By Kevin Crossman, Senior Editor

What Qualifies as a Frat Pack Movie?

To "strictly" qualify as a "Frat Pack" movie, it must have at least one Frat Pack member in a starring role, along with at least one more in a supporting role. This is why Anchorman counts (Frat Pack Star, three Frat Pack Support, one Frat Pack Cameo) but why The Cable Guy doesn't (three Frat Packers, none starring). See the Frat Pack Movie Scorecard for details and connections.

More importantly, the movie must also share a certain comedic sense; we're talking fast-paced farce here, not slow, wry observational comedy (sorry, The Royal Tenenbaums fans). The films usually include a male-bonding component even if set against a romantic angle such as in Wedding Crashers.

Looser and more inclusive definitions allow for high-quality movies such as The Forty Year-Old Virgin or Along Came Polly with a single Frat Pack star, several Frat Pack friends, and similar comedic sensibility and theme.

Frat Pack Classics

Films that star one or more Frat Pack stars, and also include the same kind of farcical humor are the ones we refer to as Frat Pack "classics."

• The 40 Year-Old Virgin
• Along Came Polly
• Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
• Blades of Glory
• Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
• Envy
• Meet the Fockers
• Meet the Parents
• Night at the Museum
• Old School
• Starsky & Hutch
• Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
• Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny
• Wedding Crashers
• Zoolander

More Details

View Frat Pack Movie Scorecard for more details about these movies and others with Frat Pack connections, including trivia, ratings, and more.

We also have More Movies for movies starring only one Frat Pack member and Friends Movies for projects starring Frat Pack friends.

Other Labels and Packs

Entertainment Weekly dubbed this group the "Slacker Pack" but we prefer Frat Pack as it is closer to "Rat" or "Brat" and since it references one of the group's movies. Besides, the "slacker" term hardly seems appropriate given how much these guys work.

The other comedic "packs" include The Bad Boys of SNL / Happy Gilmore Gang, led by Adam Sandler, and Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse. There's some crossover, such as Ben Stiller's cameo in Happy Gilmore or Will Ferrell's supporting turn in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, but generally these groups are unrelated to the Frat Pack.

For a more dramatic "pack" consider Strangereadings' Honor Society (George Clooney, William H. Macy, Julianne Moore).

Frat Pack Friends

These are some of the actors who have appeared with the Frat Pack stars and might be considered "junior members" of the group:

• Jennifer Aniston
  (Along Came Polly, The Break-Up, Office Space)
• Will Arnett
  (Blades of Glory, Semi-Pro, Horton Hears a Who)
• Hank Azaria
  (Along Came Polly, Dodgeball, Mystery Men)
• Jason Bateman
  (Starsky & Hutch, Dodgeball, The Break-Up)
• Gary Cole
  (Dodgeball, Talladega Nights, Office Space)
• Rob Corddry
  (Old School, Blades of Glory, The Heartbreak Kid, Semi-Pro)
• Andy Dick
  (Zoolander, Old School, The Cable Guy, Blonde Ambition)
• Jon Favreau
  (Elf, The Break-Up, Swingers)
• Judah Friedlander
  (Meet the Parents, Zoolander, Along Came Polly, Starsky & Hutch)
• Kyle Gass
  (Elf, Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, The Cable Guy, Bongwater)
• John Michael Higgins
  (The Break-Up, Evan Almighty, Fred Claus, Walk Hard)
• Artie Lange
  (Old School, Elf, Boat Trip)
• Juliette Lewis
  (Old School, Starsky & Hutch)
• Justin Long
  (Dodgeball, Wake Up, Ron Burgundy, The Break-Up, Idiocracy)
• David Koechner
  (Anchorman, The 40 Year-Old Virgin, Talladega Nights, Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, The Office, Semi-Pro, Get Smart)
• Patton Oswald
  (Zoolander, Starsky & Hutch)
• Amy Poehler
  (Envy, Wake Up, Ron Burgundy, Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny, Blades of Glory)
• Missi Pyle
  (Along Came Polly, Anchorman, Dodgeball)
• John C. Reilly
  (Talladega Nights, Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny, Tenacious D HBO series, "Comedians at the Oscars", Step Brothers)
• Andy Richter
  (Elf, Talladega Nights, Anchorman, Blades of Glory, Semi-Pro)
• Seth Rogen
  (Anchorman, The 40 Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, You, Me and Dupree, Drillbit Taylor)
• Paul Rudd
  (Anchorman, The 40 Year-Old Virgin, Night at the Museum, Knocked Up)
• Christine Taylor
  (Zoolander, Dodgball, Heat Vision & Jack)
• Christopher Walken
  (SNL "Cowbell" skit, Envy, Wedding Crashers)
• Matt Walsh
  (Old School, Starsky & Hutch, Elf, Semi-Pro)

This page last modified on Saturday, February 09, 2008.
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