I have known of this comedy for years and been intrigued about it for a number of reasons. I have the soundtrack on 12” vinyl that I picked up in the flea market for a coin, or possibly two, thinking it would be an obscure investment, only to find it on Ebay for even less. I also picked up a rather bashed up ex-rental VHS so you might be surprised to learn that Up the Creek hasn’t been treated as a high profile, celebrated release like Blade Runner or Star Wars over the years.
A bunch of college kids from a downbeat university are dispatched to win a regional white water rafting race. We see the obligatory collection of student stereotypes romping, cavorting and getting up to all types of mischief in spectacularly childish fashion.
The largest curiosity is Tim Matheson as the confident and cool, cigar chomping leader of the downbeat kids with an over inflated ego from Le Petomane University. Obviously Matheson is a known quantity in movies and having the mother of frat house comedies, National Lampoon’s Animal House, on his resume (I believe he was a big cheese at National Lampoon Magazine in the 90’s) is a seal of approval. However, playing a college student is quite the stretch given he was in his mid to late 30’s, even with some reason’s dropped in concerning a raft of student loans fraud, it’s too much to ask the audience to accept. Matheson, however, is such a quality performers, he doesn’t blink and makes the role work, not shying away from the immature attitudes and creepy dialogue that would not sail today. Steve Guttenberg was originally due to star, however, he dropped out to do Police Academy and this might have resulted in some rushed cast for the lead. Michael Keaton also turned the role down fresh off Mr Mom.
The rest of the kids from Le Petomane are a who’s who of college movies. Stephen Furst, also of Animal House, fills the John Belushi-esq roll of Gonzer, and he does pretty well. Sandy Helberg, from Hollywood Knights, plays the alcohol nerd Irwin. Dan Monahan, from Porky’s, fills out the group as the not-very-good-womanizer of the group. The utterly adorable Jennifer Runyon plays the love interest of Matheson and despite the obvious age gap, the two have good chemistry on screen. Runyon is also the captain of the ill-fated girls raft. James Sikking plays the slimy race organiser who helps arrange for his old fraternity to have the upper hand throughout the race. There is also an amusing cameo from John Hillerman setting Matheson and his crew their assignment.
I guess we need to discuss the military raft, and this is where the film enters the choppy waters. Capt Braverman and his put upon troops are frustratingly cartoony. The addition of this collection of characters really serves no purpose in the main story and pads things out with eye rolling “comedy.” Braverman is by far the most irritating character in the film and every moment he is on screen pains the audience.
The script waivers from high quality to piss poor constantly and the cast have their work cut out to prop it up. Up the Creek does have comedy gold in it. Helberg is the perfect example and nails some lines that could have failed in the hands of a lesser talent. Yet the finest comedy performance comes from Chuck the Wonder Dog, played by Jake in his first onscreen roll. Jake would go onto a terrific career appearing in The Hidden and Nightmare on Elm Street 4. The film uses Jake well, devising a good few scenes to show off Jake’s talent, the charades sequence is one of the funniest and genuine great comedy moments in the film.
There is a banger of a title tune too. The film wisely doesn’t over use it and has a decent soundtrack behind this to lift the film up. The title tune might borrow a few queues from ELO’s Do Ya. Digging a little into the soundtrack there are some mighty good tunes throughout including efforts from Heart, Shooting Star and even The Beach Boys. The incidental score does not feature on the soundtrack and does feel, in places, that it might have been music from a rejected score for another movie the studio had lying around, but it sounded suitable for key moments of the film.
The on-water sequences have some pretty good stunt work. In 1080p it’s you can work out were stunt doubles are used, especially during the hairier white water sequences, however, the cast do pretty well appearing for most part adding a little extra to the excitement.
I might be a little biased being a fan of Matheson and having a childhood crush on Runyon from Ghostbusters and Spruce Goose. Up the Creek is far from perfect, but it’s honestly an underrated frat house comedy that gets more right than wrong. It’s also kind of fun to watch as the middle part of a trilogy with Animal House and Van Wilder with Matheson’s character growing up.
There isn’t much when it comes to Up the Creek’s publicity. The excellent original artwork, that has a terrific nod to National Lampoon’s Animal House, arrives on all but one release. The other release of, Nordic origin, is the only variant I could find, and really isn’t terrible. One might question “why?” as the two are rather similar in theme and loses Dan Monahan.
Kino Lober has put this movie out on Blu Ray and it’s a fine addition to any collection, however, it is Region A locked. There should be a slipcase too.
There are a couple of features included featuring interviews with some of the cast and crew.
It’s a solid package and any fan of the film should grab it, from anywhere that it’s Amazon (at time of writing it’s £399!)
