Wednesday, November 23, 2005



High School USA

Possibly my favorite thing about the DVD's success as the premiere video format is the fact that practically any movie, TV series or public-access cartoon is getting the reissue treatment. Dig into those Target dollar bins and it's as close to archaeology as most of us'll get, hands weaving through forgotten Bill Murray flicks, Golden-era "classics" and, if we're lucky, a factory-sealed Dunston Checks In or two. It's within those very bins that High School USA can be found, a failed NBC sitcom pilot in the form of a made-for-TV movie. It also serves as a veritable "who's who" of 80's teen stars, the perfect venue to further acclimate impressionable young viewers to all of the network's coolest kids. Just check the lineup: Michael J. Fox (although oddly and humorously credited as "Michael Fox"), Nancy McKeon (star of "The Facts of Life", The Facts of Life Down Under and The Facts of Life Goes to Paris), both Todd Bridges and Dana Plato (as lovable nerd and sassy Southern belle), Anthony Edwards (just as handsome in "ER" a decade later), Jon Caliri (from "Square Pegs") and Crispin Glover as, imagine this, an uncomfortably-weird nerd. There are even roles for Bob Denver (the much beloved "Gilligan") and Dwayne Hickman (TV's "Dobie Gillis"), helping the adults of High School USA to out-weird the teens. And if you're having cameo-overload, I won't even mention that Napoleon Dynamite's Uncle Rico makes a strange, brief appearance as a character named "Dirty Curt".

High School USA certainly could've been as generic as the title implies, but with 20/20 hindsight, a touch of whimsy, an appreciation for the absurd and a nostalgia for a time and place not experienced (but often dreamt), this virtually-forgotten film delivers a surprisingly high level of satisfaction. I'll take you through the plot: Rambunctious troublemaker Jay-Jay Manners (Michael J. Fox) falls for the down-to-earth and (debatably) beautiful Beth Franklin (Nancy McKeon), who just so happens to be dating the coolest snob in the county, a collar-flipped Beau Middleton (Anthony Edwards). Jay-Jay, leader of the nerdy and downtrodden, rallies his troops and wins a bucolic drag-race against Beau, effectively ending Beau's reign of authority over the high school masses. Although endearing in its predictability, the storyline here isn't going to win any awards. However, it's the perfect template to allow a variety of unique, ridiculous and memorable scenes to shine through, found mostly in the outrageous script, exaggerated physicality and general nonsense that pervades the movie. There's the scene where Otto Lipton (Todd Bridges) and Jay-Jay watch as Otto's robot takes a hot shower, the short metal-shop segment where one student rides his bike into a garage door for no particular reason, or practically anytime Archie Feld (Crispin Glover) dribbles out some nonsense in his stoner-drawl. Unintentionally layered, it's a film that begs for multiple viewings.

And like any good high school movie, someone takes a beautifully-iced cake in the face, this one received in superior style (face, arms and chest all inclusive) by Beau. After watching the fight scene in slow-motion multiple times, a logical path from A to B to pie-face remains to be seen. But that's alright, not a whole lot of what goes on in high school makes sense anyway. Just check these stills from that sticky scene, laugh at Beau's delicious comeupance, and start digging those bins before further gems remain undiscovered.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

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2:24 PM  

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