Agent Palmer

The line between a film being a classic and a cult classic will sometimes blur as a film ages, but in respect to Animal House as the classic and arguably one of the best college movies ever created, PCU is a cult classic Animal House of the 90’s, brought about by the political and social climates of the time.

Even more amazing is that PCU is just as relevant in today’s political and social climates as it was when it was released back in 1994. When you think of all the things that have changed for colleges and universities, as well as America on the whole, it’s amazing how the more things change, the more they stay the same.

It was approximately one year ago that we all received astonishing news that the world had lost some of its humor when Harold Ramis passed on.

To me, Harold is one of the legends of comedy. I owe that notion to my parents, who raised me on classic comedies such as Stripes, Meatballs, Caddyshack, and Animal House, among others, all of which Ramis had a hand in either in front of or behind the camera or even the script.

In 1982, two years before Charles in Charge teamed up Scott Baio and Willie Aames, they were together in Zapped!, a cheesy 80’s science fiction romp if ever there was one.

It had everything a teen 80’s movie required: a heartthrob as the lead character Barney Springboro played by Baio, a best friend played by Willie Aames, high school drama, your standard teen angst, a crazy old wise-cracking character in Scatman Crothers as Dexter Jones, a standard Eddie Deezen playing a geek character, your typical 80’s tunes and, well, lots and lots of boobs.

We can all use a little help. Sometimes from our friends, sometimes from ourselves. Whether or not we admit to needing help, to others or to ourselves, will make it all the more apparent that we need it.

For nerds, self-help books are everywhere, because learning comes from everywhere – from video games, from that tabletop dungeon crawl from eight years ago, or from the many experiences in between. A good self-help book for nerds is a bit like the Highlander: “There can be only one.” That one is The Nerdist Way: How to Reach the Next Level (In Real Life) by the Nerdist himself, Chris Hardwick.