Midnight Madness

Starring:David Naughton, Debra Clinger, David Damas, Michael J. Fox, Stephen Furst, Patricia Alice Albrecht, Andy Tennant, Brian Frishman, Joel Kenney, Sal Lopez, Maggie Roswell, Robyn Petty, Betsy Lynn Thompson, Carol Gwynn Thompson, Eddie Deezen, Marvin Katzoff, Christopher Sands, Michael Gitomer, Brad Wilkin, Dirk Blocker
Director: Michael Nankin, David Wechter
Studio: Anchor Bay
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Nothing dates a movie quite as much as a roller-skating blonde in white shorts and a tube top. Midnight Madness opens with exactly that and quickly follows with a scene in which a student counselor reassures a romantically nervous freshman with the line, "Flynch, you could be a real Burt Reynolds, I know you could." Ah, nostalgia. Made on the cusp of the '80s, after Animal House but before Porky's, Disney's college comedy gained a considerable following, thanks to countless screenings on HBO during the Reagan administration. Like all the best cult movies, it's awful, but compelling nonetheless. This is a film in which all the nerds look alike, the jocks have names such as Armpit, and you get to see fat twins shake their abundant disco booties. The plot revolves around an all-night scavenger hunt, with five teams of competing students racing around Los Angeles solving clues and getting into all sorts of amusing scrapes, including a visit to the Pabst brewery that will have you humming ancient advertising songs for days. David Naughton, who went on to star in An American Werewolf in London, is our hero, but the real fun comes from Stephen Furst as the mean and chubby rich kid and the legendary über-nerd Eddie Deezen as Wesley. Michael J. Fox makes his film debut as Naughton's troubled but feisty kid brother, and the eagle-eyed viewer may even spot Paul Reubens in a tiny role. Being a Disney film that was released before Porky's made shower scenes an integral part of campus comedies, this is a curiously innocent movie--just watch how long it takes the teams to decipher the clue, "Look between the two giant melons." Nevertheless, Midnight Madness is 112 minutes of undemanding, cheesy fun for anyone who remembers the last days of disco. It makes Animal House look like Chekhov, but watch it with a group of friends, and perhaps a little Pabst Blue Ribbon, and you'll have a hoot. --Simon Leake

Description

A genius grad student organizes an all-night treasure hunt in which five rival teams composed of colorful oddballs furiously match wits with one another while trying to locate and decipher various cryptic clues planted ingeniously around Los Angeles.

Customer Reviews:

FINALLY...........2006-12-17

I remember watching this movie when I was young and I LOVED IT soo much. But I could never remember the name of the movie; after all these years I finally got to see it again and I still absolutely love it. And now I have it on DVD, I feel so complete!!!

My kids love this video!.......2006-11-05

My little boy who is 8 years old loves this movie. He goes around acting like the characters from the movie! He really likes Harold and keeps watching the movie over and over again hoping for a different ending. He is also convinced that they should make a Midnight Madness 2 and let Harold win the next time! This is a great movie, with a young Michael J. Fox in it, and has no sex or violence and is a very kid friendly movie.

Fagabeefe indeed sir!.......2006-07-19

Midnight Madness starring David Naughton (American Werewolf in London), Stephen Furst (Animal House), Eddie Deezen (default nerd in most 80's media) and a young Michael J. Fox. This film transends bad made-for-TV-80's-teen-comedy and becomes something very wacky and very fun to watch, though it's not strong enough to be a classic.

Basic plot? Genius college student Leon has devised the ultimate gaming experience (he's probably a frustrated GM in a D&D group.) He invites five people (who need to recruit a team) to play the great "All Nighter". The game is basically a scavenger hunt for clues around Los Angeles that lead to a final destination. The first group there wins. Hilarity ensues and the movie just becomes one insane madcap romp moment after the next.

What holds it back from being a classic is that it's just not quite spot on in terms of how the teams solve the clues and who advances fastest, etc. There is a team of jocks that are solving clues (off camera) that there is no way they could figure out while a bunch of smart spazy nerds are always lagging in fourth place.

Among the highlights of the film are Betsy Lynn & Carol Gwynn Thompson, a pair of overweight girls that have the most amazing (yet almost annoying) giggle ever. Just watching them bounce around inthe back of a picup truck, driving scooter bikes, and dancing up a storm at a roller disco are worth the price of admission alone. On top of this you get Michael J. Fox's screen debut as a bratty teen who's always doing someting bad to get his brother's attention. There's also a small cameo from Pee Wee Herman in full pee wee make-up dressed in a cowboy outfit. Oh and did I mention Candy? Well let's just say that the 'C' and 'L' in the word control on her shirt were hiding very provacativly on the sides (ala the Annette reference in Stand By Me.)

All in all this is a pretty fun movie, especially considering it came out of Disney (or did Disney buy the rights afterward?), but not quite what it could be.

Midnight Madness - Do the worm.......2005-11-23

We all saw this film as a GRM group. After a few hours of debating and we figured out where to put the on call calendar, we loved this film. After Scott beat up those mean jocks, he did the worm. Cyndy loved the film while Steve did arts and crafts. Dan wrote a whole rubric on the film. Don't interrupt this staff during the film or the Hall Director will have to get involved. Greg had tears to his eyes, but still approved it for IST. Buy this film.

Fagabeefe!.......2005-10-18

WEEE this is still jolly good fun! As with most of my friends, we had seen this movie on HBO when we were young, and then had been searching ever since for a copy of it. When they finally rereleased it a few years ago, we had a Midnight Madness party... and the movie held up well. Sure, it's pure cheese, but it's still a lot of fun. If you didn't see MM when you were young, you might not appreciate its value today.

Average customer rating:

FINALLY....
My kids love this video!
Fagabeefe indeed sir!
Midnight Madness - Do the worm
Fagabeefe!

Midnight Madness
Starring: David Naughton , Debra Clinger , David Damas , Michael J. Fox , and Stephen Furst
Director: Michael Nankin , and David Wechter
Manufacturer: Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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