This Quinn Martin made-for-TV movie recently popped up on Encore Love Stories, and my, but it's entertaining--in a painful, squirm-inducing, did that really happen? sort of way. It's the episodic tale of a group of high school seniors from Youngstown, Ohio, who travel to Noo Yawk City for the titular vacation. Why isn't made clear--perhaps this is a routine occurrence for high schoolers east of the Mississippi--but as aspiring songwriter David (Randy Brooks, who had started his career TEN YEARS EARLIER playing another high school student in Paul Bogart's Halls of Anger) belts out his self-penned Big Apple song ("gonna bite into that apple!" and other assorted bad puns) as the big yellow school bus traverses the big super-highway heading east, we get the immediate impression that these kids aren't going just to see the sights. Along for the ride are hemophiliac Wall Street Journal subscriber Roger (Scott Baio), who dreams of meeting his big business idol and selling him some semi-conductors; 'bad girl' Denise (Faye Grant), who wants to move to Manhattan and work in 'public relations'; aspiring Broadway star Judy (Liz Callaway), who's determined to hook up with Mickey Rooney for some advice about The Great White Way; and sensitive artist and policeman's son Jon (Jeff Lipton), who simply wants to learn about The Human Condition. Once in the city, the students are let loose by their erstwhile chaperone Mrs. Pritchardson (Jane Hoffman), who spends the entire film patrolling the hotel hallways in search of illicit substances whilst not appearing to give a damn about what the students get up to OUTSIDE the hotel. I guess there was no such thing as 'liability' back in 1981. At any rate, Bill Withers Jr.--er, David--finds himself disgusted by the record business, Roger gets a nasty cut in between business meetings, Denise decides that sleeping her way to the top may not be the best life plan, Judy belts one out for the Mickster (this is the film's one and only genuine highlight, the kid can sing), and Jon struggles with his sexuality. As the camera scans their fresh, not-so-young faces on the trip back to Youngstown (with the film's execrable theme song pounding nails into our brains one last time), we can rest assured that these bright young things have Learned Important Lessons and have Grown As Human Beings. Fans of Robert Townsend and Jason Alexander: your guys get nary a word of dialogue between them, but at least Jason has a full head of hair.
Review of Senior Trip
