He's More Fred C. Dobbs or Charlie Kane than Daniel LaRusso!

Rating: 7/10 (12 February 2019)

Absolutely brilliant, and very hard to define. Is it a drama? A satire? A coming of age story?
I went to Columbia University in the Reagan Eighties, and I hated every minute of it. This movie captures the environment perfectly -- spoiled rich kids, binge-drinking, callous administrators, self-impressed instructors, hatefulness and evil triumphing over ideals and hope. Man, I hated Columbia. And I loved this movie for explaining why.
Yet at the same time I hated this movie, because it's so craven and so desperate to uphold the status quo. In terms of tone it's really not so much a modern KARATE KID as it is a mash-up of CITIZEN KANE and TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE.
Except that John Huston treats his bums with a lot more compassion than this movie treats its heroes.