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I won't beat around the bush: Total Frat Movie is an abysmal film. A big-screen spin-off of the website TotalFratMove.com, Total Frat Movie is basically a pastiche of Animal House and Revenge of the Nerds, with plot points carried out by creatures that are more random Urban Dictionary phrase generators than three-dimensional characters. The protagonist, Charlie (Justin Deely), must shore up new pledges to save his beloved frat house from the evil rival frat, all while under the watchful eye of the Dean (Tom Green).Viewers outside of Greek life might understandably perceive Total Frat Movie as parody, its heroes so blithely dropping platitudes that are neither profound nor funny. But no, this film is an earnest celebration of the "frat star" lifestyle, and the problematic landmines it keeps tripping over turn the otherwise hacky jokes into a broader concern about frat culture's place in modern society.
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By contrast, Goat focuses on the horrors of "hell week," as told from the perspective of incoming freshman Brad (Ben Schnetzer) as he pledges the fraternity of his older brother (Nick Jonas). After a violent incident leaves Brad shook and traumatized, he turns to brotherhood of both blood and covenant to ensure he'll never find himself alone and scared again. He undergoes a torturous hazing period wherein frat brothers proudly compare their abuses to that of Guantánamo guards, but when a more grave tragedy hits the group, the upperclassmen have to focus less on brotherhood and more on protecting the booze-soaked fiefdom they've established for themselves.
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