Junior High School

Imagine eighth grade... as a musical.

Now, take your head out of the oven and watch this obscure independent movie. It's a mercifully brief singing, dancing love story featuring actual, honest-to-God teenyboppers from Van Nuys -- one of whom was Paula Abdul. Look quick and you'll also catch the wonderful singer/songwriter Dave Frishberg as a shop teacher. Too bad he didn't compose the score, which is cute but unmemorable -- what a musical about junior high really deserves is a Brecht/Weill soundtrack.

I saw this movie sometime in the late 80's, when Paula was first getting really famous. It had just gotten released, so it was everywhere. Now I could kick myself for not having bought one then, as I just forked out like $55 for a copy on e-bay!! I really love bad movies, so it was worth it! Poor Paula must have died when this thing surfaced! Being a Van Nuys resident, it makes it that much more classic! I only wish it were longer, and we could actually get to see the party they built up during the whole movie!

I don't think I laughed so hard when I saw it, and I love showing it to new people, and seeing their bewildered expressions. It comes up on e-bay RARELY, but if you can get a copy, by all means, do it.

I first caught wind of this movie when it was featured on VH-1's "Before They Were Rock Stars". The film featured a teen-aged Paula Abdul, and they showcased a clip from her big musical number. It looked like one of those "it's so astonishingly bad I've just gotta see it" movies, and after a few unsuccessful tries on eBay (VHS copies don't appear that frequently and usually command pretty high bids when they do), I was lucky enough to snare a copy. This is actually a "featurette", clocking in at just under 40 minutes. JHS is reminiscent of an ABC Afterschool Special, although I couldn't believe some of the things these Van Nuys junior high students were able to get away with. For example, the musical number "The Itty Bitty Titty Committee" (?????), featuring three late-blooming preteens, and also some rather clever wordplay with the teachers' names (yes, the girls' gym teacher's name is Mrs. Van Dyke, with Van on the left side of her blouse and, well you get the idea). The plot revolves around Jerry (a Tony DeFranco look-alike) and a crush he has on pretty blonde classmate Lori. Sherri (Paula Abdul) is having the party that she sings about in the aforementioned musical number, and shy Jerry would do anything for Lori to be his date. Of course he also has several obstacles to overcome, including mega-nerd Keith, bad-girl Vicki and the two jocks who are constantly vying for Lori's attention. As the school day progresses (and after several cheesy musical numbers), Jerry finally works up the courage to ask Lori to accompany him to the party. Will Lori accept his invitation? Will Vicki ask Jerry to the party first, only so she can dump him after they arrive? Will Lori opt to go to the party with both of the jocks? Will the nerd get what's coming to him? If you enjoy really really REALLY bad movies, this will definitely fit the bill. 100% pure Velveeta, but that's what we love about it anyway!

This film is a minor classic. A fantastic musical score and an incredible lead performance by P. David Ebersole (going by temporary stage name David Stewart) who should have been a teen superstar. Please put this out on DVD!!!!

This movie was probably not intended to be as funny as it is. If you have the opportunity to see it (it's hard to find), take the time. You'll walk away laughing.