Only now does it occur to me... BACK TO THE FUTURE PART III (1990)

Only now does it occur to me... that Robert Zemeckis, in his infinite wisdom, decided to include an oddly specific homage to the comedy BLIND DATE (1987) in his BACK TO THE FUTURE PART III (1990).  Since the average movie viewer today is more likely to have seen the concluding chapter of the BACK TO THE FUTURE trilogy than Blake Edwards' BLIND DATE, a film best described "as if Scorsese's AFTER HOURS slipped on a banana peel while Bruce Willis played a slide whistle," allow me to explain.

Early on in BACK TO THE FUTURE III, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), having traveled to 1885, is attempting to blend in at the local saloon

when Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson) comes to harass him in a Biff-inspired scene which should seem quite familiar to fans of the series.

 After giving his name as "Clint Eastwood," Marty innocently refers to Buford as "Mad Dog," which induces his fury.

Commanding him to dance, Buford shoots at Marty's feet... and Marty proceeds to do the "moonwalk."







He then shouts "Whooo!" in the manner of Michael Jackson and kicks a full spittoon onto Mad Dog.


This leads to a chase sequence. End scene.


In BLIND DATE, Bruce Willis' character has been set up on the titular blind date with Kim Basinger,

which triggers a series of unlucky and harrowing events (he's fired from his job, has his car destroyed, and begins suffering a full psychotic break, for instance). Basinger is also being stalked by her ex, John Larroquette, who carelessly menaces and nearly kills Willis with his car. Later on, a worse-for-wear Willis encounters his new nemesis Larroquette and begins brawling with him.


 When Willis lays his hands on a mugger's gun,

he holds Larroquette at gunpoint and insists that he dance.

 When the dance is not to Willis' liking, he insists he moonwalk.


Larroquette proceeds to moonwalk. However, it was a insincere request, as Willis soon announces, "I hate that shit!" and begins firing at his feet.

Shortly thereafter, Willis is arrested, leading to the iconic "BLIND DATE mugshot" sequence.

And end scene.

Okay. So. There's little doubt that these scenes of comedic violence are interconnected, and the connection is so specific that I have to imagine Zemeckis intended for his scene to be an homage to BLIND DATE. Or, perhaps, he saw BLIND DATE, and though he tried to forget it––a feat many BLIND DATE viewers have attempted––he felt some ineffable connection between the moonwalk and being held at gunpoint and inserted it into his film via sheer BLIND DATE-osmosis. I wonder if this is something they discussed when Zemeckis directed Bruce Willis in DEATH BECOMES HER. Or if this led to the John Larroquette cameo in the Zemeckis-produced TALES FROM THE CRYPT: DEMON KNIGHT.

Also, if we want to get really "out there," note that the poster/cover art for BLIND DATE bears an eerie similarity to 1988's ACTION JACKSON––a film that co-starred Thomas F. Wilson, a.k.a. "Biff/Buford Tannen" from the BACK TO THE FUTURE trilogy.

Only one thing seems clear: truly, all roads lead back to BLIND DATE, whether we like it or not.

Television Review: HIGH SCHOOL U.S.A. (1983, Rod Amateau)

Stars: 3.4 of 5.
Running Time: 100 minutes.
Tag-line: "The wrong boy just met the right girl at...HIGH SCHOOL U.S.A."
Notable Cast or Crew: Michael J. Fox, Crispin Glover, Anthony Edwards, Bob Denver, Dana Plato, Todd Bridges, Dwayne Hickman, Jon Gries (TERRORVISION, JOYSTICKS, Roger Linus on LOST). Directed by Rod Amateau (THE GARBAGE PAIL KIDS MOVIE).
Best one-liner: "Nice going, Chuckie. Now who's the bigger lame-o? You or me?"

Cornball, made-for-TV teen shenanigans cut from the same cloth as, say, MIDNIGHT MADNESS or MY BEST FRIEND IS A VAMPIRE. Helmed by Rod Amateau and packed to the gills with washed-up and up-and-coming TV actors alike, HIGH SCHOOL USA is full of gentle slapstick, eyebrow-curling tomfoolery, and a sprinkling of ingredients that'll make you go 'WHUTTT?!'

I must also mention that the director, Rod Amateau is responsible for one of my favorite movies- THE GARBAGE PAIL KIDS MOVIE, so I kept a sharp eye out for any similarities. The only one I could find was a character who bears some resemblance to the Garbage Pail Kid, "Windy Winston."


Note similarity.

Originally pitched as a TV pilot, we're entreated to a tumultuous battle between nerds and preps (I love that there are no jocks in this universe). Representing the Nerds are a scrappy Michael J. Fox;

a gawky Crispin Glover (pre-BACK TO THE FUTURE but already acting like a primo whack job and stealing the damn show);

DIFF'RENT STROKES' Todd Bridges (and his zany homemade robot!);


I can't remember if the train conductor's hat is explained or not.

and the stock 'flunked senior year twelve times and has a couple kids' guy

(played by Jon Gries), among others.

The Preps are basically defined by a douchey Anthony Edwards (REVENGE OF THE NERDS, MIRACLE MILE), who rules the school to such an extent, he's apparently in charge of distributing grant money to teachers (!).

Note the popped collar and car phone.

There's frequent use of classic 80's insults like "meatball," "turkey," and "lame-o"; the line "I'm never taking my clothes off again for anyone, not even my husband, unless he's Burt Reynolds"; and some good old-fashioned blind-sploitation (combined with Nazi-sploitation!). We also adhere to one of the ground rules of 80's cinema: if a massive, special-order cake in the shape of a building ever appears, someone will soon be hurled into it.


"You ruined my cake, my suit, and this party!"

There's roller derbies, popped collars, teased hair, and, yes, it all ends on a freeze frame. Probably my favorite politically incorrect moment occurs when Crispin's dad's beloved car is destroyed in a preppy prank and the situation is ameliorated by getting dad (a sleazy Bob Denver!) blackout sloshed and staging a drunk-driving accident! WHUTTT?!

This would never fly today. And when did Bob Denver start looking like David Warner?

In all, I am not ashamed to admit that I thought this was pretty schweet. A little over three stars.

-Sean Gill

Junta Juleil's Summer '10 Movie Series
1. HELL IN THE PACIFIC (1968, John Boorman)
2. KUFFS (1992, Bruce A. Evans)
3. THE OUTFIT (1973, John Flynn)

4. FOR Y'UR HEIGHT ONLY (1981, Eddie Nicart)

5. A*P*E (1976, Paul Leder)

6. BLIND FURY (1989, Philip Noyce)
7. HIS KIND OF WOMAN (1951, John Farrow)
8. HIGH SCHOOL U.S.A. (1983, Rod Amateau)
9. ...

Film Review: CLASS OF 1984 (1982, Mark L. Lester)

Stars: 4 of 5.
Running Time: 98 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Roddy McDowall, Perry King, Michael J. Fox, writer Tom Holland (who wrote CLOAK AND DAGGER, and wrote and directed CHILD'S PLAY and FRIGHT NIGHT).
Tag-lines: "We are the future!... and nothing can stop us."
Best one-liner: " Come and get it, teacher teacher!"

How would you like it if you were just sitting there on your couch, minding your own business, watching GOODBYE MR. CHIPS, and then BAM!, Robert Donat crawls out of the TV and punches you in the mouth! If that sounds like a swell evening to you, then you are gonna get a big kick out of CLASS OF 1984. Proudly following in the tradition of high school-sploitation from HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL to MASSACRE AT CENTRAL HIGH, it delivers B-movie thrills, ridiculous punk fashions, drug trips, violent deaths, and an inspirational concert worthy of MR. HOLLAND'S OPUS......IN HELL!!!

It's pretty inconceivable that this brutal, gritty exclamation point of a movie came from the director of the white-bred, boring ROLLER BOOGIE. This isn't about kids at school- it's about Neo-Nazi punks in a graffiti-laden concrete husk! There aren't clashes between teachers and students– in this movie, it's outright WAR!

Roddy McDowall packs heat and holds biology class at gunpoint!

Student vs. teacher above an industrial arts table saw! Michael J. Fox gets shivved!

The deck hasn't been this stacked this high against a movie’s villains since DIRTY HARRY. The punk kids here are murderers, rapists, pimps, thieves, junkies and basically anything and everything you can imagine.

A typical after-school scene: a girl walks into their hang-out wanting to join up with them. They make her strip, inspect her, have sex with her, and then another gal speaks up- "She'll hook for us." WHAAAAAAT?!

But there's depth, too. Teachers feeling the ultimate, boiling frustration of being unable to teach, make good, or even make an impact. Roddy (who gets extra points for doing much of his own stunt driving) delivers some heartbreaking monologues that actually hit home. Ultimately, I imagine this offers a great deal of catharsis to teachers who secretly wish they could perpetrate some serious violence on the hooligans in their midst! Four stars.

-Sean Gill