High School U.S.A. (1983 TV Movie) User Reviews

Pleasant piece of nostalgia

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 5 May 2019]

Some current TV and big screen stars team up with some of the TV stars of my formative years in adult roles for supporting roles to make High School USA a real nostalgia fest. At the time this was made Michael J. Fox and Nancy McKeon were starring on TV in Family Ties and The Facts Of Life respectively. They play in this a screw up and the girl of his dreams. The only problem is McKeon is going out with rich super preppie Anthony Edwards.

After a while you stop getting surprised at all those familiar faces as they turn up. But one I really liked was Steven Franken playing the Teutonic blind teacher who has a sixth and maybe seventh sense and one nasty dog.

Edwards is someone you love to hate. He's got the world by those short hairs below decks and cocky as all hell. In the end though he gets too cocky and doesn't rely on the ingenuity of Fox and his science wizard friend Todd Bridges.

One you'll most remember is Crispin Glover who is rehearsing his George McFly character from Back In The Future. He steals all scenes he is in as the original klutz.

High School USA is pleasant viewing and great nostalgia.

For the kids!

[BandSAboutMovies · 5/10 · 3 October 2018]

Once upon a time, when network TV actually mattered, they'd gather all of their stars once a summer and put them in a TV movie. Or they'd grab the cast of Facts of Life and send them to France. It was a big deal to me when I was a kid. And there are kids growing up today that will have no idea how exciting it was knowing a 2 hour TV movie with all of your favorites was about to air. Even better - when stars of the past crossed over with the hottest stars of the present, I was always hooked.



Originally airing on October 16, 1983 on NBC, this film is all about Excelsior Union High School, where Beau Middleton (Anthony Edwards) rules over everyone as class president and quarterback. His father is even offering a $10,000 prize for best teacher, so every single one of them is trying to outdo one another.

J.J. Mathers (Michael J. Fox), however, is one of the few students to stand up to the preps. He's never cared about anything before. That is, until he met Beau's girlfriend, Beth Franklin (one of my first crushes, Nancy McKeon).

This one is packed with so many great stars. There's a super young Crispin Glover two years before Back to the Future, playing a geek. Tony "Wally Cleaver" Dow, Frank "Lumpy Rutherford" Bank and Ken "Eddie Haskell" Osmond from Leave It to Beaver are in this, as are Elinor Donahue from Father Knows Best, Dwayne Hickman, Steve Franken and Bob Denver from The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Todd Bridges and Dana Plato from Diff'rent Strokes, Crystal Bernard (years before she'd be on Wings and in Slumber Party Massacre 2), Angela Cartwright from Lost in Space and The Danny Thomas Show, Jon Gries (who wasn't just King Vidiot in Joysticks, but also Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite, Lazlo in Real Genius, O.D. in TerrorVision and the Werewolf in Monster Squad), Lauri Hendler from Gimme a Break, Barry "Ernie" Livingston from My Three Sons, the last surviving Munchkin (until May 24, 2018) Jerry Maren, David Nelson from Ozzie and Harriet, Cathy Silvers of Happy Days, Tom Villard (you know how much I love to get a Popcorn reference in) and Dawn Wells from Gilligan's Island (but also from The Town that Dreaded Sundown). If you like spotting actors and wondering where you know them from, this is the movie for you.

It was directed by Rod Amateau, who has plenty of TV directing and production credits for shows like Dukes of Hazzard, Supertrain, the Dukes' spin-off Enos, My Mother the Car, a failed TV series pilot for the Kenny Rogers vehicle Six Pack that didn't star Kenny Rogers and The Garbage Pail Kids movie. Mr. Amateau even did stunts in Rebel Without a Cause and Mighty Joe Young.

This was so successful that a one-hour pilot for a regular series was made and aired on May 26, 1984. According to Mystery Science Theater 3000 creator Joel Hodgson, he was going to be one of the stars of the series but turned down the offer as the material wasn't very good. The network thought he was just playing hardball and upped their offer. This is when he realized how shallow Hollywood is and left town.

It's kind of funny to see Anthony Edwards be the rich villain when he's so well known for being on the other side in Revenge of the Nerds. It's not the greatest movie you've ever seen, but if you're looking for something to make you happy at 2 AM on a drunken Saturday night, it's there on YouTube just waiting to be watched.

A wonderful high school comedy...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 25 March 2021]

I have seen this movie way back in my youth, sometime during the 1980s. I remember the movie's title, but I couldn't remember the actual contents of the movie. And I certainly didn't remember Michael J. Fox was in the movie. So as I stumbled upon the movie here in 2021, of course I jumped at the chance to revisit this 1983 movie.

It should be said that writers Alan Eisenstock and Larry Mintz definitely delivered a movie script that embodied everything about these types of high school comedies that were aimed at the younger audience with "High School U.S.A.", for better or worse. But as it turned out, I must admit that I definitely enjoyed this movie in its entire length.

The storyline is pretty straight forward, where I will actually lean towards going for a stereotypical storyline for a movie such as this. But it hardly mattered, because the story was good, enjoyable and was filled with good characters, and had an abundance of familiar faces on the cast list.

Now, if you grew up watching movies during the 1980s, then you are in for quite a treat here with "High School U.S.A." in terms of the cast assembly. They had so many good talents and familiar faces in this movie. It would be futile to mention them all, but trust me, the movie is crammed with them.

This movie is a very enjoyable one and it is a light-hearted one, so it makes for some very easy viewing. And that makes "High School U.S.A." a movie that everyone can sit down to watch.

I am rating "High School U.S.A." a six out of ten stars. This movie is definitely worth taking the time to watch.

Nice bit o' nostalgia.

[sucker_for_readers · 7 November 2003]

My friend had gotten this dvd as a "present" from her aunt and she made me watch it. While it was funny enough seeing Anthony Edwards as a popular prom king type and Micheal J. Fox was great, there was one teeny tiny presence that makes this movie memorable, a young geeky over-all wearing Crispin Glover. What makes it even better is that I had no idea he was in it. My sister and I were watching and when he popped into the scene I involuntarily leaned forward and was like, "Crispin? Woohoo!!" Oh anyways, the movie is not the most original thing but it was entertaining, the part where they wreck Archie's dad's car and make his dad think he did it was surprisingly very humorous. Plus, even if you don't mean to, you'll be finding yourself quoting this movie. Hope you enjoy it as much as me.

Disappointing Waste of Some Talented Actors

[babygreens · 2/10 · 30 July 2017]

"High School USA" could have been a really good flick given the array of stars and up and coming talent, but that was not the case. Instead, it has a flawed script, awful direction, and a lame plot. This could have been a real classic but it ended up being a waste of time. Sad snap shot of the 80s!

worth seeing for Crispin Glover & Michael Zorek

[zep-3 · 7/10 · 16 June 2000]

update 12/2/2002: OK just watched High School USA again for the first time since my review 12 years ago. It's still not a great film,but it is fun and i'll give it a break since its a TV movie. It's actually neat to see so many 80's TV actors in one place (and no less than 4 from Leave it to Beaver!). Not much of a story: rich,preppy A-hole (Edwards) has sweet,cute girlfriend (McKeon) that nice,funny normal guy (Fox) likes. Fox and Edwards make a bet on a car race that will somehow determine who is the coolest guy in school and most likely win over sweet girl McKeon. whatever. Crispin Glover actually has more screen time than anyone but Michael J Fox. Crispin & Michael Zorek provide most of the comedy as Fox's loser friends. I'll raise my movie review to a 6 and add another point for Glover/Zorek to make my final grade a 7.

Zep

Not sure what the heck high school the makers of this film went to.

[Aaron1375 · 2/10 · 28 November 2020]

This film totally bites! Not sure what high school the makers went to, but it was not your typical one. I hated high school myself, I was totally ostracized; however, there was no rich kid running the show and I found the Michael J. Fox types aplenty and found them insufferable. I also thought Nancy McKeon was completely unattractive and was on team Blair all the way! Seriously, this film is about unlikable people being unlikable and just plain stupid at times as everyone tries to one up everyone!

The story, well it's high school high and there are lots of 'stars' so we get a movie with lots of subplots. Of course, it boils down to Michael J. Fox being in love with Nancy and she dating the complete a-hole who is somehow class president despite alienating most of the school. We have teacher subplots too, but they come and go with the exception of the suck up teacher and the girl he is ashamed of for reasons I cannot quite fathom and with whom everyone already knows he is with. Everything comes to a head though as the annoying hero challenges the annoying villain to a race where unfortunately, they don't both die in a fiery crash!

The film features the rich kid who runs the school, but it is insane to the degree he does run it as he literally charges 100 dollars a pop for the school dance to keep out the lesser fortunate. Um, pretty sure you cannot do that no matter how wealthy you are. Also, why isn't this guy in a private school? Then there is the part where they put meat in Michael's backpack and a dog chases Michael and then everyone blames Michael. Why would someone want a German Shepard attacking them? And Crystal Bernard was great in the show Wings, but she was super annoying in this thing! I also wonder why Dana Plato and a few others made the opening credits but not Crispin Glover who was in this way more than most of the people in the opening credits?

So this film was not something I liked as I kept becoming enraged by the antics on display. The idea that someone could run a school so completely and quite frankly, I would rather see a fight than a race to settle things. Of course, this film did have dancing robot!

Lame and tame teen high school comedy

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 14 April 2018]

HIGH SCHOOL U.S.A. is a lame and tame high school-set teen comedy of the early 1980s, chiefly of interest today for featuring Michael J. Fox before he became famous. This was a TV movie which explains the lack of contentious material - when most films of this genre were full to the brim of sex and skin, this one seems to have been made with kids in mind. Certainly the plotting is of a childish nature, completely obvious, a rivalry between the geeky unpopular heroes and the impossibly cool and slimy bad guys. Fox is endearing to a degree and does his best, and there are some other turns for the likes of Crispin Glover and Anthony Edwards, but generally this one's a bore, and that closing car race is as dull as it gets.

Nothing new here

[gcd70 · 2/10 · 1 March 2010]

Very silly high school/teen flick about geeks trying to prove themselves better than the rich brats. Sound familiar? This television movie from director Rod Amateau ("Uncommon Valour" and some "Dukes of Hazaard" episodes believe it or not) says nothing, does nothing, and surely will entertain very few.

Notable for its "who's who" of television cast, including Michael J. Fox, Bob Denver ("Gilligan"), and Todd Bridges ("Different Strokes"). This lame effort barely limps over the line. Also stars Anthony Edwards ("E.R.").

Saturday, September 5, 1998 - Video

An 80's classic and an absolute MUST for Crispin Glover fans!

[MisterWhispy · 9/10 · 21 October 2008]

Contrary to some of the other comments, Crispin Glover actually does have a big role here, so much so that he should have been listed 2nd or 3rd in the credits. And yes, he does steal the show. Also the chemistry he has with Fox is excellent, and makes for a great double feature with Back To The Future. It is a shame the two didn't make more films together.

Anyways, this is one of the best films of the 80's, TV or otherwise. And its one of the best high-school oriented films as well. The cast is perfect and the story is cute and funny. Also expect some major star-gazing from a who's-who of vintage TV, along with many now-famous movie stars. And above all, for those who lived through this era, it will be a slice of nostalgia heaven.

So give this neglected classic some love! Pronto!

Horrible and un funny

[Eddie_weinbauer · 1/10 · 11 September 2017]

I was flipping through fast rewind,and came across a couple of 80s movies I hadn't seen. Among them was High school USA with Michael J fox, And crispin clower. I was wondering how this had slipped under the radar back then,when we usually went head over heals for high school comedy.

Turn out the reason for it was, it was the most unfunny thing I ever had seen. I don't think I laughed once.The acting was sub par even from Fox. Crispin is his usual strange self,which he is in all his movies.

The plot that wimpy Michael J fox should try to steal the girlfriend of the coolest dude in school isn't believable. There's not any edge to him. A lot of the story lines just doesn't really go anywhere either,Which don't really help the film

Crispin Glover steals the show

[doran6767 · 14 February 2001]

High School USA is one of those sunday afternoon feel good type comedies. It is packed full of familiar faces which make the characters all the more endeering. This film has to be among my personal favorites almost solely on the merits of a classic comedic performance from Crispin Glover. His portrayal of nerdy misfit "Archie Feld" remains for me one of the most unforgetable and entertaining characters I've seen on screen. For those of you who didn't get enough of (Michael J.)Fox and Glover in "Back to the Future" you'll find more gut busting antics from the Duo here. High School USA is a hidden gem in American "High School" genre films and you will certainly enjoy this warm "hero wins the girl" adventure.

A good Film in it's Day.

[lukecronin-82005 · 2/10 · 25 April 2021]

High School U. S. A, was a good film when it was released way back in 1983. But 38 years later it hasn't aged too well. A comment you could make on a lot of golden oldies.

It had a good cast for what's a TV movie. That's about the only good thing I can say about it, really struggled to watch it.

An Average High School Comedy

[Uriah43 · 5/10 · 22 July 2022]

This movie essentially revolves around a rather unambitious high school senior named "J. J. Manners" (Michael J. Fox) who has recently become attracted to another student named "Beth Franklin" (Nancy McKeon). The problem is that Beth is currently dating the most popular boy in the school by the name of "Beau Middleton" (Anthony Edwards). To that effect, not only is Beau the most popular guy in high school, but he is also the richest one there along with being the high school quarterback. Throw in the fact that Beau is quite aware of J. J.'s attraction to Beth and the situation becomes that much more difficult for J. J. as well. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that, even though there were a number of well-known actors involved in this film, I don't believe their talents were utilized as well as they could have been. For example, I liked the fact that both Bob Denver (as "Milton Feld") and Dawn Wells ("Miss Lorilee Lee") appeared in this movie. Yet, rather than taking advantage of this fact, the director (Rod Amateau) failed to give them any worthwhile screen-time to make any real difference. Throw in a rather mundane plot and the final result was rather mediocre at best. Be that as it may, while this was certainly not a bad movie by any means, I don't think it was nearly as good as it should have been and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

Sorry, nothing funny AT ALL.

[yogaguy-77475 · 1/10 · 6 July 2021]

This has to be one of the dorkiest movies from 80's teen movies EVER.

Everyone tries to be super cool, hip, and funny.

Even the Bandini character isn't funny. The character that juggles things and does acrobatic moves.....??? Is this suppose to be funny..... :/ Just completely dumb. I like Michael J Fox in his Back to Future movies, but, sorry, he doesn't even save this movie. A great time-waster if you're looking for one though.

An incredibly entertaining movie!

[Skip McCoy · 9/10 · 17 August 1999]

More people should watch this movie. I'm quite sure they won't enjoy it as much as my friends or I, but the cast is so fun that it's worth a look. Rowdy class clown J.J. (double J) Manners (Michael J. Fox) is certainly smitten after he bumps in to Beth Franklin (Nancy McKeon) in the hallway. Big problem though-she's dating Beau Middleton (Anthony Edwards) the cocky king of the preps! A class struggle ensues and it's quite wacky to watch it unfold. The supporting cast here is really interesting. You've got Todd Bridges and Dana Plato (Different Strokes), Crystal Bernard (future star of Wings) and a plethora of actors and actresses from older TV shows. Bob Denver plays Crispin Glover's pet supply selling dad. Tony Dow plays the high school's principle. There's even a scene where Anthony Edwards pulls and Eddie Haskell on Eddie Haskell himself (Ken Osmond). There's nothing too original about the plot of this baby (it is a TV movie after all), but it became really addictive for me and a couple of my friends. It's fun to throw quotes around from it. All in all, well worth a couple bucks to watch on video (although I haven't found it in too many video stores). Give it a chance with low expectations and I'm quite sure you won't be too dissatisfied.

The beginning of the 80s teen TV movie phenomenon

[MichaelMovieLoft · 10/10 · 20 September 2004]

Come back with us now to the 1980s. While movie companies were cashing in on teen success, NBC decided to take advantage on the teen movie trend by making their own. High School U.S.A. was the beginning. It was originally a TV pilot, but you could hardly tell it was. Still, this movie featured teen stars of the time who went on to big things that included:

Michael J Fox (Family Ties), Nancy McKeon (The Facts of Life), Todd Bridges & the late Dana Plato (Diff'rent Strokes), Lauri Hendler (Gimme a Break), Crystal Bernard & Cathy Silvers (Happy Days), Anthony Edwards (who went to big things), David Packer (V), Crispin Glover (Back to the Future), and the late Tom Villard (who did many supporting & guest roles in movies and TV).

The setting is Excelsior Union High School in Missouri. JJ Manners (Fox) is sort is the somewhat leader of a group of uncool kids. He is likable, but the prep & jocks (led by Beau Middleton, played by Edwards) can't stand him or his kind. It gets even worse when JJ falls in love with Beth Franklin (McKeon), who was a zero but became part of the A-crowd when she started to date Beau.

There are many subplots as well, which as just as funny. A host of 50s & 60s TV stars show up. It is pretty interesting seeing teen stars from one generation meet up with another.

Do I think it would've worked as a TV series? Probably not. Some of the stars were involved in other TV shows and projects. It would've been impossible top bring all the cast members back. Still, it stands on its own well as a TV movie. It was probably best it ended that way as well.

It's worth a look for fans of the 80s and even fans of 50s and 60s.

Pat

the best of the teen movies

[hanoi_xan · 8/10 · 24 November 2009]

what makes this movie so cool is the 2 generations of teen stars. the students are played by the teen stars of the day like Michael j fox, Nancy mckeon and Anthony Edwards, but cast of teachers and parents include Dwayne Hickman, bob Denver and tony Dow.

it's a silly teen romp of cliques and car races, but it's funny and stars everyone. many people went on to be huge stars, so seeing them all here together is so much fun. i first saw this movie at my grandma's house when it ran on cable, and i loved it. i bought it on DVD the first day it came out!

stealing the show of course are crispin glover and Michael zorek as girl crazy nerds Archie and chuckie. it's worth the movie just for them. and to watch the freaks triumph, of course.

The Stars from the tv shows

[IMKidHunni · 10/10 · 13 August 2023]

I didn't know that 2 people from leave it to beaver was in this movie Tony Dow & the guy who played his best friend, I didn't know that the Gilligan & Mary Ann from Gilligan's island was in this & 2 characters from happy days & 2 people from different strokes was in this & I knew Michael J Fox & Nancy McKeon & I didn't know the girl from gimme a break was in it I like this movie!!!!

I am glad this movie is on tubi & I hope will be on this app forever!!!! This movie was came before I was born & so I didn't know the shows I heard of the characters from the tv shows was in this so far I like this.

Awesome fun!

[BUSTERKOONS · 10/10 · 22 January 2016]

This film is a blast. Because of such a stellar cast, it's far better than you'd expect nonsense like this to be. Michael J. Fox is charming and likable. And Crispin Glover (in ultimate nerd mode) has several memorable one liners. And to this day I'll never forget the character of Bandini. As he's shuffling along complaining about how his toes hurt. And Fox points out that he has his shoes on the wrong feet. To which Bandini replies, "No I don't. These are my feet." Classic!

Don't miss Anthony Edwards doing his best Eddie Haskell impersonation - to Ken Osmond, the original Eddie Haskell himself.

The cheap DVD is not the best quality. But hey, it should last forever. And it's pretty inexpensive at the moment. Definitely check it out!

A campy highschool comedy that is fun and worth watching.

[atomicjeff-41850 · 10/10 · 17 March 2023]

High School USA is a fun adolescent comedy starring some of the young talented actors and actresses of 1980's era before some hit super stardom. If that was not enough we also have past stars from various popular past sitcoms like: Gilligan's Island, Leave it to Beaver, and The many loves of Doby Gillis. This tv movie focuses on the main character J. J. Manners, played by Michael J Fox, who is a rebellious teenager who falls for Beth Franklin, played by Nancy Mckeon, who so happens to be dating the Beau Middleton, (played by Anthony Edwards), the rich preppy who runs the school. This tv movie has the classic highschool haves vs the have nots that makes for a very entertaining movie. A great supporting cast of actors/actresses that are unforgettable makes this a nice family movie for all to enjoy. This movie will defiantly take you back into the nostalgia of the 80's. If you have never watched it, please do, you will be glad you did.

Teen drama at it's finest!

[flight0001 · 24 May 2000]

This movie has star power! From Todd Bridges to Michael J. Fox, this coming of age film is a must see for those who like watching famous stars "in their prime." Entertaining and informing, this film possesses a power beyond that of normal cinema.

Good enough

[paulONeil68 · 9/10 · 28 March 2022]

The movie to great piece of nostalgia, Anyone knows in the mid teens early teens late teens would love this movie when it was out. Anyone knows in the mid teens early teens late teens would love this movie when it was out. Sadly a lot of people market lane but it's only lame because they were born in the wrong decade and never got toappreciate the eighties. The movie is a TV movie and it's worth to watch.

High School USA

[hotwheelerd · 8/10 · 3 November 2019]

This is a Great Classic Film. It had a lot of Stars in this Film it had Ken Osmand in this Film. From Leave it to Beaver NOT only was he in that Show. He was also a Police Officer in Real life got Shot 3-TIMES on Duty and now retired. But thanks for his Work. He made us Laugh and "SAVED" our Lives on Duty. Plus this Film had a lot of Old Stars and now Big Stars. It was also a Nice Clean Comedy and it Still is Pretty Funny. Love how that One Teacher Wanted that other Teacher but didn't want anyone to NO WAY. BECAUSE SHE WAS A DIFFERENT RACE. But he was a Idiot because she was Pretty Hot and Very Attractive. But back then it was Ok in a Film. Also Anthony Edwards was AWESOME in that FILM playing that "RICH KID". Snapped his finger and his Friends would DO ANYTHING LOL. You do that TODAY KID'S WOULD KNOCK YOU OUT. I always liked Edwards WORK it always surprised me what he did. In this Film he really Annoyed me. For being that Snotty, Spoiled, Bratty, Rich Kid, that thought he was that BEST.