Main Cast: Rob Lowe, Ally Sheedy, Amanda Pays, Julian Sands, Julian Firth
Release Year: 1984
Country: UK
Run Time: 98 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
This is an uneven modern remake of A Yank at Oxford (1938) from writer-director Robert Boris, the man behind such diverse earlier productions as Some Kind of Hero (1981) and Doctor Detroit (1983). Rob Lowe stars as Nick Di Angelo, an American hustler and parking attendant in Las Vegas who falls in love at first sight with a beautiful, classy British woman, Lady Victoria (Amanda Pays). He follows her back to England and learns that she is a student at the prestigious Oxford University. Intent on wooing the object of his affection despite their obviously different locations in the social strata, Nick manages to finagle his way into an admission at the school by paying a computer hacker for some illegal tampering. With his arrogant manner and self-centered worldview, Nick quickly offends nearly everyone he encounters, except fellow American expatriate Rona (Ally Sheedy), who becomes his only friend. Nick also secures a spot on the rowing team, an experience that builds his character. A typical example of the mid-'80s "Rat Pack" film, Oxford Blues featured a soundtrack with several forgettable rock songs written expressly for the movie, interjected at intervals into the narrative through music video-style sequences. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Alan Howard - Simon; Gail Strickland - Las Vegas Lady; Michael Gough - Dr. Ambrose; Aubrey Morris - Dr. Boggs; Anthony Calf - Gareth; Peter-Hugo Daly - Malcolm; Aimée Delamain; Cary Elwes - Lionel; Laura Francis - Girl in T-Shirt; Richard Hunt - larry; Peter Jason - Father; Chad Lowe - computer hacker - uncredited (uncredited); Hugh Morton - Butler; Bruce Payne - Peter; Pip Torrens - Ian; Charles Grant - Student Photographer; Richard Pescud - Male Secretary No.1; Carrie Jones - Sandra; Jeffrey S. Perry - Male Secretary No.2
Credit
David Wimbury - Associate Producer, Peter Kohn - Associate Producer, Pip Newbery - Costume Designer, Peter Kohn - First Assistant Director, Robert Boris - Director, Patrick Moore - Director, James R. Symons - Editor, Patrick Moore - Editor, John Du Prez - Composer (Music Score), Paul Jabara - Songwriter, Harold Wheeler - Songwriter, Terry Pritchard - Production Designer, John Stanier - Cinematographer, Cassian Elwes - Producer, Elliott Kastner - Producer, Chris Munro - Sound/Sound Designer, Robert Boris - Screenwriter
Oxford Blues is the story of Nick Di Angelo (Lowe) who is working in a Las Vegas casino to earn enough money to pursue the woman of his dreams — Lady Victoria Wingate (Pays) — to Oxford where, he believes, the only way to win her is to get into Oxford University and join the rowing team. After spending the night with a beautiful woman, he gets enough money to make the trip across the pond and arrives at Oxford with his small sporty car — which promptly gets stuck between two walls in a very narrow street. And so begin the troubles of an American in Britain.
To help him along, the coxswain of the rowing team that Di Angelo joins is also an American, Rona (Sheedy). Di Angelo quickly finds Lady Victoria but also finds that she is deeply involved with another Oxford rower Colin Gilchrist Fisher (Sands).
Nick comes to learn not only the value of friendship, and love, but also the importance of keeping promises to teammates and to oneself as well as the importance of thinking beyond oneself.
