Five of the most awesome band cameos in movies

OINGO BOINGO – in Back to School (1986)

Thornton Melon is throwing a party. And Thornton has enough money to make it a bash. Melon, played by the inimitable Rodney Dangerfield, has enrolled in college to keep his eye on his disillusioned son Jason (Keith Gordon), and to prove to himself that he is worthy of a genuine education. There will be plenty of hijinks along the way.

Some of them come during that party, which according to one drunken undergrad, results in “the best thing that has ever happened to me in my whole life.” For entertainment, Melon gets a cool new wavy band to play. A big neon sign behind them identifies them as Oingo Boingo. They provide the pulse of the party scene with a tight version of “Dead Man’s Party.”  

Frontman Danny Elfman, who would go on to a career as one of the preeminent film composers of the 21st century, sings happily even as wasted nerd Robert Downey, Jr. (yes – Iron Man), fools with the soundboard and creates window-shattering feedback. Fortunately, Elfman is better able to roll with the waves than Jeff Beck. “Everybody’s coming, leave your body at the door – Leave your body and soul at the door.”

To date, Elfman has been nominated for an Oscar four times but has yet to win. He was however awarded with a lifetime achievement award from the Society of Composers & Lyricists in 2022. Back to School was his second major studio film score. (He had done a score for an independent film directed by his brother in 1982.) Interestingly, his first major score was for Tim Burton’s Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, in which Dee Snider and Twisted Sister make a pretty funny cameo.