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5.9/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.9/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. College Humor remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you like old-school musicals where everyone bursts into song for no reason, you might get a kick out of College Humor. It’s light, it’s fluffy, and it definitely doesn’t care if you think the plot is thin. If you prefer movies that don't feel like a staged radio play, you will probably be annoyed by the first ten minutes.
I watched this mostly to see Bing Crosby just sort of hanging around. He’s charming enough, I guess, but the whole movie feels like a series of sketches glued together by songs. It reminds me a bit of the frantic pacing in Everybody's Acting where characters just sort of appear and disappear whenever the script needs them to.
The college in this movie is less of an educational institution and more of a giant playground. Everyone is constantly flirting. The professor—who is supposed to be, you know, a teacher—is more focused on winning the girl than grading papers. It’s honestly kind of hilarious how little studying actually happens here.
There is this one scene involving a football practice that felt like it went on for a lifetime. They keep throwing the ball around, and it looks less like a real game and more like a bunch of guys practicing a dance routine. It’s not graceful, but it’s weirdly hypnotic to watch.
Honestly? They save the movie. Every time the main plot about the professor and the football player starts to drag, these two show up and just do their thing. Their timing is sharp, unlike the rest of the film which feels like it’s moving through molasses sometimes.
The transition between the musical numbers and the actual story is basically non-existent. It’s like the director just shouted 'Action!' and hoped for the best. Sometimes the camera stays on someone's face for way too long after they deliver a punchline, which makes it feel awkward in a way that’s actually kind of funny.
It’s not a masterpiece. It’s not even a particularly good movie by modern standards. But it feels like a genuine relic. If you’ve ever seen Screen Snapshots, Series 11, No. 7, you get the vibe—it's just a bunch of people who were famous at the time, doing their little routine in front of a camera.
Don't look for logic here. Just enjoy the singing and the slightly dated humor. It’s a weird little time capsule, and sometimes that’s enough. 🎙️
IMDb —
1923
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