The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story

I am aware it is Dustin's version; however, it misses the point on describing the real problems and frictions between the cast. They barely display the character's personalities, hobbies, and their life outside the set, which would be helpful to understand some issues.

Instead, the script focuses on describing things we already knew. I know, it is Dustin's story, but a little more objectivity wouldn't hurt.

The acting is surprisingly good, specially the young man that plays Dustin. The rest of the cast does perfectly their job although it seems they haven't seen the original Saved by the Bell series.

I would definitely recommend this one for fans of the series, like myself. I grew watching this series and became part of my life, so, getting extra information after 22 years was a good nostalgic touch, although I expected to see more of the "private" details.

The low score for this made-for-TV biopic on the iconic kid's series SAVED BY THE BELL was based on a book that none of the cast liked, written by Dustin Diamond, an actor none of the kids liked either, who played the comic relief Screech on the series: so the fans are probably siding with the cast about how this movie plays loosely with the facts...

The only thing is, there aren't many facts here at all... Nothing too controversial or that would make any of the real life actors look like they did anything wrong, other than argue with each other backstage, which is par for the course...

Overall it's not too shabby a biopic, even beginning with a few scenes about the first Haley Mills series from which it spun-off...

So it all flows pretty well, done in a breaking the 4th wall style that "Zack Morris" would do in the original series (inspired by older shows like Gidget and before that, Dobie Gillis)...

Only here, Dustin Diamond's persona takes the reigns (basically saying it's "his turn" to speak this time)... and while he provides his narration, the people in the scene would freeze (like the end of the Night Squad episodes)...

Meanwhile the girls don't look like their real life counterparts too much, but they are extremely cute in their own way... as for the guys, they kind of go through the motions...

Of course the true star here is Dustin Diamond's character and they make him the most vulnerable, being his story...

The only silly thing is, they make it seem as if Diamond didn't get girls and was an outcast/loser in real life, when in reality, he probably landed as many groupies as the more typically-handsome actors... but my parents once saw Don Knotts with a blonde on each arm, so life DOES NOT imitate art...

All celebrities have a great time, for a while, no matter how their careers eventually pan out.

The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story (2014)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

This "unauthorized" telling of the events from the hit television show Saved By the Bell is based on the book that was written by Dustin Diamond (Screech) and centers on his unhappy time filming the show.

THE UNAUTHORIZED SAVED BY THE BELL STORY is a rather strange film on a number of levels. If you grew up watching the show like I did then you know it was rather corny and campy and those two words are how I'd describe this television movie. I say that because the movie really doesn't get into the darker elements of the story and it's rather silly when you think that some of the real-life people were upset about the movie. In all honesty, this is a pretty tame look at the events that were going on behind-the-scenes.

With that being said, since the movie was made Diamond has came out and said that a lot of the book was made up so perhaps that's why certain elements didn't make it into the film. For the most part this was a decent made-for-television film that will have some appeal to fans of the show. We learn that Diamond was basically unhappy while making the show because he wasn't treated the same way as other cast members and his "dork" character wasn't able to get ladies. What this movie is basically saying is that pretty people have it easier than ugly ones.

As far as the casting goes, the producers went to great trouble to make sure their young cast looked like the people they were playing. Performances were okay but certainly nothing special. I doubt the producers were looking for Oscar-winning performances but instead people who could at least make the viewers feel you were watching the real characters. The story isn't the strongest thing that I've seen but then again this is a TV movie for Lifetime.

On the whole, there's really nothing special or great about this film but it should appeal to fans who want to relive some of the campy moments from the show.

This movie was so poorly made. The acting was terrible. I wish I can give it a lower score..

There's been a lot of criticism for this TV movie on review sites. It is corny, it is sugary and it does miss some of the seedier parts of Dustin Diamond's book.

I read Dustin Diamond's book "Behind The Bell" on which this TV Movie is based several years before this film was even made. It was incredibly difficult to obtain a physical copy so I bought the eBook instead. The book was controversial at the time and arguably libellous in places. The story goes Dustin Diamond wanted to publish a "tell all" book about the Saved By The Bell cast. The book was said to be co-written with the aid of a ghostwriter and also parts were made-up or exaggerated by him.

With this being PG rated it totally glosses over the seedier aspects of the book like: sex amongst cast members, like some of the drug taking, like the dressing room orgies and Dustin's infamous trips to Disney World. If you believe the book. The film is basically a nostalgia piece and fairly flattering to the cast. I can't imagine them being that offended by this film unlike the book. The film takes place in 1989 after "Good Morning, Miss Bliss" gets cancelled and part of the cast are reunited for the Saved by the Bell pilot. The film missed out Lark Voorhees was in this series implying Saved by the Bell was her big break. Dustin Diamond was the youngest cast member, but it also ignored that he was a child actor with substantial acting experience compared to most of the cast.

Other omissions include Dennis Haskins (Mr Belding) not really featuring despite being a major cast member, I think Dustin said Corey Feldman used to visit the set which was missing, the two TV specials: Hawaiian Style and Wedding in Las Vegas were not mentioned and neither was long-running, The New Class which ran for 7 years. I would have liked to have heard more about Peter Engel who was considered a sort-of surrogate father to some of the cast and also that apart from "Hang Time" he never managed to have another big hit in TV (so far).

So it is corny fun much like Saved By The Bell itself and there are several glaring omissions, probably due to libel or inaccuracy. This means it sort of feels shallow. I was a big fan of SBTB and like a lot of people of my age it was a part of my childhood. I do not think this is a great film. The cast do their best with a limited script and all look the part. At 85 minutes it is also really skinny in terms of content, given it is telling 3+ years in that time. The soundtrack is also pretty decent. See it for the nostalgia rather than the drama.