? The film seems to suggest that it will survive due to Skip's alienation and contempt for his background and parents, and his affinity with Jonathan as they endeavor towards Harvard! This is by no means a brilliant in the likes of other teen films of the same era. It's worth watching alone because it the feature debut of very young actors in Andrew McCarthy, John Cusack, Alan Ruck ('Ferris Bueller's Day Off'), Virginia Madsen ('Sideways'), Lolita Davidovich ('Intersection') and Casey Siemaszco ('Young Guns')! When you look at a 17 year old John Cusack in that film, you wouldn't think that he would become the most successful star out of the entire cast- though McCarthy did do very well in the 1980s too! Rob Lowe and Jacqueline Bisset and this debut cast all do very well in their performances. While 'Class' may leave you wondering a little, it is worth watching for an unusual representation of awkwardness, youth, romance and friendship! ***½ out of *****!

This is a good comedy for nostalgia purposes that somewhat borrows on similar previous comedies, with the most notable being The Graduate.Andrew McCarthy is Jonathan, the new student at a prep school, who is the new roommate of confident stud, Skip (Rob Lowe). As it is against the rule in the 1980s to be a teenage boy and still be a virgin (there was, after all a whole 80s genre of comedy based on it), Skip decides they must travel to Chicago so Jonathan can finally "become a man." Ironically, and unknown to Skip, Jonathan lives to the ultimate boyhood fantasy--he scores with Skip's mom (although, neither know who the two are at first). One attempt after another for Jonathan and Skip's mom (Jacqueline Bisset) to sort things out briskly and as quietly as possible without Skip finding out lead to a total disaster, of course. And yada...yada...yada...the friendship is tested, there's a few misunderstandings and so forth.The movie offers nothing new by way of the story, which had been done plenty (and is still exhaustively being done) in the two decades prior to its release (even though in the early 60s, it may've still been taboo to be so explicit). But, while it may be predictable, it still makes a good nostalgia trip, though, seeing an extremely young Andrew McCarthy, Rob Lowe, John Cusak (in brief appearances here and there), Casey Seizmasko, and others.