At my school, a recent mass emailing was sent out scorning the people who did not participate in a recent social event. The author went so far as to repeat the old chestnut, “This is supposed to be the greatest time of our lives!”
Really? Then why are all the movies that portray law students, The Paper Chase, Rounders, Soul Man, and even Legally Blonde, about anxiety and being overwhelmed? If these are the best times of our lives, I shudder to think about what lies ahead.
Let’s face it. They’re never going to make a movie called “Fast Times at Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.”
…but what if they did? Would the characters have to be changed?
Brad Hamilton (Judge Reinhold) – Superficially, he has it together, but underneath he’s overwhelmed. He needs a job. His relationship falls apart. He’s happy to lie to his parents about his sister’s immoral relationship with an older man. Sounds like this guy went straight from Ridgemont to law school.
Stacy Hamilton (Jennifer Jason Leigh) – She’s in a new environment and she's both intrigued and overwhelmed by all the new pressures. She feels like she’s surrounded by nerds, so she goes outside the school for a relationship. Another potential law student.
Mike Damone (Robert Romanus) – He’s a nerd with his heart in the right place. Well, I guess he’s halfway to being a law student.
Mark “Rat” Ratner (Brian Backer) – This heartless hustler’s never met a friend or a girl who he’s not willing to double cross. Print this man a JD!
Charles Jefferson (Forrest Whitaker) – This football all-star deigns to walk among the mere mortals of his school. Make him an editor of the law review and we wouldn’t even know the difference, other than that nobody dares snicker at the football all-star behind his back.
Mr. Hand (Ray Walston) – This overly demanding professor has the haughty air of a tenured law professor.
Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn) – Without a care in the world, he orders a pizza during class. I wish stuff like this would actually happen in law school. It should be no surprise that the most likeable character in this movie could never have gone to law school.
Even though the characters might translate, I don’t think the audience would respond the same way. People embraced these characters as high school students, flaws and all. You can chalk up their indiscretions to immaturity. But if you had law students doing the same thing, it would just be another black mark against a profession whose image is already in tatters.
