Class Act

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Class Act is a 1992 film starring Kid 'n Play (Christopher Reid and Christopher Martin) as something completely different from the House Party franchise they were known for.

"Kid" played Duncan Pinderhughes, who had a perfect SAT score, but needed to pass Phys. Ed. in order to get into Harvard. "Play" played Blade Brown, a gangbanger who was given one last shot to graduate high school to stay out of prison. Due to a paperwork mix-up, the two ended up mistaken for each other, and Duncan ended up in the at-risk program, while Blade ended up in Gifted.

Blade figured out what was going on, and made a deal with Duncan: If Duncan helps him pass the year, Blade will get him his Phys. Ed. credit. In the meantime, they both end up falling for girls who would otherwise be out of their league; Blade for the bookish but adventure-seeking Ellen, and Duncan for the freaky Damita. To make matters worse, a drug lord and his head lackey, Wedge, are after Blade for money, and naturally also go after Duncan as a result.

As icing on the cake, the emergence of Blade as Duncan's friend, and Duncan taking on some of Blade's mannerisms to keep the ruse going, makes Duncan's dad think his son is gay. This is hilariously disproven at the end.

Needless to say, Hilarity Ensues. It has a cult following, but didn't fare well at the box office. It took until 2010 for a petition campaign to finally get a DVD release.

Tropes used in Class Act include:
  • Accidental Athlete
  • Black and Nerdy: Duncan. And of course Blade has to pretend this.
  • Coitus Uninterruptus: See HIMIAHT below
  • Fish Out of Water
  • Get Thee to a Nunnery: Blade and Ellen have a discussion about the "die" euphemism for "orgasm" in the context of Shakespeare. It comes back as a Brick Joke when they and Duncan compete in a quiz bowl at the end.
  • Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?: Duncan's dad finds out for certain that his son is not gay when he catches Duncan having sex with Damita at the end. He's so happy his son's not gay, he's not even mad his son's having premarital sex. (Though he does remind Duncan to use a condom.)
  • Ho Yay: What Duncan's dad thinks of Duncan and Blade until the above. Duncan had absolutely no idea of his dad's suspicions, either, which made the reveal even more confounding for him and his girlfriend.
  • Prince and Pauper: Billed as an urban retelling
  • Scary Black Man: Wedge
  • Sequel Hook: Faked at the end when Blade starts rambling about a possible Class Act 2.

Blade: It's got sex, car chases and sex... Did I mention sex?

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