Theme Song:
“Lookin’ Up,” by Michael Sembello (of Flashdance’s “Maniac” fame). A nice Loggins-esque ‘80s song featuring the great refrain, “Things are lookin’ like they’re looking up.”
“Money Makes The Heart Grow Fonder,” also by Sembello. He was really on a lyrical journey with these tracks, this one featuring the chorus, “Money makes money; money makes the heart grow fonder.”
“Some Become Strangers,” by Williams Brothers. These guys wrote this song, but it had previously been recorded by Stevie Nicks.
“Point of No Return,” by Nu Shooz, known for their hit, “I Can’t Wait.”
Closing Credits. I can’t discern to whom this is credited, but it’s an ‘80s-era instrumental you probably will not enjoy.
Interesting Dated References: From the pants tucked into socks to the prevalence of IBM computers, the entirety of this film serves as a nicely-dated reference to 1987.
Best Line: None.
Social Context: Campus Man is based on the real-life story of the film’s Associate Producer, Todd Headlee (now a real estate agent), who in the early ‘80s helped start a nationwide beefcake calendar craze. Before nudity and hardcore sexual intercouse were available to view by everyone at all times in any location throughout the world via the internet, beefcake calendars were a thing.
Summary: Todd is a down-on-his-luck business student who needs to find $10,000 in 2 weeks or be expelled from college. John Dye (The Perfect Weapon, Best of the Best) seems to be going for some type of Andrew McCarthy/Judd Nelson hybrid performance with this character.
None of the campus nerds want to buy his female swimsuit calendar, so he rechannels all his effort into finding a new solution to make money, which winds up being convincing his beefcake roommate Brett and his jock friends to pose for a male swimsuit calendar.
The calendar becomes so popular Morgan Fairchild takes notice and decides Brett needs to be the “Face of the ‘80s” for her magazine.
This leads to meandering subplots in which Brett almost gets blocked from competing on the swim team and Todd has to borrow money from a handsome stranger/loan shark/bounty hunter named Cactus Jack (Miles O’Keeffe, Tarzan the Ape Man, star of the “Ator” films).
Then there’s a bunch of horseshit wherein Todd swaps Cactus Jack over to Morgan Fairchild as the face of the ‘80s, and Brett is able to continue swimming at the collegiate level.
Worth Mentioning:
– There’s a hilarious montage in which the calendar goes from inception to printed copies in the span of like 2 weeks, complete with photography, page layout (featuring Letraset and marked-up color proofs), and press runs.
– Filmed around ASU in Tempe, AZ, especially at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center.
– Kim Delaney plays Dayna, the girl whose appreciation of Brett inspires Todd to start the calendar.
– There’s a banking scene filmed at/within the Tempe Municipal Building/City Hall which, if you’ve never seen it, is a pretty cool gigantic upside down pyramid.
– Aside from a video for New Edition, this is the sole credit for director Ron Casden. This seems odd as there’s a good visual style to the film and heavy play with architecture and set throughout, but maybe that is more attributable to cinematographer Francis Kenny.
Poster and Box Art: This looks like what you’d expect: Random triangles and squares filled with different colored textures, etc.
Availability: There’s a DVD out, but nothing streaming.