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6/10
Russel and Cates in a Classic Teen Movie
ebiros216 October 2012
This movie is all about Cates, and Russel, but there're good amount of flesh in between too.

The movie basically is about sexual interest the boys have in the girls that are in the same private school they're in. There're very little other plots to the story.

The movie basically revolves around Christine (Phoebe Cates), and Jordan (Betsy Russel). While Cates is severely limited in her range of emotions, Russel carries most of the interesting parts of the story.

For a movie that has almost no story to it, it's sure entertaining. The movie is basically a prototypical "cute" movies of the '80s, where raw power of the '70s started to take back seat to smaller social settings, and more charming behavior of the '80s.

The movie is certainly one of the classic teen movie of all times, and is still entertaining to watch. ≈
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5/10
Dumb but sexy horny teen flick
rosscinema13 November 2004
This is one of those horny teenager films that came out in the 1980's and it's easily just as dumb as most of them but looking at the young cast today this could be interpreted as a curio for this genre. Story is about horny teenagers from two prep schools where the boys and girls engage in raucous behavior from peering into windows to sneaking into showers. The girls side is Cherryvale and the boys Freemount and we see Jim Green (Matthew Modine) who dates Christine Ramsey (Phoebe Cates) and she has decided to give her virginity up and books a room in a cheap Mexican hotel.

*****SPOILER ALERT*****

Jim's friend Bubba (Michael Zorek) takes bets on the event but he also wants to try and score with the sexy Jordan (Betsy Russell) who is jealous of the fact that Christine and Jim have a solid relationship going on although he and Bubba dress up as woman and sneak into Cherryvale. The Dean is Miss Dutchbok (Fran Ryan) who tries to keep the shenanigans down to a limit but she gets caught in the back of a limo with a chauffeur (Ray Walston) with their lovemaking broadcast over an intercom system!

This film is directed by Noel Black who in 1968 made the terrific "Pretty Poison" but since then he has worked primarily in television and his feature film efforts were regulated to low budget sex romps like this. It would be easy to just unload one bad remark after another for a film like this but that would be too easy and instead I look back at this as something that was a trend and if you compare them with the few horny teen films that are made today you'll see how different they are. The abundance of nudity was actually the norm during this period and actress Betsy Russell has three nude scenes in the first 30 minutes and the scene of her riding the horse topless has gone on to be infamous. The familiar cast is also another reason to check this out and along with Modine, Cates, and Russell is Kathleen Wilhoite, Sylvia Kristel and Brinke Stevens in the shower scene. For trivia there are two things to point out like the fact that Cates sings two songs on the soundtrack and is actually pretty good and the other is that Paula Abdul was the choreographer for the outdoor calisthenics/dance sequence. I'm not really recommending this to anyone because this is one of those films that audiences can make up their minds about on their own but maybe my comments point out a few things to help others decide if they want to venture out and view this.
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6/10
Not a great movie, butt...
rlcsljo23 July 2000
And I mean butts. Three of the best rears to grace the movies are shown in this one. Betsy Russell, Brinke Stevens, and Phoebe Cates (hers may have been a body double--but it looked like I had always imagined Phoebe's would look like) show us the goods, and they are good!

There are also some funny gags that not only the boys play on the girls, but also the girls play on each other and on the school faculty.

All the "established" actors are doing their best to drag this movie out of the muck and they just barely do it. (If you want to see how bad teen sex movies can get, just watch "ScrewBalls" and you will see that this movie is really a cut above)

Overall a pretty good "Animal House" rip-off that works much better.
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S10 Reviews: Private School (1983)
suspiria102 January 2006
Christine (the gorgeous Phoebe Cates) attends Cherryvale, a school for girls. She's dating Jim (Matthew Modine) from the local boy's school. Jim and his pals are always up to no good with many hare-brain schemes in their sexually deprived minds to infiltrate the school and see a bit of flesh. When Christine and Jim decide to go away for the weekend the real fun begins.

'Private School' is my favorite of all the teen comedies of the 80's. It's not rocket science but it's a lot of fun and worth a laugh or two. Acting: * * * (Very Good) Writing / Direction: * * (OK) Technical Design: * * (OK) Music: * * * * (Excellent)

If you liked 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High' and 'Porky's' you may enjoy this one too.
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5/10
Rather sophomoric, but revealing, teen sex comedy
estherwalker-3471018 June 2022
Warning: Spoilers
In the interactions between students of an all girls high school and a nearby all boys high school, 3 boys and 4 girls are picked out for us to follow. The girl actresses averaged around 20yo, while the boy actors averaged around 24yo. Typical.

The boys sometimes hang out together in their forays into girls' territory. At other times, they split up. There's Johnathan Prince as Roy : the stereotypical nerd: short, with glasses, usually with pencil tucked behind his earlobe and usually with a hand calculator in his pocket. Actually, he had little to do, not much being into girls. Mostly, he calculated the probability that Bubba would succeed in getting the clothes off a girl, and the probability that he would score. Speaking of Bubba, he was played by Michael Zorek. He was the stocky brunette one, who had the strongest libido, and was the most likely to get into trouble. Then, there's Mathew Modine, playing Jim : the clean cut, all American type.

Among the girls, Phoebe Cates, as brunette Chris, is the lead. She is the primary girlfriend of Jim. To me, she seems more like 16 than 20. Her rival for Jim's romantic attention is light brown-haired Betsy Russel, as Jordan. Bubba's main girlfriend is dark brown-haired Betsy(Kathleen Wilhoite). Blonde Kari Lizu plays Rita, who has virtually no role, except being the roommate of one of the other girls.

While Jim and Chris are sitting on the fence at a horse-riding exercise, Jordan goes on the attack, partially baring her breasts for Jim's inspection, as she rides by. Betsy then catches up with her and pulls off her shirt, to fully expose her breasts.

Later, the 3 boys dress as girls, to facilitate their invasion of the girl's dorm. Actually, their ruse is soon detected, but the girls don't let on. Jordan leads the disguised Jim to her room, and turns up the heat to 90 F to make him feel very uncomfortable in his disguise. Then, she asks him to give her back a massage, partly undressing. Meanwhile, Becky has led Bubba to her room. He makes an excuse to go to the bathroom, then exits the window and creeps along the edge until to the window of Jordan's room. But, Betsy startles him and he falls off the ledge to the ground, miraculously, with no injuries. Later, he follows a bunch of girls into the dorm. If you didn't get a good enough look at naked showering girls in "Porky", courtesy of Bubba, you will get a much more extensive view here.

Meanwhile Jim is still massaging Jordan's back when he finally can't take the heat anymore and reveals himself, Jordan screams, alerting others. Chris finds out and is mad at Jim. She won't have anything to do with him for a few days, but finally relents. They go to a hotel, where they claim to be married, and get the honeymoon suite. .Unfortunately, the fickle Chris suddenly gets 'stage fright', saying she doesn't feel in a romantic mood. Later, we see them at a deserted rocky stretch of shoreline, with some sand. Chris is wearing a very flimsy nightgown or dress. They talk and frolic for a while, then get down to 'business', as we see them nude, laying on the sand on their sides : the only apparently successful pseudocopulation in the film.

Meanwhile, the others are participating in a 'parent's day' celebration, with girls in bikinis diving into the pool. Some of the fathers are drunk or behaving lecherously. Jordan meets the latest of a string of her wealthy father's trophy wives. The headmistress : Miss Dutchlok, mistakes the chauffeur for Jordan's father and butters him up, hoping for a donation. The elderly chauffeur takes advantage of this and lures her into the backseat of the limo, for some 'hand work' on her. Meanwhile, Bubba and Betsy crawl in the front seat, and commence petting. When they notice the 2 in the back seat, they position the microphone and turn it up to max, so that the guests can hear what's going on.........Strangely, 'parent's day' eventually turns into graduation day. The graduating girls have a memorable surprise 'going away' routine , to end the film.
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2/10
What an embarrassment
hall8954 November 2011
Private School is one of those movies which, all these years later, you just know that everyone who had anything to do with making it is embarrassed to have been involved. Heck, I'm embarrassed and all I did was watch the stupid thing. It's a teen sex comedy about the students at two private schools, one for girls and one for boys. The plot revolves around the boys and their rather pathetic attempts to see the girls naked. Antics ensue. Desperately unfunny antics. Even in the most horrible comedy movies there's usually a good laugh or two sprinkled in somewhere. Not here. There is nothing funny in this movie. Nothing. The movie features a young Matthew Modine who was very fortunate to salvage a career after appearing in this turkey and Phoebe Cates, fresh off her Fast Times at Ridgemont High bikini brilliance. Ray Walston, who played Mr. Hand in Fast Times, also pops up. Oh, how I wish I had just watched Fast Times again instead of sitting through this debacle of a movie.

Aside from Modine, Cates and Walston the cast is made up of a bunch of nobodies, most of whose acting is so terrible it is easy to see why they had no careers to speak of. The closest thing to a somebody besides the aforementioned trio is Betsy Russell. It is her character, Jordan, who's the bad girl determined to break up the sweet, innocent couple played by Modine and Cates. Jordan's seductive weapon of choice? Topless horseback riding. Subtle. If nothing else that provides a memorable fifteen seconds of film. Of course if the best thing you can say about a movie is that a girl takes her shirt off and rides around on a horse for fifteen seconds you know it must be a truly awful movie indeed. There's also the obligatory shower scene which at least gives us a few minutes of relief from the movie's hideous dialogue, terrible jokes and incredibly uninteresting plot. Very early on in the movie one of the characters goes off to get herself a bag full of horse excrement. Seriously. There's a statement about this movie's quality right there. How would I succinctly describe this movie? It's exactly what's in that bag.
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2/10
Watered down unfunny teen comedy
Floated213 September 2023
This early 1980's teen comedy feels more like a typical and generic romantic comedy. The humor isn't funny and there isn't anything clever or witty.

The main lead character of Jim is bland, generic and doesn't exactly provide much. The sidekick friend Bubba isn't any better, and a lot more unlikeable. While watching, we wonder why Jim is even friends with Bubba.

The leading women are the stereotypical teen characters of love interests or enemies we see in these films, very ditzy and deluded.

Private School moves at slow pace and feels like a collection of random scenes sketched together. There are scenes involving the guys dressing up as women sneaking into the girls dorms. These aren't funny and has been done before. When they eventually get caught, it doesn't seem like there were any punishment towards them. Seemingly all the men (students and older men) come across as desperate and perverse), mainly the sidekick with his continuing dressing up as a woman.

It has its parts of a raunchy teen sex comedy showing skin (typical locker room shower scene, infamous topless horseback riding scene) but more so feels like a romantic comedy with its plot. Having seen people compare it to American Pie, but American Pie is far better in terms of characters, plot, writing, humor and overall entertainment.

In the end this movie isn't memorable or anything special.
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7/10
The 2nd greatest ever teen sex-comedy starring Phoebe Cates.
BA_Harrison14 January 2007
Private School (for Girls) is a teen sex-comedy that isn't particularly funny, and doesn't feature much sex. It is, however, an 80s teen sex-comedy and, furthermore, it is an 80s teen sex-comedy that stars the most gorgeous actress to have ever graced this earth, the delicious Phoebe Cates. For these reasons, I am willing to cut the movie a lot of slack.

Christine (Phoebe Cates), a student at an all girls school, is in love with Jim (Matthew Modine), who is attending a nearby academy for boys. They are planning their first night of passion together but, when busty bitch Jordan (Betsy Russell) sets her sights on Christine's guy, they find that the course of true love n'er did run smooth (as some poet once wrote). Meanwhile, Jim's school buddies involve him in all sorts of crazy capers in a desperate attempt to see (and hopefully score with) as many naked babes as possible.

Private School may not be the greatest example of its genre (I think that accolade goes to Fast Times at Ridgmont High, also starring Phoebe Cates), but it still has bags of 80s charm, a likable cast and, of course, loads of quality tits and ass on display! And although Ms. Cates keep herself mostly covered up in this movie, the vivacious Betsy Russell does her best to compensate by getting her ample charms out at the drop of a hat.

Viewers are also treated to a great cheesy dance routine with the girls (clad in lycra leotards and leg-warmers) bending and stretching (to the song The American Girl by Rick Springfield), a real corker of a shower scene, the unforgettable sight of a topless Ms. Russell riding a horse in slow motion, and an appearance by Emmanuelle herself, Sylvia Kristel, who, unsurprisingly, plays the sex education teacher.

Private School is enjoyably silly trash for those who love immature teen comedies with loads of nudity (ie., me!).
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5/10
Average
SanteeFats20 April 2013
Warning: Spoilers
If you can't tell from the movie intro description this is a typical sophomoric coming of age type movie. I enjoyed this movie even if most of the star ratings were only a one. The pranks that are played are actually pretty funny, juvenile but funny. Phoebe Cates is always a fine addition to any movie as far as I am concerned. The rivalry between her and the not as hot as she thinks broad is fairly typical for the time frame of the movie. The boys from the near by school are exactly as I remember my times at that age, trying like hell to get any kind of sex be it just a look at any or all of girls body or actually getting to one of the bases.
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7/10
Bearable and bare-able!
scott-sw15 December 2007
This was one I enjoyed in High School (and College) to see some T&A. Phoebe Cates plays Christine Ramsey, Matthew Modine plays Jim. He loves Chris, and Chris loves him. Enter Jordan Lee Jensen, played by Betsy Russell. She has the hots for Jim so she tries to break them up. In the meantime, you have plenty of T&A as Bubba tries to score and ends up in the girls shower. Sure, the plot is thin, the humor is thin, but Betsy Russell is so HOT! Probably the best scene is Russell riding topless on a horse. Even clothed this woman begs the male eye to revel and take in every inch of her skin. It's not Fast Times at Ridgemont High (also starring Cates) or The Breakfast Club--but Private School for Girls got me through those years when I wanted to see a lot of T&A. It is finally on DVD (much to the chagrin of Phoebe Cates), fully restored and in letterbox format to make the shower scene all the more pleasurable. It was about time, considering that lame movies like Night Patrol, Night of the Living Dead II and the Party Animal being put on DVD. In any case, I am truly sorry, Phoebe. However, the fans demanded it and Universal finally responded.
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2/10
Shameless
dimplet14 April 2014
Once upon a time, long, long ago, there was no Internet. The world was a dark and dreary place. There were no cellphones, no selfies, no sexting. There were no porn sites filled with naked girls by the thousands, open to teens with just a click of the "Yes, I'm an adult" box. If you were a teen and your parents had a VCR (which cost about $1,000 back then), you still couldn't go into the XXX section of your local video rental store, if there was one. Heck, you couldn't even buy -- or browse -- a Playboy magazine, legally.

So what was left? Weeellllll, you could actually do it in person, but that would require actually meeting a girl. It was all quite mysterious, back in the days before porn. So, for the sex-starved American male, there was the local movie theater, or, better yet, drive-in. Way back then, a little nudity went a long way to attracting audiences, at least males. And that's about all you get with "Private School."

Originality, you do not get. We get clumsily remade scenes from the great classics of teen porn, such as Animal House - 1978, specifically, the second story peeping Toms. We get the shower scenes in homage to Porky's - 1982. And we get a sex ed class, a la The Meaning of Life - March 1983. And then there were the cross-dressing scenes, which were original in Some Like it Hot, way back in 1959. Yawwwwn.

What's the difference between Private School and porn? Porn is more educational. We don't actually learn anything in the sex ed class scene, unlike The Meaning of Life and any self-respecting porno. What we do learn is that Sylvia Kristel, who is a surprisingly good actress, gives an incredibly bad performance, presumably on the demand of director Noel Black. Was this some sort of retribution for a lack of "cooperation"? (No, Kristel does not provide a "demonstration" in the movie.)

We should not forget Dan Greenburg and Suzanne O'Malley, credited with "writing" this movie (I wonder if they list it on their resume?). And who came up with the imaginative title: "Private School"?

Fortunately, Phoebe Cates is treated with more respect. I'm glad her career survived this flaming turkey. She was excellent in Gremlins. Where have you gone, Phoebe? You can come out of hiding now. All is forgiven!

If Private School were released today in a movie theater, would anyone show up? Would anyone stay to the end? Maybe. There are some people who actually enjoy stupid, bad movies. (Which raises the question of why I watched it. Answer: I stumbled on it in Leonard Maltin's book, and found the cast (Phoebe Gates AND Sylvia Kristel!!!??? (Don't be fooled: There is NO Phoebe and Sylvia scene) ) and rating of "BOMB" intriguing.) But the sex scenes wouldn't cut it, these days. Now, sex has to be graphic and dished out in heaping helpings, like Nymphomaniac, etc. Some mainstream movies are now nothing more than porn with better production values, like Titanic -- and unlike Private School, which had neither high production values, nor graphic sex.

Stay to the end? I dare you to make it past the credits! The title song is atrocious, repulsive and repeats a certain four-letter word, perhaps to help spice up the R rating. This movie is pure, shameless teensploitation. Perhaps it should be titled "Shameless."

Don't get me wrong: I have nothing against nudity, porn, or sex in movies, just snickering, un-erotic, sagging nudity. But, hey, if this movie turns you on, enjoy those hyper-hormones while you can. Youth is wasted on the young. Go out and meet a real girl. If you don't know what to do with her, watch some real porn. You won't learn anything at this "Private School."
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10/10
The Citizen Kane of 80s sex comedies.
TOMASBBloodhound1 April 2007
In a genre that gave us many enjoyable films, Private School may well be the best of the bunch. There is something truly irresistible about a film that sets out only to entertain its audience. There is no hidden agenda or deeper meaning or political motives here. The people who created this gem intended only to make us smile and show us some skin and make a little money in the process. Some days, isn't that all a guy really needs? It's about time this one came out on DVD! The film deals with the social interactions between girls from Cherryvale and the young men from the nearby Freemount Academy. Of course when I say "social interaction" I mean sex. Simply put, the guys are trying to either score with the ladies, or at least get a good Polaroid of them coming out of the shower. The film has a serious undercurrent in how it deals with the relationship between Christine Ramsey (Phoebe Cates) and Jim Green (Matthew Modine). They are trying to lose their virginity under the best possible circumstances, but there are of course complications and misunderstandings. Christine's next door neighbor, the lovely and talented Betsy Russell, is out to steal Jim for herself using methods that would certainly grab any young man's attention. The resulting action plays out in the most satisfactory of ways.

Private School scores on many fronts. The cast which contains many recognizable faces puts as much into their roles as they've done in any other films. The soundtrack featuring Phoebe Cates singing on two different tracks is much better than you would expect, as well. There is tons of random nudity so you will get your money worth in that department.

Curiously enough, there is no DVD commentary by any of the actors in this film. Wouldn't it be fun to hear what Matthew Modine would think today about this early role in his distinguished career? And Martin Mull may have been hiding behind a beard for his little three minute cameo, but the appearance was well-appreciated! He must have snuck this little bit part in between takes of Mr. Mom that year.

For those who may question the logic of the Hound giving all ten stars to this film: Heck, that scene with Betsy Russell topless on the horse was worth eight stars by itself!!! 10 of 10 stars.

The Hound.
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7/10
Predictable but amusing hijinks in this amiable 80s raunch comedy.
Hey_Sweden20 April 2020
Although "Private School" may be a little slim on story, that won't matter to fans of the genre. Typically, we don't watch this sort of thing for the story. But the main plot points involve Christine (an adorable Phoebe Cates), a nice gal at a girls' school, who is in love with nice guy Jim (Matthew Modine), who goes to a boys' boarding school nearby. She's just about ready to go all the way with Jim, but competing with her for his affections is Jordan (the delectable Betsy Russell), her stuck-up antagonist. Set pieces are derived from the attempts by Jim's sex-crazed friends to ogle as many of the fine female students as possible.

Director Noel Black and his writers (Dan Greenburg, who'd previously written "Private Lessons", and Suzanne O'Malley), truly let out all the stops, in this scenario in which even distinguished veteran actors have sex on the brain. In fact, the movie has such a high energy level that it's almost TOO much at times. It just moves right along, generating some chuckles and plenty of titillation. Viewers will be very pleased to note that the attractive female cast is disrobed at any and every opportunity. And yet, there *is* an appealing romance between Christine and Jim to give the shenanigans some real heart. The gags come fast and furious, with Jim and his incredibly horny buddy Bubba (Michael Zorek) and pal Roy (Jonathan Prince) dressing in drag (that classic comedy trope) in order to infiltrate the girls' school.

The cast is enthusiastic and full of familiar faces: Kathleen Wilhoite (as Christine's best friend Betsy), Fran Ryan (as the headmistress), Ray Walston (as a goofy chauffeur), Frances Bay (as a high society woman), sensual cult icon Sylvia Kristel (as the sex education teacher), Richard Stahl (as a drunken, lecherous father), etc. Martin Mull has a hilarious, unbilled cameo as a drugstore clerk; Paula Abdul did the choreography and has a bit as a cheerleader. Russell is irresistible as the "bad girl" (people will love her topless ride on a horse), while Cates displays a winning personality (and sings some of the songs on the soundtrack). Zorek plays such a sleazy sex fiend that he pretty much devours every scene in which he appears.

Good fun, for any fan of this genre, guaranteed to make the audience feel happy and horny.

Seven out of 10.
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3/10
Terrible movie...steamy seduction scene
gridoon21 December 2002
The luminous and talented Phoebe Cates wallows in this embarrassing non-movie, which is not worth seeing from beginning to end (why? well, for starters, there is no script and no direction), but DOES have some scenes that are worth seeing, even worth taping perhaps: you guessed it, I'm talking about the scenes involving Betsy Russell's impressive physical assets. For once, a case of hype that is well deserved. (*1/2)
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Great shower scene
jsmilkovich3 August 2003
Rent this movie for the shower scene, you'll love it (though not as good as the one in "Hellhole"). Voyeurism is rampant in this flick... I loved Betsy Russell's character the most. A very funny movie and definitely worth spending $$ on.
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1/10
Oh God, shoot me now...
sinlesshatred8 July 2008
Warning: Spoilers
I'm surprised this movie isn't in the Bottom 100 list here at IMDb. This piece of garbage showed up on television late one night, and I regretted ever watching this movie.

Many of the characters were extremely clichéd and horrible at acting. Bubba is the pervert, Jim is the heartthrob, Miss Dutchbok is the typical headmistress that everyone hates, and so on and so forth. All men in this movie are portrayed as skirt-chasers, perverts, or extremely horny. The female leads are dim-witted, naive, and absolutely pretty. The script was rather unfunny, as much as it tries to be. What bothered me as well was the unrealistic events in the movie. For example, Bubba is caught as a Peeping Tom by his "girlfriend" Betsy. Several times, actually. Betsy calls him a pervert, then decides that maybe they should get back together again, after many examples of him being a complete and utter jerk. Other characters I felt were unnecessary, such as the Sex Ed. teacher. I would've given more stars if her character was used to show how naive these girls were about sex. There are several issues addressed in the movie as well, such as lesbianism, premarital sex, or father-daughter relationships. However, this movie skims all of these issues, and becomes a brainless flick.

Watch it for the nude scenes, but other than that, this is one horrible movie.
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1/10
Save yourselves! (spoilers)
vertigo_146 October 2004
Warning: Spoilers
I think pre-pubescent boys would be one of the few audiences to get a kick out of this ultra-crappy movie. There's something of a story (somewhere), but mostly, the entire movie is about three guys (Matthew Modine, Michael Zorek, and Jonathan Prince) trying to get a peek at the naked private school girls. Main characters Christine (Phoebe Cates wasted) and Jim (Modine, also wasted) are making preparations to lose their virginity. Essentially, this may only be amusing to people who still laugh at the mention of the word boob or nuts. Major amateur hour.

Hell, if you want an 80s teen sex romp comedy, check out the Martha Coolige directed movie, National Lampoon's: The Joy of Sex. The indication of National Lampoon alone be enough to clue you in that this will be a major stupid humor movie. Amidst the hilarious mix of hormone-raging teens at a high school, main characters (played by Michelle Merrynick and Cameron Dye), never think "it" is going to happen to them. That movie, though still somewhat stupid, is at least much much much better than this sorry movie. I'd recommend not wasting time on Private School.
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5/10
no actual comedy
SnoopyStyle28 July 2015
Sweet Christine (Phoebe Cates) and her best friend Betsy (Kathleen Wilhoite) attend the Cherryvale Academy for Girls. Rival Jordan (Betsy Russell) vows to steal Christine's boyfriend Jim (Matthew Modine). Jim's slob friend Bubba is hooking up with Betsy. The boys dress as girls to sneak into the all girls school. Christine finds Jim with Jordan and she stops talking to him. Ms. Copuletta (Sylvia Kristel) teaches sex education. Chauncey (Ray Walston) is Jordan's father's driver.

As far as male fantasies go, it doesn't get much better than Betsy Russell riding a horse. Along with Phoebe Cates herself in Fast Times, they are teen boys' dreams of that era. It's more notable for the sex romp than any actual comedy.
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7/10
An education is far from their minds.
lost-in-limbo7 February 2009
A very raunchy and crude high school romantic sex comedy starring two luscious hotties in the immensely sweet Phoebe Cates and the wickedly memorable Betsy Russell. After seeing it, how can you forget Russell's topless horse riding scene and the saucy seduction of Matthew Modine's character. Yes… tongues would be hanging! Wait on guys… also featuring is sexpot Sylvia Kristel (well known for the 'Emmanuelle' series) as, just wait… the sex education teacher. Immature minds maybe, but you should know the target audience it's aiming for.

As for the cornball story, it's rather slight with characters coming and going doing their own things with running gags, cheesy set-ups, plenty of flowing nudity and episodic set-pieces. It's the same old high-jinx that remain amusing due to the cast committing themselves and Noel Black's direction being so spiritedly random. There are moments of awkwardness (with many daggy dialogues) and tackiness, but it was hard to keep a smile off my face. I really liked the classy Ray Walston (who a year earlier appeared in the classic teen comedy with Cates; 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High') short, but funny cameo. Matthew Modine was likable enough and Michael Zorek was humorous as a horn-dog. Kathleen Wilhoite (in her film debut) was a cheeky delight as Cates' room-mate/friend and Fran Ryan was terrific as the prudish headmistress. There's also fine additional support by Jonathan Prince, Julie Payne, Richard Stahl, Frank Aletter, Frances Bay and Karen Chase. Look out for a risible appearance by Martin Mull as drug store clerk.

Now the soundtrack is a complete blast. Catchy, hip and upbeat bubblegum sound that's always (well nearly) playing in the background with many old tunes revamped. It's like a record, with someone taking the needle off for a short break to only rip back in to it again. You got the 'Stray Cats', 'Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs' (probably of the favourite of the lot), 'Harry Nilsson', 'Rick Springfield', 'Bow-Wow-Wow' and 'Vanity 6' to name a few.

It's no classic, but a vibrantly charming 80s high school teen sex comedy outing that can't do no wrong.
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5/10
Better Thank I Expected
Bob-4519 March 2005
See "Private School," if you like loads of pretty young actresses playing teenage schoolgirls in various stages of undress, some full frontal. "Private School" is also full of lecherous slob males of various ages, stale jokes, unfunny slapstick and potty humor. In other words, it's not much more offensive than a middling "Benny Hill" episode shown on European TV. I liked "Private School" largely because it also contains a sweet, but predictable romance between the lovely Phoebe Cates ("Paradise," "Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Matthew Modine ("Vision Quest," "Memphis Belle," "Cutthroat Island"). Alas, you don't get to see Ms. Cates' lovely B cups, but you get plenty of Betsy Russell's Cs as well as one particularly fresh-faced blonde's Ds. If what I just said doesn't offend you, you're likely to find "Private School" just the movie for you.

I give "Private School" a "5".
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6/10
A whole new meaning to bare back riding.....
FlashCallahan4 December 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Christine, a student at a girls private school, is in love with Jim, who attends an academy for boys nearby.

Christine's arch rival Jordan also has her eye on Jim, and she is willing to do whatever she can to steal him away. Jim's buddy Bubba is going with Betsy, Christine's friend, though he would probably be unfaithful if any other woman were willing.

Bubba and his pals sneak into the girls' school dressed in drag in hopes of reaching the women's shower room, while Christine and Jim run away together for the weekend, though their escapade isn't as romantic as they had hoped....

What is there to say about this film, how can you surmise a film where nothing relevant happens regarding the narrative and story?

If you like films from the eighties, such as Fast Times..., Porkys, etc, then you will lap this up.

The films main goal is to get Matthew Modine and his very sick pals to get as many naked photos of Jigsaws Wife from the Saw franchise.

They dress in drag, climb on window ledges, and mistake the gym teacher for their girlfriend, the height of hilarity.

I didn't laugh once, but I enjoyed it in some bizarre way, like guessing all the tropes, and wondering when the point was when the headmistress got it on.

Its nothing new, there is no real plot, and it's very generic, but hey, it's still a bit of fun.
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2/10
One of the worst sex comedies ever!
SameeMan2 February 2006
When I sat down to see this movie, I thought it'll be a great experience like "America Pie" since it has a promising starting sequence with a great song performed by "Harry Nilsson". But I was completely wrong. It's one of the worst sex comedies ever made. (Just my opinion.)

"Private School" tries to make us laugh with very immature jokes. Of course, it has some scenes that can be categorized as "funny". But, when you take this movie as a whole is a disaster!

I recommend watching this movie if you wanna see some nice *tits* cause that's the ONLY good thing about this movie.
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10/10
Great viewing
choco_bikkies15 October 2005
This movie was a great watch for me as a young girl. I have fond memories, the crude jokes, the gratuitous nudity and the humor and stereotypes that made the movie a classic in my books. At least it has a great storyline for a movie of this sort and makes for great viewing.

Betsy Russell on nude horseback is memorable and unforgettable, the sheer brassiness of this lass and do-whatever-it-takes attitude to steal Matthew Modine from Phoebe Cates by being terribly unsubtle in her advances to him. And Bubba... Bubba the hot-blooded horny male that desperately wants to get into the pants of every female student with his salivating and dirty character.

This is where I feel in love with Matthew Modine and also was my first naughty flick that I saw,nevertheless I think the casting was great and I don't think there has been any movie that has really outdone it in this genre. Great toilet humor. Good laugh and great hairstyles.A must see.
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7/10
Private School (1983) ***
JoeKarlosi5 January 2009
OK, this one's a nostalgic kick of mine, I must admit. I was 21 years old when it hit theaters, and I had already fallen in love with Phoebe Cates after seeing her in FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH the previous year. She's even more gorgeous throughout PRIVATE SCHOOL, but she's got some serious competition from the equally stunning "bad girl" Betsy Russell, who plays her sexy rival in this gratuitous teen sex comedy.

If it sounds like all I'm doing is drooling like an adolescent school boy, well -- no apologies here; this is just an all-out "the guys want to get into the girls pants" farce, and it's one of the "best" of the so-called "Eighties Sexploitation Genre", as far as these things go. There's not much need of a plot description necessary ... male students from a nearby Academy For Men try to crash a Private School For Girls to get their young rocks off. Man pursues wo-man, east and west meet. It's that simple. PRIVATE SCHOOL's got a good '80s music score, some funny scenes, and a lot of T&A (and even some C) on display for every red-blooded American male to gawk at. Also -- clueless and victimized teachers, stuffy parents, school pranks -- the usual formula, which is what we're there for. But in addition there's at least one respectable angle with "good girl" Cates being in love with Matthew Modine and their plans to "do it" for the first time, the right way, in a romantic getaway. Ray Walston, who was so memorable as Mr. Hand in FAST TIMES, returns in a small but welcome part as a perverted chauffeur. If you know what to expect and it's what you're looking for, dive in. If you don't go for this sort of thing, don't waste your (and my) time watching and whining about it. *** out of ****
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4/10
this could have been good
sandcrab27713 January 2020
Everyone in the cast was very funny except michael zorek who pushed every scene he was in to the max...he's just a dull wannabe comedian with zero pizazz ... leave him out of the mix and a miracle could have happeneed
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