Bob McGraw is in his 12th year of college, goofing his way through life, until he has to win a river rafting race with three college buddies.
Cast:
- Tim Matheson as Bob McGraw
- Jennifer Runyon as Heather Merriweather
- Dan Monahan as Max
- Sandy Helberg as Irwin
- Stephen Furst as Gonzer
- John Hillerman as Dean Burch
- Jeff East as Rex Crandall
- James Sikking as Tozer
1984 memories
This was another staple on HBO. They were always showing these sex comedies in the wee hours of the weekend.
We didn’t have HBO in our house. Anything I saw on HBO was at one of my friend’s houses. Spending Friday or Saturday night was always filled with ‘R’ movies on HBO. It was a good time.
I liked this movie. It was filled with screwball, slapstick comedy, site gags and women in bikinis. What’s not to love?
Let’s see if it’s still as good…
40th Anniversary Re-watch
Yeah, I still like it. The comedy holds up well, I mean it’s slapstick comedy, that’s never dated. The plot is good and the acting is good.
It’s based on other comedy ideas like Animal House. The slacker college students are given a chance to beat the popular, stuck-up preppies. In this case they are going to beat them in an intercollegiate white water rafting race.
The main slackers are from Animal House, Tim Matheson and Stephen Furst, Porky’s, Dan Monahan and History of the World, Part I, Sandy Helberg. All well received and great comedies. The love interest, Jennifer Runyon played the blonde ESP student at the beginning of Ghostbusters. I remember her more from Charles in Charge though.
The Dean of Students is played by John Hillerman AKA Higgins from Magnum P.I. He does a great job in a small role. He tells them they must win so the college has at least one victory to its name. And he offers them a degree in any subject if they win.
Going against the slackers are the Ivy League preps, a Military Academy and a handful of other colleges. The Ivy Leaguers are also cheaters and will do whatever it takes to win. Same goes for the Military Academy…
The filming of the white water rafting was fantastic. There are some distance shots but for the most part it appears the actors are actually going through the rapids. Could be movie magic (and probably is) but is was well done.
The real star may be Chuck the Wonder Dog. He plays an integral part in the plot and is really good at charades. You gotta see it.
Favorite Line:
You’re not at the bottom of the list, you are the bottom of the list.
Up the Creek is writer Jim Kouf’s sixth movie, he would go on to have a great career writing movies like Stakeout (1987), The Hidden (1987), Rush Hour (1998) and National Treasure (2004). Kouf claimed the movie could have been better but director Robert Butler “was not a great comedy director, he missed a lot of jokes.”
Robert Butler is best known for his TV work. Directing shows like The Rifleman, The Twilight Zone, The Fugitive, Star Trek, Batman, Hawaii Five-0, Mission: Impossible and many more.
Up the Creek is a great comedy from the 80s. If you like Animal House, Porky’s or any number of comedies in that vein you’ll enjoy Up the Creek. It also has a great soundtrack featuring Cheap Trick, Heart and The Beach Boys. It’s not the best soundtrack of the year, but it’s in the Top 10.
Up the Creek hit theaters on 06 April 1984. It made over $11 million on a $7 million budget.Not really. The movie is all over the place.
Did you watch Up the Creek? If so let me know your thoughts in the comments below or on X(Twitter). The main Geekster channel is @TRNSocial and I’m @MileHighSamurai You can also find me on Bluesky @MileHighSamurai
7/10 stars
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