High School U.S.A.

High School U.S.A.

Infobox_Film
name = High School U.S.A.

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director = Rodney Amateau
producer = Leonard Hill
Philip Mandelker
writer = Alan Eisenstock
Larry Mintz
music = Tony Berg
Miles Goodman
starring = Michael J. Fox
Crispin Glover
Nancy McKeon
Todd Bridges
Dana Plato
Angela Cartwright
Anthony Edwards
Bob Denver
Tony Dow
Crystal Bernard
Dwayne Hickman
Lauri Hendler

distributor = Hill/Mandelker Films
released = October 16, 1983
runtime = 100 min.
language = English
budget = n/a
imdb_id = 0085679
awards =
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"High School U.S.A." is a 1983 made-for-TV film directed by Rodney Amateau. It features an ensemble cast including Michael J. Fox, Anthony Edwards, and Crispin Glover.

Several of the key actors appeared in sitcoms that were popular at the time. These include Todd Bridges and Dana Plato from Diff'rent Strokes, Nancy McKeon from The Facts of Life, and Michael J. Fox from Family Ties as well as former sitcom stars Tony Dow, Frank Bank, and Ken Osmond from Leave it to Beaver.

Plot

The film focuses on the intrigue inside Excelsior Union High School. Michael J. Fox plays J.J. Manners, who becomes enamored with Beth Franklin (Nancy McKeon), the girlfriend of Beau Middleton (Edwards), the class president and quarterback. Middleton is also the richest student and drives around in a brand-new convertible. The core story involves Manners and Middleton competing for the affections of Beth. Ultimately this rivalry culminates in a drag race between the two. The result of the race tips the balance and changes the face of the dynamics within the school irrevocably. Other storylines include Todd Bridges as a genius who has created a robot that he believes to be capable of going into space. Crispin Glover plays Archie Feld, a socially-impaired boy who nervously attempts to circumnavigate his way around the myriad nuances of cross-gender interaction. Also, Beau Middleton's father has created an incentive for the teachers by offering a sizable reward for the best teacher. Subsequently, the teachers focus extra effort on impressing Beau with their worthiness of the reward.

Trivia

This was apparently a pilot for an NBC sitcom. The network envisioned stand-up comedian and future Mystery Science Theater 3000 star, Joel Hodgson as one of the stars of the proposed series. Hodgson turned the offer down after telling the network he didn't think the material was good. The network doubled their offer, thinking it was a barganing ploy. Because of this, Joel felt Hollywood was shallow and quit the industry until 1987.

In a scene where Beth tells Jay-Jay that she just wants to be friends, Jay-Jay replies, "Like Wally and Lumpy... I'll pass." Tony Dow and Frank Bank, who played Wally and Lumpy in Leave it to Beaver, also appear in the film. Ken Osmond, who plays Eddie Haskell in Leave it to Beaver, appears as well.

The location of Excelsior Union High School is possibly Missouri. The clue that leads to this is Beau's license plate, which says "Show Me State" ("Show Me" is the slogan of Missouri).

High School U.S.A. - The song

In 1959 Tommy Facenda recorded a song, "High School U.S.A". It mentioned schools in Virginia. Additional recorded versions listed the names of high schools in New York City, the Carolinas, Washington, D.C, Philadelphia, Detroit, Pittsburgh and other areas of the United States.

One musicologist, Norm N. Nite, wrote that 46 different versions of the song were recorded. Jerry Osborne (Mr. Music, a World Features Syndicate music researcher), wrote that 29 different versions were recorded.


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