National Lampoon's Animal House

In its own half-flubbed way, it has a style. And you don’t go to a film like Animal House for cinema, you go for roughhousing disreputability; it makes you laugh by restoring you to the slobby infant in yourself.

The film has swept through the American box office like a whirlwind, precipitating a rash of incipient college romps. One waits with trepidation: but at least the trailblazer has vitality and charm.

You may not care to take up permanent spiritual residence at Animal House, but it's funny place to visit.

Animal House is a self-congratulatory mess; but it's also spattered with terrific one-liners and sight gags, and it's the best showcase extant for John Belushi's subversive, attention-grabbing screen presence.

Arguably the most influential comedy of our time.

While the low comedy is undeniably effective, the film leaves behind a bad taste of snobbery and petty meanness.

It's endlessly quotable (“Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son”), packed with excellent performances and unique characters, and blessed with a great score that mixes Elmer Bernstein’s orchestral maneuvers with catchy oldies.

By the hilariously rampageous finale – despite individual moments routinely outshining the production as a whole – this picture clearly demonstrates its inspirational and influential qualities.

There are some classic performances like Jim Belushi's Blutarsky and Tim Matheson's Eric Stratton.

Animal House is my guilty pleasure.