Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

GurlyIamBeach Instant Favorite.

Bereamic Awesome Movie

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

DeuceWild_77 The teen movies of the 80's decade were dominated by the cheesy / romantic / well-intentioned cinema of John Hughes; the "Lemon Popsicle" sex teen movies clones such as Bob Clark's "Porky's" trilogy, "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" or "The Last American Virgin" and the Spielberg's executive produced adventure / fantasy teen flicks such as "Back to the Future" or "The Goonies".Phil Joanou's first venture as a director was an unconventional teen comedy for its time called "Three O'Clock High", set in an all american High School like the majority of Hughes' (and non-Hughes) flicks of this genre, inspired by the classic western "High Noon" starring Gary Cooper (in an Oscar winner role) and Grace Kelly and based in real life situations of the two screenwriters during their High School years.Joanou, a fan of Scorsese's "After Hours", released 2 years prior and also an unusual comedy, but set in the adult world, based its directing style and fancy cinematography straight for the teen movie genre with the help of the inovator cinematographer, Barry Sonnenfeld (an usual collaborator of the Coen brothers at that time) to acquire a 'cartoon-ish' / comic book style through stylized camera angles and proper lightning effects resulting in a visually nifty film which also benefited from a skillful editing giving the movie its congruous frantic pace.Besides the greatness of its technical aspects, the movie is also clever in its storytelling, the rivalry between the nerd, Jerry Mitchell and the "new kid on the block", the bad boy, Buddy Revell changes stereotypes through the course of the action with Mitchell being accused of theft, illegal weapon possession and even for cheating at the exam and Buddy, the long-haired' black leather jacket outsider being more smart & sensitive than people would give him credit for.Casey Siemaszko, after a string of good supporting roles in famous teen movies such as "Back to the Future", "Secret Admirer" and "Stand by Me" was given the lead role of Jerry Mitchell and he's perfectly cast giving life to his character, a nervous, unpopular & nerdy high schooler about to face his rite of passage to becoming a confident young man after his feud with the troubled misfit, played here by Richard Tyson, in his debut role, who delivered an interesting (and imposing) performance as Buddy Revell, even if his screentime is kind of short.The supporting players are filled with great character actors such as the always sinister, the late John P. Ryan ("Runaway Train", "Avenging Force", "Class of 1999"); Jeffrey Tambor and Mitch Pileggi (future Wes Craven's "Shocker" and better known as Skinner in the hit TV show, "The X-Files").Some may say, including the late Roger Ebert in his review, that this movie resembles a lot of an early teen movie starring Chris Makepeace, Adam Baldwin & Matt Dillon called "My Bodyguard", which is a great (and earlier) entry on the High School genre, but ultimately, "Three O'Clock High" is way more creative, memorable and well paced and much more worthy in the rewatchable factor.Steven Spielberg, who executive produced this movie, ordered to get his name removed from the credits after he watched a rough cut of this. Apparently, the big bearded wanted another "The Karate Kid" or a more conventional / cheesy High School teen flick and this kind of offbeat comedy startled him. He had already done the same two years before with "Fandango", the debut movie of director Kevin Reynolds which featured a young Kevin Costner in his first leading role. In my point of view, Spielberg made a big mistake of disowned both films, because they're way original and inventive and still hold up well today and maybe with the Spielberg name envolved, they could have had more chances at the box office, instead of being flops that ran into obscurity (only cinephiles know the existence).Also worthy of a mention is the memorable music score by Tangerine Dream and the additional music provided by Sylvester Levay.In short, "Three O'Clock High" deserves to be in the Top 10 of the best High School teen movies from the 80's, it's a great watch and one of the last breath of a genre that started the downfall in popularity at the same time as the end of the decade was approaching...On a side note, the hit TV Show for Fox Network that premiered in '90, "Parker Lewis Can't Lose" stole the concept, ideas, the cinematography and directing style of this one. Universal Pictures and Joanou should have sued Columbia Pictures Television for producing such a blatant rip-off.

dain84-743-188250 There's something about teenage films in the 80'sthat really keep my attention and this film is one of the aces. Maybe it's the fact Tangerine Dream did the soundtrack or maybe it's the spectacular cinematography, but the sole reason that makes this film resonate is the heart that exudes. It captures the essence of the high school kid that gets involved in an unintentional situation-anyone can relate. All the elements come together in this movie- references to Lincoln (Fast Times ?), Tangerine Dream (Risky Business), and not to mention the stellar performances to provide a very unique look into a subject NeVeR displayed on film the way this one does, the high school fight.

eckhouse24 "Three O'Clock High" was one of those 80's films that dealt with high school students against each other. Released in 1987, it went un-noticed because of all the other 80's nerd films like Revenge of the Nerds, Lucas, Some Kind of Wonderful. This film was a bit more original in my opinion.It was the day in the life of Jerry Mitchel, a not so popular student whose main high school contribution was to either the school paper or running the student school store. On this day, he wakes up and tells himself that it's going to be one of those days. The kind of day when you realize your out of clean clothes and that your wash was left in the washing machine. Your car has a flat and your stuck taking your mom's station wagon to school. Just an ordinary day.Just an ordinary day until student legend Buddy Revell starts his first day at his new school. He is a legend because of his short temper which had gotten him kicked out of many schools due to fights and pulling weapons out. When Jerry encounters Buddy in the bathroom, he makes the fatal mistake of touching Buddy Revell. Revell does not liked to be touch. Revell challenges Jerry to a fight, after school, in the parking lot.The rest of the film is following Jerry throughout his day trying to get out of the fight. Hour by hour, the day gets worse for Jerry up until the fight.The film is funny and is shot really well. The story, simple yet original, works because the actors are very believable in their roles and the scenarios are just a bit over exaggerated. If you like 80's films, you like comedies, or you just like trying out a new film, check this one out. I think you will enjoy.

jotix100 Never saw this 1987 comedy, but when it showed up on cable recently, we decided to take a look. Expecting the worse, but laughing while viewing it, we were sorry of not having seen it before. Director Phil Joanou's tale about a high school bully that is dead set into tormenting a frightened teen, had a lot to like and the right length to keep us interested in what the creators prepared from us.Basically Jimmy Mitchell, the teenager at the center of the story, is a good kid. He's neither a nerd, nor is he a jock, he falls into an in between category. His encounter with the brutish Buddy Revell gets him in such a state that he spends the whole day trying to get out of a fight he didn't provoke, or wanted, to begin with. At the end, Jimmy realizes his fears, although founded, disappear, as he takes Buddy and becomes a figure of admiration by his high school peers, something that most of us would rather try to face.The film works because of the nervous energy Casey Siemanszko brings to the role of Jimmy Mitchell. In the process of evading his adversary his Jimmy gets into all kinds of mischief. Richard Tyson, the stone-faced bully, does good work, while veterans Phillip Baker Hall and Jeffrey Tambor are seen in adult roles.