I loved this film as a kid and was delighted to see how well it held up. Of course this is biased, but it seemed to be to remain a lively, fun, albeit predictable romp with a decent heart. It's got a decent plot too: the Dean of the worst college in America (John Hillerman) blackmails four students into competing in a white water raft race in the hope the college will actually win something. The four are played by three teen comedy veterans: Tim Matheson (Animal House), Stephen Furst (Animal House), Dan Monahan (Porky's) plus Sandy Helberg who looks like he should have been in a teen comedy before then (he's listed as "special consultant" - does this mean he did some rewriting).
There are two groups of villains - blonde rich kids led by Jeff East (in the William Zabka part), and mentored by James B Sikking; and some army types led by Blaine Novak. All the actors really get into it - I'm surprised Tim Matheson never became a bigger star, he had a real relaxed Chevy Chase type vibe, confident and masculine - maybe he lacked that one special vehicle; Helberg is excellent, Frust and Monahan do their thing; Jennifer Runyon is truly lovely as Matheson's love interest. Jake as the dog is hilarious - he has a stand out charades scene.
The female roles are slightly better in this film that others around this time (not major praise admittedly) - they are independent, have their own desires, are sexually aggressive, and Jennifer Runyon joins in the fun with the boys at all. There's some pleasing Oregon scenery and rafting action, plus a catchy Cheap Trick theme song. This was executive produced by Sam Z Arkoff and it's one of the best comedies he was ever associated with.
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