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1982 - 98m.

A few years before "Charles in Charge" is when the Willie Aames/Scott Baio relationship began. These two were one of the better buddy teams of the 80's and whenever they appeared on-screen together, it always felt like they had been best friends for years in real life. When you add this chemistry to an R-rated 80's high school sex comedy featuring the gorgeous Heather Thomas, you have one of the better teen comedies of the era. I thought that all these years later, the duo's antics may no longer be entertaining but the comedy still works for me and rediscovering the movie revealed a few bizarre dream sequences and nods to other movies that I would never have caught in my early teens. Back then, all I cared about was the possibility of seeing my first crush naked.

Baio stars as Barney Springboro, a high school science nerd who inadvertently develops a formula that gives him telekinetic powers. This leads to all sorts of hijinks including moving things around, changing the outcome of a baseball game, and most importantly, causing females to lose their tops. Barney has a lot of fun with his new power and, along with his best friend Peyton (Aames) and his new love interest Bernadette (Felice Schachter), they experiment with Barney's powers and prepare for the senior prom. Eventually, things become a little tense between the three when Peyton tries to exploit Barney by using the powers to make money and Bernadette disapproves. Eventually, everything comes to a climax at the prom where a clear homage to Carrie has Barney causing a scene not of carnage but of bare flesh as he unleashes his shirt-popping power to its full potential.

As you can imagine, this was one of my favorite movies as a young man. Seeing Heather Thomas' top pop-off was almost as much of a highlight as Phoebe Cates' pool scene in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Sadly, a close look at the credits reveals that a body double was used but I can still pretend that it was the real thing. I looked up Thomas as I was researching this review and she still looks fabulous at 50. The key to the success of this movie is the manner in which Baio and Aames complement each other so naturally. Without this relationship, I don't think the movie would have been half as good as the two of them riff off each other like a teen comedy Butch and Sundance. Don't get me wrong, this is not a cinematic masterpiece or acting tour de force but its heart is in the right place and it makes for some light and innocent entertainment that fans of 80's cinema should enjoy.

There are two dream sequences in this movie that seem completely out of place. The first is when Barney first gets his power. For some reason, the movie jumps into a parody of "Star Trek" as a toy spaceship floats around in Barney's room and investigates the family dog. Weird. The second is when baseball coach Scatman Crothers (The Shining) gets extremely stoned thanks to a large amount of weed being put in the high school's incinerator. This leads to a sequence where Scatman goes bike-riding with Albert Einstein and is pursued by his salami-wielding wife who gives chase on a chariot. I am not sure where these came from but they were certainly strange additions that had no relevance whatsoever to the plot. Some other highlights include a burping dog, a puke scene featuring vomit travelling across a room, a character telling another character he would "break his face", a scene at Magic Mountain, Aames' seduction of Thomas, and my amazement as to how many high school students has moustaches back in those days. There are also some references to Taxi Driver and The Exorcist.

The careers of both Baio and Aames took major dives after "Charles in Charge". Baio has recently had a bit of a resurgence with a reality series and Aames created and produced a kids TV series called "Bibleman" about a superhero who protects the world from the Devil. He cannot, however, protect the viewer from terrible acting and effects. Felice Schachter had enjoyed some time on "The Facts of Life" but her career never went anywhere. A shame as she was a decent actress. You can also look for apprearaces from Irwin Keyes (House of 1,000 Corpses) as a baseball player, super-nerd Eddie Deezen at the frat-house roulette game, and a brief uncredited appearance from Jewel Shepard as one of the girls who loses her top after the ball game. A sequel, Zapped Again!, followed in 1990 with a different cast and production team. (Josh Pasnak, 1/6/10)

Directed By: Robert J. Rosenthal.
Written By: Bruce Rubin, Robert J. Rosenthal.

Starring: Scott Baio, Willie Aames, Felice Schachter, Heather Thomas.