In a take off of the horrible plot devices of the 80's "Movies" and i use the term lightly, "Totally Awesome" is just that AWESOME!!!! The conceit of the film is that it was a "lost" film from the 1980s, recently rediscovered in a vault in the Arizona desert and bought by VH1 because, according to narrator Ben Stein, VH1 "didn't have enough 80's themed programming." Mikey Day plays Charlie, a young man who moves into a new town, where he is automatically dubbed the most unpopular senior at his high school. He falls for the prettiest and most popular girl at the school, Kimberly (Brittany Daniel), whose boyfriend Kipp (Joey Kern) is a stereotypical jock and bully. At first, Charlie attempts to woo Kimberly, seeking the help of a black man named Darnell (Tracy Morgan) in attempts to be cooler. Darnell teaches him how to talk, walk and act like a cool black man, though this attempt ultimately backfires.
Charlie also meets a girl named Billie (Nicki Clyne), the class loser, who is poor and has very oily skin. She is the only one who understands Charlie and develops a crush on him. Charlie befriends Billie, though at first insists their relationship is platonic.
After an altercation with Kipp, Charlie challenges Kipp to a Decathlon. To prepare, Charlie seeks the help of Yamagashi (James Hong), a wise, old, gay, Asian instructor (and parody of Mr. Miyagi from the Karate Kid series of movies). Charlie is told to do odd chores that are supposed to help him in the Decathlon like "Sweep My Deck" for pole vault, "Jump For Apples" for high jump, and "Toss the Rock" for shot put. When Charlie points out that Yamagashi has only taught him how to do three events, Yamagashi suggests killing Kipp to avoid the contest; when Charlie rejects homicide as a solution, Yamagashi tells him he must find a reason to drive him to succeed.
In addition to Charlie's attempts to survive the new school and court the girl, the movie follows Charlie's sister Lori (Dominique Swain), a dancer who is in love with school janitor Gabriel (Chris Kattan). Gabriel was the dance teacher before dancing was outlawed in the town following an incident in which several dancing teenagers had their feet come loose (a reference to the 1980s film Footloose).
In the end, Charlie wins the decathlon and falls in love with Billie, Lori brings dance back to town, and Gabriel gets his job back as the dance teacher and gets permission to have sex with teenage girls. Kipp the bully gets eaten by a werewolf.
Charlie also meets a girl named Billie (Nicki Clyne), the class loser, who is poor and has very oily skin. She is the only one who understands Charlie and develops a crush on him. Charlie befriends Billie, though at first insists their relationship is platonic.
After an altercation with Kipp, Charlie challenges Kipp to a Decathlon. To prepare, Charlie seeks the help of Yamagashi (James Hong), a wise, old, gay, Asian instructor (and parody of Mr. Miyagi from the Karate Kid series of movies). Charlie is told to do odd chores that are supposed to help him in the Decathlon like "Sweep My Deck" for pole vault, "Jump For Apples" for high jump, and "Toss the Rock" for shot put. When Charlie points out that Yamagashi has only taught him how to do three events, Yamagashi suggests killing Kipp to avoid the contest; when Charlie rejects homicide as a solution, Yamagashi tells him he must find a reason to drive him to succeed.
In addition to Charlie's attempts to survive the new school and court the girl, the movie follows Charlie's sister Lori (Dominique Swain), a dancer who is in love with school janitor Gabriel (Chris Kattan). Gabriel was the dance teacher before dancing was outlawed in the town following an incident in which several dancing teenagers had their feet come loose (a reference to the 1980s film Footloose).
In the end, Charlie wins the decathlon and falls in love with Billie, Lori brings dance back to town, and Gabriel gets his job back as the dance teacher and gets permission to have sex with teenage girls. Kipp the bully gets eaten by a werewolf.