Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Tymon Sutton The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

jadavix "Mortuary Academy" is, if anything, actually less funny than its subject matter: two nerds inherit the "academy" of the title and, if I remember correctly, have to go to school there to get it.The whole thing is very confusing and hard to follow, and never provides an adequate sense of place. It has several fantastic character actors with a magnetic screen presence, and no idea what to do with them, so after you get over the shock at seeing actors from "In the Heat of the Night", "The Silence of the Lambs" and "The Usual Suspects" in garbage like this, you eventually stop paying attention to them because they aren't given anything remotely interesting to do. The movie introduces them and then just kind of leaves them to their own devices. Paul Bartel, the rotund, balding character actor who looks and sounds like he was put on Earth to quote Shakespeare, has the movie's only memorable character... trait. He's really not a memorable "character", per se, but how many movies, especially comedic films, are there about necrophiliacs? This is about the only material that could have been funny, and while it didn't get any laughs from me, I did guffaw in shock once or twice. Again, the movie just has no idea how to handle this potentially outrageous material; you probably won't even notice it because every leading up to it and following it is so boring.The title, I assume, is an attempt to cash in on the success of "Police Academy". Say what you will about that movie, but at least police academies are actually something that exist. "Mortuary Academies" don't even seem to exist in this movie.

Woodyanders Meek and suicidal nerd Max Grimm (a likable Christopher Atkins) and his more smooth and assured brother Sam (an equally amiable Perry Lang) are forced to take a course at their family's mortuary academy in order to inherit two million dollars. Kinky closet necrophiliac and head administrator Paul Truscott (Paul Bartel in fine droll form) and his sexually frustrated assistant Mary Purcell (a terrifically brash portrayal by the ever-delightful Mary Woronov) are determined to flunk the siblings so they can take over the place. Director Michael Schroeder, working from a pleasantly twisted and silly script by Bartel and Bill Kelman, relates the cheerfully inane story at a steady pace and maintains an engaging tongue-in-cheek tone throughout. The game cast have a ball with the wacky material: Atkins and Lang are charming in the lead roles, it's always a treat to see Bartel and Woronov in anything, plus there are sound contributions from Tracey Walter as eccentric electronics wizard Don Dickson, Anthony James as twitchy and scary ex-con Abbott Smith, Lynn Danielson as the sweet Valerie Levitt, and Stoney Jackson as hip aspiring rap singer James Danridge. Popping up in cool cameos are Wolfman Jack as crafty rock band manager Bernie Berkowitz, Cesar Romero as a cruise ship captain, Richard Kennedy as a lawyer, and "Playboy" Playmates Dona Speir, Rebekka Armstrong, Kymberly Paige, and Laurie Ann Carr as nurses. This film's main praiseworthy achievement is how it manages to treat the questionable subject matter in a surprisingly playful and good-natured manner; even the potentially tasteless subplot involving Trescott's infatuation with the fetching corpse of a deceased teenage cheerleader avoids being too gross or offensive and hence provides some of the picture's biggest laughs. A very funny and enjoyable flick.

merklekranz Though nowhere as original as "Eating Raoul", for those who admire that film, "Mortuary Academy" is the closest Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov ever came to duplicating that magical black comedy. If you throw out "Mortuary Academy's" absurd "Radio Werewolf" dead rock band resurrection, you are left with some outrageous dialog, especially relating to Bartel's virginal dead lover. The film does rely on some "Airplane"- type hit or miss humor, however when the campy humor gives way to black comedy, these two (Bartel and Woronov) really deliver. I rate this a solid 6.0. Comparable ratings would include "Eating Raoul" 8.0, "Chopping Mall" 5.0, and "Lust in the Dust" 5.0. - MERK

movieman_kev Brothers Sam and Max inherit a mortuary from their late uncle with the added stipulation that they must pass the Mortuary Academy which is run by Paul and Mary (Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov from "Eating Raoul"). who don't want the brothers owning the mortuary and do everything in their power to stop them. This movie has numerous actors that fans will remember (Pual Bartel, Mary Woronov, Tracey Walter, Wolfman Jack, and Vance Colvig Jr) All those name faces from B-movie greats can't mask that this film stinks more then a year old corpse. Bad taste CAN be funny. IF done right, pretty much every subject can bring about a laugh or three, but that requires talent, something this movie seems to be lacking. Furthermore, to mention this film in the same sentence as the classic "Porky's" or "Revenge of the Nerds" is damn near blasphemy.My Grade: D- Eye Candy: Cheryl Starbuck is topless