| Director | Todd Phillips |
|---|---|
| Budget | $24 million |
| Box office | $87.1 million |
Returning home early from a business trip, real estate attorney Mitch Martin walks in on his girlfriend Heidi hosting an orgy and breaks up with her. At his friend Frank's wedding, Mitch makes an awkward impression on his high school crush, Nicole, and soon moves into a house near Harrison University campus in Upstate New York.
Mitch's friend Bernard throws a hugely successful housewarming party dubbed Mitch-a-Palooza. A drunken Frank is seen streaking by his wife Marissa and her friends, straining their new marriage, while Mitch wakes up in bed with Darcie, a teenage girl he later learns is his boss's daughter and a high school senior. Kicked out by Marissa after a disastrous couple's therapy session, Frank moves in with Mitch.
The friends are visited by an acquaintance and former college classmate they used to ridicule: Gordon Pritchard, now the college dean, who has had the house rezoned exclusively for campus housing. Exploiting a university loophole, Bernard turns the house into a fraternity open to anyone, and the friends carry out hazing events throughout campus, much to Pritchard's displeasure.
Mitch walks in on Nicole's boyfriend, Mark, kissing a woman at a birthday party for one of Bernard's children. Elderly World War II-veteran fraternity brother Blue dies of a heart attack during a "KY lube wrestling" match with two college girls at his birthday celebration, and at the funeral, Marissa asks Frank for a divorce.
Pritchard bribes student council president Megan Huang, promising to get her into Columbia Law School in exchange for revoking the fraternity's charter. Nicole confronts Mitch after Mark lies that he caught Mitch with the woman at the party instead, and a chance run-in with Darcie complicates Mitch's attempt to explain. Pritchard has the fraternity evicted, placing the students in the now unsanctioned fraternity at risk of expulsion.
Mitch determines they can bypass Pritchard's ruling if all members complete various assessments to prove their legitimacy. Frank defeats James Carville in a debate session, and the fraternity cheats their way through an exam with the help of Mitch's co-workers. In the school spirit evaluation, the fraternity loses points when Frank, dressed as the school mascot, unsuccessfully jumps through a ring of fire.
Megan confronts Pritchard for reneging their deal, and the fraternity faces their final athletics challenge. A badly burned Frank gives an intense rhythmic gymnastics performance, Bernard manages to complete the rings routine, and Weensie, an obese member chosen by Pritchard, executes a perfect vault landing. The fraternity triumphs, but Pritchard gives them a failing score by accounting for the absence of the late Blue. Megan provides a tape recording of Pritchard admitting to bribery, and after a chase across campus, Frank recovers the tape.
Pritchard is arrested and fired, and the fraternity's charter is reinstated. They move into Pritchard's former residence. Nicole visits Mitch as he leaves the old fraternity house, revealing that she dumped Mark after catching him cheating. They reconcile, Mitch and Bernard returning to their everyday lives while Frank assumes fraternity leadership.
In a mid-credits scene, Mark drives off a bridge and lands on a fly-fishing Pritchard as the car explodes. Blue, who is in Heaven, plays "Dust in the Wind" on the piano. Frank meets Heidi, who invites him to a "get-together," and he enthusiastically accepts.