Director(s) – Michael Mahal (Behind the Scenes, 30 Days 30 Girls) and Sonny Mahal (Sin City Players)
Starring – Michael Forsch (Captain Spaceman: The Lost Episode, Dismembered), Ben Stobber (Knight Witch, $tripped), and Nailya Shakirova (Betrothed, Desert Dwellers)
Release Date – 2016
Rating – 2/5
When I think of Troma I immediately start thinking about low budget horror films with incredibly crazy characters and over the top situations. This is how Troma has made a name for themselves by distributing and creating their own. Their brand is legendary and every horror fan associated Toxie with indie cinema. Troma may be known for their no to low budget gore flicks but they have released several non-horror titles. They have a few romantic comedies, sex comedies, sci-fi flicks, and so on.
Recently, Troma acquired the 2016 comedy Last Day of School directed by Michael and Sonny Mahal. I love Troma and have been collecting then for almost as long as I had been collecting movies so I needed to see this one. I was able to reach out to Troma and they were kind enough to send one my way. Thanks!
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows four typical college guys who would rather spend their time with ladies and partying than graduating. Over the years at college they became friends with a rather nerdy but genius guy who does their work for them if they let him hang out with them. On their final day of class the professor, who just caught his wife cheating and went on a bender, throws a pop quiz and catching them all cheating. The professor offers them a chance to graduate. They must perform 5 tasks for him to exact revenge on his cheating wife and her lover in order for them to graduate. This tasks are not easy and they must do everything they can to complete them in order to graduate.**Spoiler Alert**
I wasn’t looking for a film to rival Porky’s, Animal House, or Revenge of the Nerds but I was looking for something with a few laughs and beautiful women. Last Day of Schooldid have a couple laughs spread out throughout the film but comes across as oddly generic and unoriginal.
The acting in this one is not that great. In fact, it was a little embarrassing to watch at time. The cast could have pulled these characters off it was a lot earlier in their career but they just aren’t believable as 22 to 22 year olds. They all try to channel their inner Stifler which makes it come across as forced and clichéd by this point. It just doesn’t work that well. The supporting cast is decent when given a chance which isn’t that often.
The story for this one took the plot of National Lampoon’s Animal House but twisted it some. In Animal House we follow a frat who is about to be kicked out of college and decide to stick it to them on their way out. This film is like that except the men are forced to raise hell or be kicked out of college. Almost thirty years later the story is clichéd and predictable. It honestly felt like a direct to DVD sequel to American Pie. The laughs were funny but there was few and far in between.
Finally, this isn’t one for blood and gore. If you want that you will need to visit another Troma flick. Instead, we get beautiful women and lame ass humor. Overall, Last Day of School could have been a good film but decided to play it safe and release a college comedy that borrows heavily from so many other films. The film had a solid indie budget and could have delivered something memorable instead of this film which I am sure will be forgotten over the years only to be found in the collections of Troma supernerds.
