Back to School is a 1986 movie starring Rodney Dangerfield, Keith Gordon, Sally Kellerman, Burt Young, William Zabka, Sam Kinison, and Robert Downey, Jr. The plot centers on a wealthy but uneducated father (Dangerfield) who goes to college to show solidarity with his troubled son (Gordon) and learns that he cannot buy his education.
Author Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. has a cameo as himself, as does the band Oingo Boingo, whose frontman, Danny Elfman, composed the score for the film.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison was used as a backdrop for the movie, although it was called the fictional "Grand Lakes University."
Millionaire businessman Thornton Melon is upset when his son Jason announces that he is not sure about going to college. Thornton insists that college is the best thing he never had for himself, and to prove his point, he agrees to enroll in school along with his son. Thornton is a big hit on campus: always throwing the biggest parties, knowing all the right people, but is this the way to pass college? Written by Murray Chapman
