Remember when I was working on my top ten movies of certain genres? Click here, here, here, and here to read them. I forgot about it and moved on to other blogs about random things. I still plan on returning to that. As I was strolling about my site (which I do often), I thought about a post to talk to you about movies that I cherish. These aren’t current movies. We can all rave about them. We’ve all seen Toy Story, Independence Day, Clerks, Goonies, etc… I am talking about the movies that, or so I thought, were so obscure, that only my family knew about them. Soon came the power of the internet. I have googled all these movies and each of them come up. Even when I look on IMDB, people are talking about them. I really thought my family were the only ones that have seen them. At least I know we weren’t alone. I have compiled a list of 10 movies that my family still have lodged inside our brains. Maybe you have seen them. If you have, you’re awesome. If you haven’t seen them, I suggest you find a way to do so. I will forever be in your debt. Without making this post longer than it should be, I’ll post one movie at a time. The first movie on the list is,
Midnight Madness
The movie has 80’s written all over it. The movie starts with an (dare I say) amazing opening number. Two girls on roller skates (Candy and Sunshine) are hand delivering sealed colored envelopes to a select few
people. These people are the captains of their team. Once delivered, each captain shows up to find out that none other than, Leon (LEON!) has hand picked each one of them to take part in his “Great All Nighter”. The captains laugh it off and denounce the idea of this foolish game. But don’t worry. Leon didn’t spend a year working on this game. By tomorrow morning, they’ll all be dying to play.
Sure enough, they do. The team captains select their team members. There are five teams. The Yellow Team, The Red Team, The Blue Team, The White Team, and The Green Team. They begin the game with a clue that will lead them to the next clue. There, they need to use their wits to solve the clue to move on and eventually find the finish line. Some teams play by the rules and other teams cheat. Along the way, the teams hit some rough spots. The Red Team’s, Peggy and Lulu take a break for some disco dancing. The Green Team (Meat Machine), find true bliss at the Pabst Brewery. Even the Yellow Team, find some hardships during the race.
Leon and his two gals watch the game unfold inside his apartment. The teams are tracked across a strategy board (Thank you, Mrs. Thorpe) with little cut outs of their cars. At the beginning the other tenants are furious at Leon with all the noise but once they find out what he is up to, they too become fans of the game.
Winning is important. They need to prove to the other team that their team is the best. The movie takes the teams all over Los Angeles. Pinball City, Pabst Brewery, and the airport (to name a few). The first clue is,
The sea is reversed. SSITARI is mixed up and blind.
The teams are comprised of the type of social groups you’d find just about anywhere. The Yellow Team is the “good and honest”. The Red Team are “women are people too”. The Blue Team are “Cheaters”. The White Team are “The Nerds”. The last team is the Green Team. They are “The Football Jocks”. The movie does have a pretty big cast. The leader of the yellow team is David Naughton. He was the spokesperson for Dr. Pepper. You’ll see some product placement for Dr Pepper at one scene in the movie. He was also the star in John Landis’, “An American Werewolf in London”. Playing his little brother in his first big role was Michael J. Fox. Poor Scott. It is his birthday too. Adam is too busy and forgot all about it.
The Blue Team’s leader is Stephen Furst. He played Harold, the arch-nemesis of Adam. A spoiled kid with a van that was loaded with a, turbo-charged engine, observation bubble, plus a computer that can solve any clue in five minutes. He too starred in a John Landis movie. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it. It was a little movie called, “Animal House”. Even though he wasn’t a big actor back then, Andy Tennant (Melio) has went on to be a successful director of many current movies (Hitch, Fools Rush In, Ever After).
Finishing off the cast, the Red Team was led by Maggie Rosewell. Her name might not sound familiar but her voice probably does. She adds her voice to the longest running animated series ever. They took part in the game to get back at the Green Team. “Those moron jocks!”
Not only are they out to crush the green team. So is the White Team. After they were fools of at their debate, they know it takes brains to defeat people like the Green Team. The white team’s leader is the god of all nerds, Eddie Deezen. Him and his band of nerds ride around in some serious mopeds. Nothing like having one of those machines between your legs.
The leader of the Green Team is Brad Wilkin. Adding to the Green Team is, Dirk Blocker son of Dan Blocker of “Bonanza” fame. Nothing like five guys shoved inside a mini bug. They may be dumb as rocks but they did solve the first clue all by themselves. Also making appearances in the movie is, Pee Wee Herman,
Question is, Who is your favorite team?
The movie is available on DVD. It isn’t Citizen Kane. It isn’t Battlefield Earth. But it is a enjoyable movie that will have you laughing and cheering on your team of choice. This truly is a movie of the 80’s. It’s the great all nighter with some great one liners. Grab yourself a Pabst Blue Ribbon, cook some pouched eggs, and relax.
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Next movie: Mr. Boogedy