5 Questions: Demolition University
Just when he thought it was safe to go back to school, Lenny Slater is once again dodging bullets and narrowly escaping explosions in Demolition University.
The follow up to 1996’s Demolition High features Corey Haim reprising his role as Lenny Slater. This sequel put Slater in an exclusive club of characters who find themselves in once in a lifetime scenarios more than once in their lifetime. Lenny Slater joins John McClane, Casey Ryback and Kevin McCallister in said club.
After watching Demolition University, the movie found itself in a not so exclusive club of movies that had me asking questions as I watched and I believe the very first question about Demolition University is a rather obvious one…
1. Were people really clamoring for a sequel to Demolition High?
I have seen the Jim Wynorski directed Demolition High and I can honestly say I enjoyed it for what it was. I can also honestly say that when the movie was over I was not left wanting more. There was literally no part of me that was thinking, “I wonder what will happen to Lenny Slater next?” Yet a little over a year after Demolition High was released, Demolition University showed up in Germany. People of Germany, are you the reason this sequel was made? I’m going to say no because I feel like the people of Germany would have demanded that David Hasselhoff be cast in the Col. Gentry role that went to Robert Forster instead.
Bonus Question: Who made the decision to put a fresh faced Corey Haim picture from 1988’s License to Drive on the cover of 1997’s Demolition University? Not only does that depict Corey Haim when he was almost 10 years younger, it also depicts a Corey Haim before many years of hard living. While inaccurate that cover is much better than the alternate cover that features the alternate title, Demolition U and a Corey Haim as he truly was in 1997…
2. Why was the self-destruct button for the military compound located in the lobby of the building?
At the start of the movie we see some generic Middle Eastern terrorist types gaining access to a military compound. Along with the help of the traitorous soldier on the inside, the terrorist group manages to steal a highly volatile acid known as the VX solution. Before the bad guys make their getaway they hit the compound’s self-destruct button.
I’m not sure if self-destruct buttons are standard in all United States military installations but I really question why this one was “conveniently” located in the lobby of the building.
3. Why is it always the water supply?
The evil plot of the movie is that the terrorists plan on dumping the VX solution into the water supply unless the United States government releases a high ranking member of their terrorist organization that is currently imprisoned. The terrorists have the means to do all of this to as they have taken control of the water plant and are holding all the employees of the plant hostage.
The water supply storyline has not been done as much as the Die Hard scenario Corey Haim’s Lenny Slater finds himself in as the movie progresses, but I have officially lost track of how many times the water supply has been the target of the bad guys in action movies.
If I were going to write an action movie, just to be different I would have a subplot where the evil doers in my movie targeted Air Supply, the Australian soft rock duo. Either the authorities give the bad guys what they want or the bad guys guarantee that Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock will be All Out Of Love!
4. Are there really field trips in college?
My personal college experience was not a long one. I never graduated (which may be evident by my work here on the site) and my higher learning was limited to the community college world. But I found it odd that Lenny Slater and a bunch of his fellow college students went on a field trip in a big yellow school bus to the nearby water plant, the very same water plant that is controlled by the terrorists of course.
5. On a scale of 1 to 10 where would you rank this insult?
Demolition University features a bit of a romantic triangle between our hero Lenny Slater, the lovely Jenny (Ami Dolenz) and the quarterback of the Richfield University football team, Bruce McGuinness (Erin Beaux).
Both Lenny and Bruce are trying really hard to get Jenny to go with them to the homecoming dance, but the Lenny/Bruce rivalry really started on the football field. You see Lenny plays wide receiver but he doesn’t do much in the way of actual receiving, which leads to Bruce to delivering a real zinger at Lenny’s expense when he says “You couldn’t catch flies if you were covered in dog shit!” I don’t know about you but I have to rank that insult as a solid 9!
Bonus Question: Who do we have to thank for the shot below?
