MovieChat Forums > Back to School (1986) Discussion > Dorm Room Remodel

Dorm Room Remodel

posted 10 years ago by fourstringdrums
8 replies | jump to latest

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I'm watching the movie again for the thousandth time and it brings up a question that I've always had.

When Thornton has the dorm room remodeled, both him, Jason and Derek enter through three separate doors into a big open room. The dorm room before the remodel was extremely small and only had one door.

Now I'm assuming that Thornton paid off the Dean to let him have the two adjoining rooms and then knock down the walls. I'm also assuming by their reaction that the remodel was supposed to be a surprise. But if it was a surprise, why did Jason and Derek each go through a separate door?

[–] beatleguy64-429-364588 10 years ago

Because they thought they were entering their own dorm room.

[–] DracTarashV 10 years ago

That was quite a dorm room.

Hey there, Johnny Boy, I hope you fry!

[–] TVholic 10 years ago

The only thing I can think of is that Thornton decided Jason deserved his own room and somehow got Derek moved to the room next door, as well as a room for himself. Then he also bought out the rooms next door to put in the hot tub.

The really amazing thing is how they changed a room that was maybe 16 feet from the door to the outside wall to about twice as deep. That Buzzy guy must be really a miracle worker to be able to knock out an exterior wall and build a new one further out in just one night. Would have been better if Thornton had just decided he and Jason needed more room and he rented or bought a huge house off campus.

[–] snelling 10 years ago

They probably knocked down load-bearing walls which is quite unsafe. Also will Thornton pay to put it back to normal after they are no longer students there? Also the other students would be kind of pissed off that these three get a luxury suite just because the the Melons have money. I am enjoying the nitpicking because I love this movie.

"I will not go down in history as the greatest mass-murderer since Adolf Hitler!" - Merkin Muffley

[–] ughmoretodealwith 9 years ago

You can knock down load bearing walls if you put in support beams on the ceiling to take in the weight. It takes an architect/engineer to approve and get the permits but it is done in home remodels all the time.

The reason load bearing walls are put in is they are cheaper then the support beams and because people at one time loved having closed homes. Now open home concepts are the in thing so load bearing walls are becoming a thing of the past.

[–] TVholic 9 years ago

It had nothing to do with load-bearing walls. That was an EXTERIOR wall we saw when Jason returned to his pre-renovation dorm room, complete with window, just like any other dorm room. And they're on the fourth floor, room 406. You'd have to be some kind of miracle worker to knock down an exterior wall, cantilever the floor out another fifteen feet or so and build a new wall, all in one night. Not to mention the incredible 12-foot ceiling, which they must have carved out of the floor above. And Buzzy says they worked all night. So where did Thornton, Jason and Derek sleep while they were working and why didn't Jason and Derek know something was going on with their rooms if they were forced to stay elsewhere?

[–] ncdwbmk6 9 years ago

It's just a silly sight gag that doesn't hold up to analysis.

In reality, it would made much more sense for Melon to rent an off-campus house or apartment.

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You got your mind right, Luke?

[–] Citation_Needed 8 years ago

Now I'm assuming that Thornton paid off the Dean to let him have the two adjoining rooms and then knock down the walls. I'm also assuming by their reaction that the remodel was supposed to be a surprise. But if it was a surprise, why did Jason and Derek each go through a separate door?

Well in order to get the two adjoining rooms, Thronton needed them assigned to people who wouldn't mind, so that solves that problem. He got those separate rooms for Jason and Derek but didn't tell them they were connected inside. So that part was the surprise. Them getting new personal dorm rooms wasn't.

This is why smart people enjoy 80s films. They didn't waste time explaining every stupid minor detail like todays movie, because it's easy to figure out or imagine, if you wanted to, without having to bog down a film pace and bore people with zoning regulations, specs, etc. Now everything has to be spoon fed and there is over an hour of dialog that is just exposition, in some movies, that's all it is!