The story of five college roommates who live in a dump of a house…..an animal house. They are going to an art college and are about to graduate so it’s party time! Jack Freeman is the central character. He misses his girlfriend who has left him and is now with another guy. Mickey is a cartoonist who is shy around girls including his friend Chelsea who he wants as more than a friend. Dennis is trying to decide between going to another college or staying as a teaching assistant.

They are all trying to decide what to do but Jack convinces them that things don’t get any better than this and they should all stay….he is trying to make time stand still (ah…that explains the clock on the wall that is always the same time because a dart keeps it from advancing). To make a long story short, they all learn to move forward.

There isn’t a lot of substance to this movie and it is rather predictable but it is actually better than it might sound. Just don’t expect an Animal House, which is how it was marketed. It does have a good soundtrack including music by the Vandals.

Ben Affleck is excellent as Jack Freeman who can’t let go of the past, especially his ex-girlfriend. His journey to move forward and grow as a man is well acted. The rest of the cast does an admirable job also, including French Stewart (the squinty guy from "Third Rock From the Sun") as Dennis and Alyssa Milano as Chelsea. There are also cameos by Spalding Gray, Brendan Fraser, and Matthew McConaughey. The film could have benefited from more zany humor as in the scene where Jack is having lunch with his parents. As his father lectures him, he looks out the window to a nearby dock to see a bizarre man slapping a fish.

Meredith is given a special credit: "Special appearance by Meredith Salinger as the Comic Strip Groupie"(Note the spelling "Salinger" rather than Salenger). She is only in the film for about a minute at the beginning of the movie. She is standing in a parking lot, reading Comic News, and recognizes Mickey who writes The Mickey Chronicles. She asks for his autograph. Meredith does a fantastic job of being slightly nervous and excited about talking to someone she deems a celebrity. Her adoration of this comic artist is well performed. As she looks after him with her sparkling smile, the low self-esteem Mickey says "I don’t stand a chance with women like that." No kidding!