School Ties Reviews

Brendan Fraser as you've never seen him before

Brendan Fraser starred in this hard-hitting high school drama about a young Jewish schoolboy who moved from the ghettos to the poshest school in Boston. Being a star Quarterback, he had been headhunted for a special annual football match between his school and their fiercest rivals. Once arrived, he quickly learned that 'to be a Jew' was not a religious or cultural thing, but a derogitory term used for a miser or cheating someone. This was discovered on his first night when a fellow schoolmate talked about 'jewing down' a shopkeeper who sold him a gramaphone.

David (Fraser) removed his Star of David and hid his heritage and beliefs and was soon the most popular boy in the school....Until he falls for the girlfriend of his 'best mate'.

Once David's heritage is revealed by mistake, his life is made hell and it seems that his dream of a Princeton Education may soon be just that.

Watch out for the shower scene! Fraser shows a great deal of excellent acting in this 1950's drama. It also stars Matt Damon. It is very different from Fraser's more recent movies, lacking the comedy and focusing on the drama. however, if you like Fraser or even Matt Damon, you could do worse than watch this film to see them REALLY flexing their acting skills.

A hidden gem

If you like the 'boarding school' genre such as Dead Poet's Society & Scent of a Woman, then you'll love this. Stars several favourites who were 'unknowns' at the time - Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, Chris O'Donnell; even a bit-part for Mr Afleck. Powerful acting & excellent story.

Kids Can Be Cruel, Especially When Your Jewish

Now, I dont usually go for this sort of film but relented, as a cast line-up of Matt Damon, Brendan Frazer and Chris O'Donnell could only offer the best. That and I fancy them rotten :)

The performances were spot on and played absolutely brilliantly. Step forward Brendan Frazer. He portrayed his character is such a way that the storyline, rather thin as it was, bounced off him. He plays a high school star football player who goes from the poor state school to the rich boardings of another. All this is set during the time of Jewish prejudice. As I mentioned, the storyline was a bit hollow, in fact there wasnt much to go on. The main point of the central character being prejudged because he was jewish just didnt stand out enough for me and ran very thin, very quickly. The 'climatic' point was a group of his former friends deciding whether it was him or the 'star' of the group that cheated on a test. Yes, thats the main event alright. But luckily enough the cast performances were strong enough to hold it together. In addition to the great (and suprising) acting of BF, Matt Damon's evilness shone, despite his wooden and expressionless movements (a trademark by now). Chris O' Donnell was also a favourite of mine as his character showed development as a person, when his views on Jews changed and he tried to do the right thing.

In conclusion, I do believe that this film is seriously worth viewing as you will fall in love with it by the end.

Excellent!

I really enjoyed this with excellent early performances from Brendan Fraser and Matt Damon.

An okay film!

Not outstanding but keeps you entertained throughout. Okay acting and okay story line, if you've got an hour and a half to spare then this is definitely okay!

Powerfull and worth the watch

I first saw this movie 10 years ago - and after watching it again it is just as good. All the actors in it really show their worth and Brendan Fraser shows his talent, which sadly hasn't come up again in a emotional drama in his career yet. Quality story, quality actors - great movie!

A sign of things to come

An interesting story about racism, priviledge and acceptance, but one that fails to leave an overly significant mark. The cast were good but what was most notable was the array of realised potential, starring the very young Bredon Fraser, Matt Damon and (in almost a cameo role) Ben Affleck, amongst others, their future careers now in fruition seemed almost inevitable as far back as then.

My Review

still want to watch this film since the early 90's

Everything in the Right Place

This movie meets the perfect formula: perfectly acted, perfectly scripted, perfectly filmed. It's actually perfect to the point that it breaks no boundaries. It meets all the traditional requirements of a good film. School Ties is very similar to Dead Poets Society but doesn't quite meet the same heights.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Anti Semitism in the USA

I hadn't realised that there was an anti Semitic problem in America, but apparently it was quite prevalent, and may be still so, in the public school system. This is an engrossing film with a strong plot and direction, and the acting is excellent, although I notice that the lead part was played by the 24 year old Brendan Fraser, and that Matt Damon, in his first screen role, was a very young twenty two. A good film.