Movies with college / education ideas/themes?

Parent Cafe
1

<p>anyone know of movies that have or show college and/or education themes? In light of our first to go to college next fall, I was thinking of this when we were selecting a movie to watch.</p>

<p>A day after May 1, I happened to pop in to the dvd player ‘the journey to the center of the earth’ movie from 1959, a favorite movie of my youth. My college to be daughter watched it, too.</p>

<p>In that movie, I noticed the scenes from 19th century University of Edinburgh, with the students singing ’ hoo-ray for the prof of geo-log-y…", as well as some nice statements about why we explore and try to know.</p>

<p>Journey to the Center of the Earth, 1959</p>

<p>The Graduate, 1966?</p>

<p>Hobart Shakespeareans, 2007, I believe; a documentary about a special 5th grade class in a LA school.</p>

<p>Breaking Away (IUB)</p>

<p>Good Will Hunting</p>

<p>The Paper Chase - about Harvard Law School</p>

<p>The one about carpe diem w/ r williams…what is it?</p>

<p>I know there’s more, in case anyone wanted to watch a college/education movie with their child. It can be a main theme or even tangential, or just show the setting of a college…</p>

<p>Another one came to mind to show this last statement</p>

<p>Stranger than fiction (a professor, dustin Hoffman, and a university, UIC, are shown in it)</p>

2

<p>“Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle”, (2004).
Princeton.</p>

3

<p>

</p>

<p>“Dead Poets Society” – about a boys’ prep school</p>

<p>Have you seen this silly one? </p>

<p>“Accepted” (2006) with Lewis Black as the faux-dean; filmed at Chapman U.</p>

<p>Plot:When a high school burnout discovers he’s been rejected from every college he’s applied to, he creates a fake university in order to fool his overzealous parents</p>

4

<p>I don’t think its out on DVD yet, but I saw “The Great Debaters” on a plane last week, thought it was quite well done & entertaining. Good movie about a HBC - Wiley College in Texas, with Harvard figuring in at the end.</p>

<p>–
“Mona Lisa Smile” – about Wellesley. </p>

<p>Or, for a complete change of pace… “Animal House”…</p>

5

<p>I heard the “Harvard” in “The Great Debaters” was a movie creation. USC maybe?</p>

6

<p>

</p>

<p>source: IMDB (I used the searchword “College”)</p>

7

<p>The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Goodbye Mr. Chips. History Boys.</p>

8

<p>Risky Business
Legally Blonde
Beautiful Mind</p>

9

<p>Smart People - now in theaters. Not really about college, but still college-themed… </p>

<p>Orange County</p>

10

<p>Quiz Show (1994) - based on true story about a promising academician, son of a Columbia U professor, who became involved in an ethics scandal when TV quiz game shows began in the l950’s. Good portrait of the best qualities of Ivy League academic integrity in battle with American materialistic values. There’s a Harvard-educated lawyer in there, too.</p>

<p>Serious, beautifully written.</p>

<p>It’s an Oscar winner, directed by Robert Redford, with outstanding actors including:
Fiennes, Morrow, Tarturro. One of my favorite movies, actually.</p>

11

<p>*akeela and the bee … not about higher education, but certainly about education</p>

<p>*that sopranos episode where the protagonist is taking his daughter around doing the college tour thing - Bates is shown. My bro lent me the dvd.</p>

12

<p>Too serious for words: “Lions from Lambs (2007)” with Robert Redford as a senior professor in sunny California, trying to figure out how his two favorite students became soldiers in the Middle East. Also has Tom Cruise as a Congressman, Meryl Streep as a high-powered journalist. </p>

<p>Great old heartwarmer about teaching: The Miracle Worker (about Helen Keller, stars Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke). I loved watching this one with my D. ;)</p>

13

<p>Love Story</p>

14

<p>cal, good one. do you recall the college setting of Love Story?</p>

15

<p>Proof (University of Chicago). Haven’t seen it though.
Meangirls (high school)</p>

16

<p>Drum Roll (Is that correct title?) about marching band competitions</p>

<p>Numbers–tv show–started out as Caltech, but now filmed elsewhere</p>

<p>Oh, Love story is Harvard</p>

17

<p>The Waterboy
Kinsey</p>

18

<p>With Honors (1994). It is supposed to be Harvard, but it was filmed at the Univ. of Illinois.</p>

19

<p>I have to add my personal favorite to the list, though it’s set in a HS, not a college: Mr. Holland’s Opus.</p>

<p>Also, Beautiful Mind (Princeton/MIT).</p>

<p>Other education-themed, but HS-level, include Freedom Writers, Finding Forrester, and Stand and Deliver. </p>

<p>I’ve seen lots of ads for Homeless to Harvard – made for TV, but probably not tough to find elsewhere. </p>

<p>Lots and lots of teen-geared movies that center around HS/college-life themes, but not necessarily the type I’d recommend for a family movie night…everything from Cinderella Story to Old School.</p>

20

<p>bookworm, I think it’s Drum Line</p>