“No cutting class!”
Brad Pitt becomes Suspect #1 in one of his earliest starring roles in 1989’s Cutting Class. The film also starred Jill Schoelen, Donovan Leitch, Brenda Lynn Klemme, and Dirk Blocker. The film also featured Roddy McDowall and Martin Mull in small roles, adding some star power to the production. The movie was written by Steve Slavkin and directed by Rospo Pallenberg. Pallenberg is best known for his screenwriting skills, having penned Excalibur and The Emerald Forest, among other films.
In the movie, Paula Carson (Schoelen) has the house to herself while her father, District Attorney Carson (Mull) is on a hunting trip. Paula’s boyfriend, Dwight (Pitt), has plans for the two of them while her father is away. Problems arise, however, when a returning student, Brian, begins to have feelings for Paula. Brian has been freshly released from a mental hospital and has a history with Dwight. Both of them have difficulties in school. Dwight struggles with his grades and blows a shot at an athletic scholarship. Brian is the “weird” student that can’t make friends. It doesn’t help that the faculty at the school is loaded with perverts, jerks, and tyrants. This sets the stage for a series of murders that occur. Is Brian still insane? Has Dwight cracked? Maybe the janitor is the murderer? Watch Cutting Class to find out what goes down at the high school!
Sadly, the movie struggles to find a rhythm. It has slapstick level comedy at times and then very dark and unhinged moments. It also features a fairly lame slasher. The only real treats in the film were trying to figure out who the killer is and poor Martin Mull. Mull alone seemed to know exactly what this film was, and his performance reflected this. The rest of the cast was okay, but nothing too amazing. Roddy McDowall was absolutely creepy as Mr. Dante. The kills were dull despite being very dramatic at times and the music just okay. Overall, not a “need to see” slasher, but if you like the genre or the history of Brad Pitt’s acting career, you might want to watch this film.
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