Higher Learning (1994)
71%RT Audience Score: 74%
Awards & Nominations: 1 win & 1 nomination
It’s hard to fault Higher Learning’s goals; unfortunately, writer-director John Singleton too often struggles to fit his themes within a consistently engaging story
Higher Learning is a movie that tries to tackle a lot of issues, but ends up feeling like a lecture from that one professor who takes themselves way too seriously. The characters are all pretty one-dimensional, and the dialogue can be pretty stilted at times. That being said, there are some good performances here, especially from Cole Hauser as the skinhead and Jennifer Connelly as the worldly-wise lesbian. Overall, it’s worth a watch if you’re in the mood for a heavy-handed message movie, but don’t expect to be blown away.
Production Company(ies)
Lucasfilm,
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for scenes of violence and sexuality, and for strong language
Year of Release
1995
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby SR SDDS
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 7m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jan 11, 1995 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 3, 2001
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
Higher Learning, drama, 1995, 2h 7m, starring Omar Epps, Kristy Swanson, Michael Rapaport, Jennifer Connelly, Ice Cube, Jason Wiles, directed by John Singleton, written by John Singleton, produced by Paul Hall and John Singleton, reviewed by Emma Cochrane, David Ansen, Owen Gleiberman, Todd McCarthy, Geoff Andrew, Janet Maslin, Brandon Collins, Dennis Schwartz, R MPAA rating, college life, freshmen, racial tensions, neo-Nazis, gender lines, box office gross $36.8M, Columbia Pictures, Suround, Stereo
Worldwide gross: $38,290,723
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $75,293,340
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,154
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 8,210,833
US/Canada gross: $38,290,723
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $75,293,340
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 884
US/Canada opening weekend: $13,276,662
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $26,106,695
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 525
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Kristy Swanson – Kristen Connor
Michael Rapaport – Remy
Jennifer Connelly – Taryn
Ice Cube – Fudge
Jason Wiles – Wayne
Director(s)
John Singleton
Writer(s)
John Singleton
Producer(s)
Paul Hall, John Singleton
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
1 win & 1 nomination
Academy Awards
All Critics (40) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (18) | Rotten (22)
Good intentions, but dull and predictable.
April 26, 2019 | Rating: 2/5
Emma Cochrane
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Higher Learning sells its soul (and its brain) for overwrought melodrama.
February 16, 2018
David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
Despite some likable performances (Epps is especially winning), the drama in Higher Learning is constricted, hemmed in by Singleton’s compulsion to view his characters as walking paradigms of racial and sexual politics.
July 6, 2010 | Rating: C
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
Higher Learning has a great many things on its mind, which immediately places it in a rather exclusive category of American films these days.
October 18, 2008
Todd McCarthy
Variety
TOP CRITIC
A stylish, intelligent film-maker, Singleton interweaves the threads of his demographic tapestry with assurance, passion and a welcome awareness of the complexities of the college community’s contradictory impulses towards integration and separatism.
February 9, 2006
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Everyone here, from beer-swilling white fraternity boys to rap-loving black students harassed by the campus police, can be judged at face value. Everyone is exactly what he or she seems.
May 20, 2003 | Rating: 2/4
Janet Maslin
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
I felt like it was lengthy, and they could have chopped down some of this stuff while trying to appeal to everyone…Malik and Remy could have been the movie right there.
September 19, 2019 | Rating: 2/5
Justin Brown
Medium Popcorn
What is high…what is learning…yes it’s a pretty decent cast, but it’s all over the place, and I really wanted it to end.
September 19, 2019 | Rating: 1/5
Brandon Collins
Medium Popcorn
It was too schematic, too didactic and too cliched to work.
May 10, 2019 | Rating: C+
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
Cole Hauser is chillingly effective as the white supremacist skinhead who reveals Rapaport’s potential for violence, while Jennifer Connelly gives the most adult performance as a worldly-wise lesbian.
April 26, 2019 | Rating: 3/5
David Parkinson
Radio Times
Singleton gets points for exposing the hypocrisy of “politically correct” institutions, but stilted dialogue and cardboard characterizations undermine the message.
July 25, 2010 | Rating: 3/5
TV Guide Staff
TV Guide
There’s some nice ideas and realistically felt characters here.
December 6, 2005 | Rating: 4/5
Brad Laidman
Film Threat…
Plot
Youngsters from different countries, races, and social background are forced to integrate when they all enroll in Columbus University. They all have their own problems, such as finance, harrassment, personal safety, and self doubt. Additionally, campus life seems to be causing a problem for everyone: racism. Students, already under pressure to perform in the classroom, on the track, or in front of their friends, are strained to the breaking point by prejudice, inexperience, and misunderstanding.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The cast of Higher Learning includes Omar Epps, Kristy Swanson, Michael Rapaport, Jennifer Connelly, Ice Cube, and a young Gwyneth Paltrow in a small role.
John-Singleton.jpg
