| When I was 15, I got a copy of the book for my birthday. I've since had to sell it along with the rest of my library because I need the money to finish college. (How ironic!)Things that were in the book that I wish had been in the movie:Einswine: A junior who sold Pinto his history paper, which is the subject Pinto got an F in when he got caught. "Larry Kroger: 4 C's & an F. Congratulations, Mr. Kroger, you're at the top of the Delta pledge class."The poker game: When Pinto & Flounder were rushing, four of the juniors (but not Einswine) were playing poker using pepperoni slices from a pizza as chips. Flounder tried to say hi, but that just got them staring at him.Hardbar: The duo of Boon & Otter was originally supposed to be a trio, but Hardbar was too lewd for the censors of that era. Notice that the two guys hit three golf balls from the top of the hill, and the last two hit Neidermeyer? There were supposed to be three guys on the hill playing golf. (In all fairness, I understand why Hardbar got deleted--his name refers to an erection, and he got in from his tendency to compulsively masturbate.)Pinto's REAL reason for getting his name: Possibly the best story from this movie that never got told. Originally, Flounder wasn't going to be accepted...remember the beer bottles being thrown at the projector screen? So when Pinto & Flounder got chased into the hall by Boon & Otter wielding the fire extinguishers(just the two of them, that time), Boon congratulated Larry, but not Kent, on his acceptance into Delta Tau Chi. When Kent was informed that he was blackballed, he started blubbering (Kent had already been blackballed from six other fraternities, and was really counting on his legacy status to gain admittance). Boon & Otter felt sorry for Kent, so they gave him the "Ordeal of Honor" where Kent had to reveal his closest friend's biggest secret. Larry was Kent's closest friend, and Larry's biggest secret was Larry once got tar in a private place of his body from playing in the street at age 10. All of the above got deleted, and the answer to the question Larry later asked (why Pinto?) was originally shouted by the entire senior class "BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT A SPOTTED..."--figure you can guess about the nature of the last word, which rhymed with "wrong".Other funny stuff: When Dean Wormer was reading the list of reasons to put the Deltas on double secret probation, a couple of items got left off. Crating the status of Emil Faber (founder of Faber University) and sending it to the Kremlin, and keeping coeds captive in the Delta basement for 36 hours. The second didn't really need to be there, but the first was pretty funny. You younger folks have to remember the cold war was still on then and we didn't want trouble with the Russians, so the censors cut the line.One touching scene: Just before the incident with the dead horse in Wormer's office, Bluto, D-Day & Otter were telling great stories about the truly legendary stunts the Deltas of the past had done. Exaggerated, to be sure...nobody could have done all that they said was done, but anybody who's been part of a large enduring group has heard and maybe even told those kind of stories. That chapter was titled "There Were Giants in Those Days". Not sure why that got cut.One not-so touching scene: Bluto throw up on purpose and is graded by the other seniors: "now that was what we call a 'power boot'. Little dispersion, lots of velocity. Bluto's very good at these things." When Flounder complains that he could never do that and explains that he could never throw up, even when ill, he's promised that "before you graduate you'll be booting like a pro." Remember that the next time you see him toss his cookies on Dean Wormer. He was supposed to have been congratulated for that later, in the scene just before Otter entered with his face bruised by the Omegas.If you get a chance, read the original. The books probably out of print by now, but you never know. My old copy might be on sale on Ebay for all I know. It's still a great comedy without it, one of the best of the 80s, but the book gives you a much better chance to know the characters as people. And anybody who complains about how gross it gets should take a good look at any of the American Pie movies. I don't even want to know about the "get away from the animal" line. |
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