The year 2003 is important for many reasons. The United States officially invaded Iraq, Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California, and China officially joined Russia and America by becoming the third country to put a person in space. However, none of these can possibly parallel the event that occurred on February 21, 2003; that was the day the Todd Phillips film ""Old School"" hit theaters and changed the landscape of comedy for the next decade.
Most of the stars of the film were already established. Ben Stiller had already brought Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, and Will Ferrell into the comedy world with 2001's ""Zoolander,"" but their labeling as ""The Frat Pack"" had not yet occurred. With the juvenile hijinks of ""Old School,"" the star power of Ferrell, Vaughn, Luke Wilson, and the rest of the gang had been established. Soon enough, new offshoots of the group formed as Ferrell incorporated not only Wilson, Vaughn, and Stiller in his film ""Anchorman,"" but introduced newcomers Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, and Seth Rogen (in a bit role as a camera man).
Soon enough, Carell, Rogen and Rudd were all leading men, each of them starring in films incorporating themes of ""bromance"" and general immaturity, all to phenomenal success. The most critically-acclaimed and commercially successful comedies of the decade are a laundry list of bromance's greatest hits. ""40-Year-Old Virgin,"" starring Carell, Rogen and Rudd, ""Knocked Up"" starring Rogen, Rudd and Jonah Hill, ""Superbad,"" starring Hill, Michael Cera, Rogen and Bill Hader, and ""Forgetting Sarah Marshall,"" starring Jason Segel, Rudd, Hader, Hill and more.
Every year, a group of stars rises from the minor, yet hilarious roles in bromance movies to become the new leading man. The biggest hit of the summer, ""The Hangover,"" stars Bradley Cooper (""Wedding Crashers""), Ed Helms (""The Office""), and Zach Galifanakis (a relative newcomer, but a longtime star of the indie comedy circuit). None of them had the benefit of the Frat Pack's sphere of influence, but once again, ""Old School"" director Todd Phillips worked his magic, making ""The Hangover"" the highest-grossing R-rated comedy of all time. All three of the stars have already signed on to big-budget projects, and show all indications of being the next big thing in comedy.
The influence of both Phillips and super producer Judd Apatow cannot be underestimated. Apatow and Phillips both worked in film and television long before they hit gold, Apatow toiling on ""The Cable Guy"" and ""Undeclared,"" while Phillips directed ""Frat House"" and ""Road Trip."" But with the inauspicious debut of ""Old School"" in February, a month usually devoid of any worthwhile movies, the landscape of comedy for the next decade (and perhaps beyond) changed forever.
If you want to go streaking with Kevin and everyone else (we're going through the quad!), E-mail him for all of the important details at kevslane@gmail.com.
