Zapped! (1982)

A high school science nerd gains telekinetic powers after a laboratory accident and uses them for revenge upon bullies.

Director:

Robert J. Rosenthal

Writers:

Bruce Rubin, Robert J. Rosenthal

Stars:

Scott Baio, Willie Aames, Robert Mandan

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Scott Baio	...	Barney Springboro
Willie Aames	...	Peyton Nichols
Robert Mandan	...	Walter J. Coolidge
Felice Schachter	...	Bernadette
Scatman Crothers	...	Dexter Jones
Roger Bowen	...	Mr. Springboro
Mews Small	...	Mrs. Springboro (as Marya Small)
Greg Bradford	...	Robert Wolcott
Hilary Beane	...	Corrine Updike
Sue Ane Langdon	...	Rose Burnhart
Heather Thomas	...	Jane Mitchell
Hardy Keith	...	Roscoe Brown
Curt Ayers	...	Art
Merritt Butrick	...	Gary Cooter
Jennifer Chaplin	...	Melissa Granger

Storyline

Barney Springboro and Peyton Nichols are fun-loving high school students working on a science project with white mice. When one of the mice begins to move food toward itself with out touching it, Barney finds he has accidentally discovered a formula for telekinetic powers. Now, how much trouble can a high school kid who can move things with just his mind get into?

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Plot Keywords:

stockings | telekinesis | playing roulette | drinking whiskey | priest | 

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Taglines:

An A+ comedy that makes the grade!

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 September 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Wiz Kid

Filming Locations:

Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$16,897,768

Company Credits

Production Co:

Apple / Rose, City Films, Embassy Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Following the box office success of Porky's (1981), parts of the film were refilmed to increase the amount of nudity and to intentionally earn an R-rating.

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Goofs

The gum on Principal Johnson's globe changes position.

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Quotes

Dexter Jones: [stoned and dreaming] Mr. Einstein! I'm feeling strange. Someone's putting some shit on my mind.
Albert Einstein: Sounds like too many chili dogs, Dex. Have to learn to relax!

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Crazy Credits

Reportedly, Avco Embassy president Blossom Kahn was named an executive producer on the picture, but instead received an Executive in Charge of Production credit for the Embassy production house.

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Alternate Versions

The movie was re-shot to add nudity to achieve an R rating, mostly the sex scene with Barney and Bernadette.

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Connections

Featured in Svengoolie: Zapped! (2003)

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Soundtracks

Star Spangled Baby
Written by Jason Hickman (uncredited)
Performed by The Twisters

User Reviews

Scott Baio rules!

And I ain't joshin'.

Why Scott Baio gets the proverbial shaft when great actors are discussed is beyond me. Here's a cat who has dated all the hottest tail and was the driving force behind what is arguably the edgiest, most acerbic teen flick ever in "Zapped!" ... yet he is often mentioned in the same breath with the two-headed Corey Monster (Haim and Feldman) and his frequent, far less dramatically astute compatriot, Mr. Willie Aames. Such degradation is tantamount to a travesty.

This movie is a cutting comedic triumph. Baio's character makes incisive observations about the empty rhetoric of adolescence, and challenges authority not only with his telekinetic powers, but alcohol, tobacco and sex. And let's examine the telekinesis closer -- is it just another one of those blessing-and-a-curse afflictions that finds the right guy or girl? Absolutely not. We're talking about a uniquely Zen ideal, a manifestation of a young man's private internal nirvana in the laboratory of the local high school. Beakers move, brooms sweep up debris, roulette wheels spin out of control, dad tosses liquid laxative all over himself uncontrollably ... this is a celluloid incarnation of unrivaled genius.

Alas, who am I kidding? This movie is stupid bad. And yet I still love it, dammit. So sue me.