MY OLD SCHOOL (A-minus) - What fun. With vigor and good humor, Jono McLeod looks back at his private school in Scotland in the early 1990s and does a deep dive into the bizarre con perpetrated by one of his former classmates.
Do yourself a favor and read nothing about the background of the incident at Beardsen Academy involving "Brandon Lee," who shows up out of the blue, mid-semester, and takes the place by storm -- showing off his broad knowledge of subjects and landing the lead in the school musical, "South Pacific." But something about him is obviously off. It is apparent that he is running a scam, but the details that are unpacked here are what make this so entertaining.
McLeod himself perpetrates a bit of sleight of hand himself here. It turns out that Brandon Lee would not appear on camera -- as quite a few of his old classmates do -- but would only lend his voice to an interview. To compensate, McLeod makes an inspired decision: He hires actor Alan Cumming to sit at a school desk and lip-sync Lee's words. It's a clever meta touch, buoyed by Cumming's effortless charm. McLeod also hires an animation crew headed by Rory Lowe to create "Daria"-style old-school cartoon re-creations that are a delight.
Both gimmicks work, improbably. They fit neatly into the loose, giddy production in which McLeod and his ex-classmates pick through the mystery of what happened. Some of them are still a bit baffled by exactly what went down and how, and to this day different versions of the urban legend persist.
McLeod presents his classmates mostly in pairs, and that seems to loosen them up and show off their camaraderie. They are all in their 40s now and clearly still chucked to be revisiting this tale, which sells itself. They bring unique perspectives and personalities that help round out the proceedings. One classmate in particular gives Lee credit for being a true friend, even an inspiration. One teacher who played a pivotal role in the original events shows up, at times to take his lumps.
Period songs help revive those comparatively carefree days. (Be warned, you might end up humming "Macarena" for a few days.) News clips slowly take precedence as the film progresses, as the storytelling evolves from the incredible (mostly animated) to the real (via news reports). It is an assured method of wisely unspooling this fun story.
Once the jig is up, the final half hour drags at times. Fifteen minutes shorter and this one might have been perfect.
BONUS TRACK
The movie's title track plays over the credits, sung by 60s sensation Lulu, who also voices a character. Here is Steely Dan's ever-catchy original:
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