High School U.S.A.
High School U.S.A. is a 1983 American made-for-television comedy film starring Michael J. Fox, Nancy McKeon, Anthony Edwards, and Crispin Glover, directed by Rod Amateau. The film originally aired on NBC on October 16, 1983.
| High School U.S.A. | |
|---|---|
 DVD Cover | |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Written by | Alan Eisenstock Larry Mintz |
| Directed by | Rod Amateau |
| Starring | Michael J. Fox Crispin Glover Nancy McKeon Todd Bridges Dana Plato Angela Cartwright Anthony Edwards Bob Denver Tony Dow Crystal Bernard Dwayne Hickman Lauri Hendler |
| Theme music composer | Tony Berg Miles Goodman |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Leonard Hill Philip Mandelker |
| Producers | Alan Eisenstock Larry Mintz Robin S. Clark (co-producer) Richard Freiman (associate producer) Wolfgang Glattes (co-producer) Dori Weiss (supervising producer) |
| Production locations | Covina, California Excelsior High School – 15711 Pioneer Boulevard, Norwalk, California, USA |
| Cinematography | Jack Whitman (director of photography) Hal Trussell (uncredited) |
| Editor | John Cortland |
| Running time | 96 minutes |
| Production company | Hill-Mandelker Films |
| Distributor | NBC |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Picture format | Color |
| Audio format | Mono |
| Original release | October 16, 1983 |
Several of the main actors appeared in sitcoms that were popular at that time. These include Todd Bridges and Dana Plato from Diff'rent Strokes, Nancy McKeon from The Facts of Life, and Michael J. Fox from Family Ties, as well as a number of former 1950s and 1960s sitcom stars including Tony Dow, Frank Bank, and Ken Osmond from Leave It to Beaver.[1][2][3][4]
Plot
The film focuses on the intrigue inside Excelsior Union High School. Michael J. Fox plays J.J. Manners, who becomes enamored with Beth Franklin (Nancy McKeon), the girlfriend of Beau Middleton (Edwards), who someone manages to be the class president despite alienating most of the school, he is also the quarterback. Middleton is also the richest student, a spoiled young man who drives around in a brand-new Porsche convertible.
The core story involves Manners and Middleton competing for the affections of Beth. Ultimately this rivalry culminates in a drag race between the two. The result of the race tips the balance and changes the face of the dynamics within the school irrevocably. In the end, J.J. ends up winning Beth's affections.
Other storylines include Todd Bridges as a genius who has created a robot that he believes to be capable of going into space (the robot also humiliates Beau Middleton at the end of the film by pulling down his trousers before the entire student body). Crispin Glover plays Archie Feld, a socially-impaired boy who stands out as nervous about interacting with the opposite sex, all while surrounded by friends who all struggle with the intricacies of cross-gender relationships. Also, Beau Middleton's father has created an incentive for the teachers by offering a sizable reward for the best teacher. Subsequently, the teachers focus extra effort on impressing Beau with their worthiness of the reward.
Cast
- Michael J. Fox – Jay-Jay Manners
- Nancy McKeon – Beth Franklin
- Crispin Glover – Archie Feld
- Frank Bank – Mr. Gerardi
- Crystal Bernard – Anne-Marie Conklin
- Todd Bridges – Otto Lipton
- Dana Plato – Cara Ames
- Jon Caliri – Jerry
- Angela Cartwright – Miss D'Angelo
- Kelly Ann Conn – Swoozie
- Bob Denver – Milton Feld
- Elinor Donahue – Mrs. Franklin
- Tony Dow – Principal Pete Kinney
- Anthony Edwards – Beau Middleton
- Steve Franken – Dr. Fritz Hauptmann
- Jonathan Gries – Dirty Curt
- Dwayne Hickman – Mr. Plaza
- Lauri Hendler – Nadine
- Barry Livingston – Mr. Sirota
- Jerry Maren – Robot
- David Nelson – Mr. Krinsky, janitor
- Ken Osmond – Baxter Franklin
- David Packer – Danny
- Cathy Silvers – Peggy
- Tom Villard – Crazy Leo Bandini
- Kaley Ward – Chris
- Dawn Wells – Miss Lorilee Lee
- Michael Zorek – Chuckie Dipple
Production
Casting
According to stand-up comedian and future Mystery Science Theater 3000 star Joel Hodgson, he was asked to be one of the stars of the proposed series. Hodgson turned the offer down after telling the network he didn't think the material was good. The network raised their offer, thinking it was a bargaining ploy. Because of this, Hodgson felt Hollywood was shallow and quit the industry until 1987,[5] when he created MST3K.
Shooting
Fox met McKeon on set and the two of them dated for a while, as well as starring in another TV movie Poison Ivy.[6]
Pilot
A one-hour pilot was created due to the success of the original movie, but no longer featuring the star teen actors. It was not picked up by the network, and was aired on May 26, 1984 (the Saturday evening of Memorial Day weekend).[7][8]
References
- Jerry Buck (October 16, 1983). "Stars of Yesterday Team With Those of Today". The Spokesman-Review (Associated Press). Retrieved February 15, 2010.
- Jay Bobbin (October 16, 1983). "Michael Fox Enrolls in High School U.S.A." Spartanburg Herald-Journal. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
- Scott, Vernon (9 July 1983). Hickman Back in Television, Albany Herald (UPI copy)
- Media Notes Human Events; Washington, D.C. Vol. 43, Iss. 32, (Aug 6, 1983): 12.
- Kaplan, Steven (August 6, 1989). "Sunday Magazine". Star Tribune. pp. 4–6.
- STAR: Michael J. Fox—sane in the fast lane Manna, Sal. Los Angeles Times 4 Aug 1985: ad3.
- Terrace, Vincent (1985). Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials, Volume 2. New York Zoetrope. p. 193.
- Sherwood, Rick (26 May 1984). TV Weekend, Spokane Chronicle