Up the Academy (1980)

Summary

Hijinks ensue at an all-boys military school.

Director

Robert Downey Sr.

Downey Factor

Only appears in one scene

Character

An uncredited role as a soccer player.

Looks

Like a blurry 14 year-old boy.

Cast

Ralph Macchio, Allyson Downey, Antonio Fargas

Connection

Robert Downey Sr.'s Hugo Pool, Moment to Moment, Pound, Rented Lips, America, Too Much Sun, Greaser's Palace, in The Last Party, Johnny Be Good and Sr.

Allyson Downey (sister) in Pound and Moment to Moment.

Ralph Macchio in Too Much Sun.

RDJ Says

Up to that point [my father] had kind of been protected, people knew he was special and wanted to help him do the next version of himself. And I think the one real studio film experience he had where the studio kind of tells you what you can and can't do. If you're an artist it's crushing. And I think he thought great, let's party. You're going to get the Robert Downey movie you deserve ... During the filming of Up the Academy I found there were a lot of cute girls in Kansas, I'll tell you that much. I also remember being in a scene where there's a soccer game gone wrong, and I was covered in mud. If things had gone a different way for my career, we might be talking about me playing Sandman in Spiderman 3.

Availability

Released in theaters 6 June 1980. On DVD in region 1 and 4.

Foreign Titles

Argentina: Picardias en La Academia (Rascals in the Academy)
Brazil: Rebeldes na Academia (Rebels in the Academy)
Germany: Die Kadetten Akademie (The Cadet Academy)
Spain: A Toda Marcha (All March)

Rotten Tomatoes

Up the Academy

Does It Hold Up

This is a very outdated type of movie that wasn't even considered a good example of its genre when it was new.

2 Reasons to See It

1. Behold the comedy that was so bad, Mad Magazine paid HBO $30K to have their name taken off the cable version.
2. Ralph Macchio's breakout performance.

Overall

He's an extra who says nothing and is barely visible.

If You Liked It

You might also like Back to School (1986), Weird Science (1985)

Photos