Blast From The Past: Randall Batinkoff

Buffy : You left me a message?

Jeffrey : You weren't home! Like always.

Buffy : You broke up with my machine?

Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1992)

As passionate I was about Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the TV show,  I never was too interested in check out the movie that inspired it.  Although I know the brilliant Joss Whedon wrote both, the movie seemed a little light, and silly compared to the television version.

Silly and light might seem like ironic adjectives to use given the show was about a high school attending vampire slayer, but fans of the show know how dark could get, and how serious it was taken.  I now however, want to catch that original film.  It was on last weekend and I caught about five minutes before having to head out for the day.  I caught enough to hear the writing was witty and crisp and that actor Randall Batinkoff has a supporting role.

I first began crushing over Batinkoff after seeing him in 1992's School Ties.  The actor played the very ivy leagued sounding character Rip Van Kelt, one of the many hot guys occupying the dorms of St. Matthew's, an exclusive Massachusetts prep school.  Although Batinkoff again took on a supporting role, that handsome and distinctive face of his had him standing out whenever he was on screen.

It was that adorable face that brought New York born actor into show business.  After an agent saw the six year old Batinkoff in a toy store, he began getting work in commercials, followed by roles in film and on television.

The Stepford Children (1987)

Although Batinkoff played his share of lead roles, including the 1988 film For Keeps?, (below) his film career was made up of mostly supporting roles, some in big films (As Good As It Gets) but most often in smaller and independent films throughout the late 1990's and 2000's.  The actor has continued to work steadily and has a series of projects coming out including re-teaming with his School Ties co-star Cole Hauser in the upcoming The Last Champion.

For Keeps? (1988)

Although Batinkoff had his fair share of shirtless scenes, he doesn't have any scenes I could say were officially a nude scene.  He did have a 'tame' shower scene in For Keeps? however, where the main topic of conversation was focused on his character Stan's penis.

If you're a fan of Batinkoff, or were impacted as much as I was by his 1992 film, School Ties, check out part 2 of my piece on Batinkoff with a brief look back at School Ties on Page 2 HERE:

Christy (1994)

Relativity (1996)

Dead Man's Curve (1998)

On the set with Matthew Lillard in Dead Man's Curve

Hefner: Unauthorized (1999)

37 (2014)

A more recent shot of Randall

Randall Batinkoff: A Brief look back at School Ties

I was about 16 or 17, still in high school when I went to the theatre to see 1992's School Ties.  I went to the movie on a date and the girl I was taking picked the film for us to see.  At the time, I knew nothing about what the film was about and had never heard of Matt Damon, Brendan Fraser, Randall Batinkoff or any of the other male actors that made up the cast.

The film was sort of a dream come true for the still in the closet guy on the date back then. Each male cast member more adorable than the next, chiseled jaws, great hair, and incredible bodies, showed off in the famous shower scene.  At the time, I crushed mostly over Randall and Brendan Fraser, although also thought Chris O'Donnell, Cole Hauser, Andrew Lowery and Anthony Rapp were hot.

Ben Affleck's role was quite minor and he didn't really peak my interest at the time.  Due to his fame after the release of School Ties, Affleck was placed more prominently in promotional and advertising, and covers for the film's release, but his role really wasn't that big.  I thought Matt Damon was adorable, especially his butt in the shower scene, but at the time was so turned off by his character's actions, wasn't a huge fan of the actor until seeing him in later projects.

Besides the brimming box of eye candy that School Ties was, I was also impacted by the subject matter.  Although very aware of the history of Jewish persecution, I hadn't really thought as  much about it as an ongoing issue that continued long after the end of the war.  The film helped me understand the systemic prejudice that continued, and even continues today, on full display of course by some of the actions and words of the current resident of The White House.

Although Batinkoff wasn't naked in that second shower scene, he was shirtless in an earlier scene.  Batinkoff also received a friendly squeeze from a shirtless, and buffed up Ben Affleck in the film's well remembered Smokey Joe's Cafe scene, which first introduced most of the male characters in a scene all together.

So.. that shower scene.  It was hard to sit still when I first saw it watching in the theatre, thank goodness it was dark and that my date as focused on the screen as I think I turned (or felt like I turned...) a bright red during the scene.

At the time, my focus was on Damon's cute butt, and a little distracted by the bubbles strategically place on Chris O'Donnell's butt, clearly at the actor's request to ensure his butt was not fully visible. Re-watching it again from Batinkoff' character's viewpoint, I got an entirely differen't, but equally enjoyable view.

Batinkoff's Rip got one of the best views of the shower, right there as Damon entered, dropped his towel and headed into the shower.  As the scene continued, Rip chatted with the naked Damon and Fraser, and the soapy O'Donnell and had a front row seat to the wet naked shower fight.  Rip also had the difficult (or enjoyable...) of grabbing the wet, naked Damon and holding back in his fight with Fraser.  Oh, if only there were some behind the scenes, or outtakes from this scene...

Back to School

'No sir. You're never going to forget this happened, because I'm going to stay here. And every time you see me, you'll remember that it happened. You used me for football. I'll use you to get into Harvard'

David Green

I was still in high school when I saw 1992's School Ties in the theatre.  The movie had a lasting impact on me for a number of reasons.  The subject matter of course, and the fact I was on a date with my high school girlfriend.  I wrote a bit about my experience on the site before when I profiled actor Randall Batinkoff, some of which I'm sharing again below. 

At the time, I knew nothing about what the film was about and had never heard of Matt Damon, Brendan Fraser, Randall Batinkoff or any of the other male actors that made up the cast.  The film was sort of a dream come true for the guy (still in the closet)  on the date back then. Each male cast members was more adorable than the next. Chiseled jaws, great hair, and incredible bodies, some of whom were showed off in the famous shower scene.  

At the time, I crushed mostly over Randall and Brendan Fraser.  The entire cast however, Damon, Chris O'Donnell, Ben Affleck, Cole Hauser, Andrew Lowery and Anthony Rapp were all incredibly good looking and incredibly talented.  The film introduced me to most of the cast, Fraser, Damon, and Damon's hot derrière. It also introduced me to something I'd not previously been aware of, antisemitism.

Sadly, thanks in large part to the orange ass who inhabited The White House, antisemitism has been spotlighted once again.  It likely never went away, but it didn't have a recent national political figure who supported and coddled it's followers and believers.  When I first watched School Ties, I thought I was watching a piece of history, how sadly wrong I was.

I'm not sure if the casting director, and the film's director Robert Mandel knew what magic they created with the actors they hired.  It's rare to find a film that caught so many young actors on the brink of hitting it big.  The film was certainly Brendan Fraser's break out role, and Damon, Affleck and O'Donnell quickly followed School Ties with huge break out films of their own.

So.. that shower scene.... It was hard to sit still in my seat when I first watched in the theatre. Thank God it was dark and that my date as focused on the screen and not my excitement and arousal.  At the time, my focus was on Damon's cute butt, and a little distracted by the bubbles strategically place on Chris O'Donnell's butt, clearly at the actor's request to ensure his butt was not fully visible. 

Brendan Fraser and Matt Damon however appeared completely nude, something Fraser recently confirmed during a recent guest spot on The Howard Stern Show.  After Howard asked about the bare wrestling shower fight, Fraser shared that he and Damon were indeed completely nude during the filming of the scene. 

'It was scary. It's scary to do that. When you're an actor and you're starting off, you're ambitious and game for pretty much anything. They say, 'Jump,' and you say, 'How high?' 

'I appreciated that this isn't really for wow or a scintillating factor of going, 'Hey, look at that. Naked people.' The point of it was is that when Damon's character says what he says about David, he just reveals who he is.  His anti-Semitism and his prejudice is stripped down naked, and it's ugly.'

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I have always thought Randall Batinkoff is one of the best looking, talented actor who never got the credit for his talent he so richly deserved. Hopefully there is a great part for him in the future. Randall turns 40 today.