In its initial release Three O’ Clock High was a box office bomb. It was panned heavily by the critics and had the misfortune of being lost in the shuffle – the movie market was heavily saturated with teen movies at this time. It was a good year for movies like Can’t Buy Me Love and Dirty Dancing, but Three O’ Clock slipped through the masses completely unnoticed. It’s also hard to fault the movie critics for their hostile reviews – on the surface Three O’ Clock High is your standard 80s teen comedy. It shares the same tropes of most teen comedies: the socially awkward protagonist; the uncompromising bully; the “cute” female best friend; the popular girl who the protagonist obsesses over; and a “believe in yourself” message. Yet, on closer inspection Three O’ Clock High is a more interesting movie than most critics gave it credit it for. The plot is fairly straightforward – Jerry Mitchell, our protagonist, is given the assignment of interviewing the new kid, Buddy Revell.
This is a blog that is devoted entirely to film analysis. I tend to analyze movies in a historical context. What were the cultural trends at the time? Why was the rationale behind the movie? I also tend to write about lesser-known movies, as there really isn't much more that can be said about most mainstream movies. I hope you enjoy!!!