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CBS Schoolbreak Special: The Alfred G. Graebner Memorial High School Handbook of Rules and Regulations (1984)
1980s CBS afterschool special fun
Very cheesy dated 1980s.after school special about freshmen at the Alfred graebner memorial high school. The protagonist is Julie Ross ( portrayed by Kelly Wolf also the star in the 1985 after school special "Don't touch") and the movie shows her misadventures navigating high school in her freshman year punctuated by a blue screen of handbook "rules" narrated by a crusty gentleman. Shows Julie getting her schedule the first day, trying to get out of gym, navigating home economics, student government, friends and a date. Typical 1980s after school special with very dated music and graphics but authentic 80s wardrobe feels very low budget.
To My Daughter with Love (1994)
Emotional, tender story
Very emotional and poignant view of single parents and the struggles they face. Joey (portrayed by Ricky Schroeder from "silver spoons" and "the champ") is a construction worker doing his best to support his wife Alice (who also works outside the home) and his 6 year old daughter Emily. Alice's wealthy parents did not approve of their marriage at first but love their granddaughter Emily dearly and come to realize Joey is a good guy and that they are a very happy family. Alice's father tries to help financially but Alice and Joey are always too proud to accept. Joey is also in the middle of building a new home for their family so they all live together in a brand new place. All is well until Joey loses his job and to make matters worse, Alice unexpectedly and tragically dies from a brain aneurysm while at her desk at work. At this point Joey is struggling to take care of Emily and find new employment while grieving his wife's death. Joey's mother in law is also pressuring Joey to let Emily live with her and her husband, possibly to help her mask her grief for her daughter's death but also because she truly feels it's the best thing for all involved since Joey is struggling so much. Joey in the meantime has gotten involved in a co-op program for other single and struggling parents and makes friends with Harriet (portrayed by actress Khandi Alexander, real life choreographer for Whitney Houston) and her daughter Charlotte, whom has also become friends with Emily. After her bowling birthday party, Joey takes Emily out to breakfast and has a heart to heart with her and decides it's best for her to be with her grandparents and takes her to live with them. He tries to be in Emily's life as much as possible even taking her to a carnival, checking with her teacher how she is doing in school and checking up on her as much as a loving father can (while still being active also in the parents' co op and while applying for jobs) but Emily is not adjusting at all to living at her grandparents she gets mad because she can't play her and her mom's favorite song on the piano and even runs away by sneaking away on a city bus instead of going home with her grandmother (Luckily she only ends up at Harriet's house and when he goes to get her she tells Joey to "listen to your kid"). Eventually Joey fights for his daughter and even aims to rebuild the house originally meant for him and his whole family to live in at the request of his friends. In the end all ends up happily and Emily will just stay close to her grandparents, not live with them. Joey and his beloved daughter Emily end up back together where they belong and in the closing scene fly up away in the sky far away on a hot air balloon living happily ever after.
Emotional Maturity (1957)
1950s guidance film with a very relatable story
In 1950s suburbia 16 year old Dave Forsyth (Buzz Martin) is dealing with the problems of adolescence. Between dealing with grades, parents, teachers, peers, a sudden breakup from his girlfriend Jill (Patricia Bruder) who leaves him for captain of the football team Jim Dawson (Eddie Applegate) and being benched on that football team (which leads him to quit) he just has a lot of sadness and disappointment to deal with and his emotions are out of control. The film tries to show how emotional instability can be disastrous. It is very relatable because it shows the real emotions of what teenagers go through. Though sad, it is a very educational and entertaining short. I enjoyed the story. I always think these 50s guidance shorts were very entertaining, and very informative and they really do solve life problems.
Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker (1979)
Great classic 70s made for TV movie!
In the days when social awareness about various societal ills were coming more and more into mainstream consciousness and mass media this made for TV movie addresses the dangers of hitchhiking in America. With all the fun of teenage life mixed with serious trauma and melodrama, "Diary of a teenage hitchhiker" is a real, poignant look at this issue, the movie acts as an entertaining PSA to all ppl warning of the dangers of hitching and what could potentially happen when stepping into the "wrong car". The setting is late summer, 1979 in the fictional seaside beach town of Port Kirby, located in sunny Southern California. The main protagonist is Julie Thurston, a recent high school graduate who spends her days contemplating her future and hanging on the beach with her best gal pals, Cathy, Dana, and Francine and her boyfriend Nick. She shows an interest in sculpting and art which she feels her bf and most ppl don't support. Things start out peachy and carefree but radio reports warn young ppl of a scary psychopath picking up young ppl in the area and murdering/raping them. However her pals still hitch, Francine to beauty college, Dana because she totaled her car, Cathy because she's afraid to drive and is looking for a Dr. To terminate her secret pregnancy she hides from everyone except her friends, with Julie being her true support through it all. The consequences are dastardly, Cathy gets raped, beaten and suffers a miscarriage after a bad ride, Dana gets killed by the same psycho who picks her up and then crashes due to speeding from the police. Francine meets perverts but luckily is careful. Julie, who since has broken up with Nick and has obtained a job at Karps Kave, the local beach hangout/burger joint is trying to save money for a car although her nervous parents are urging her to be more careful and to quit the job if it means she had to hitch to get there. Also in the interim Julie meets Ron, a handsome young architect who starts dating her and encourages her sculpting. He takes her to Los Angeles for her 18th birthday and tries to advance her artistic career, as Julie tries to make it back there for a big break, she meets with the most terrifying ride of her life...will she make it? With her dreams, her ambitions...her life??? This movie ends on an interesting note but now it shows Julie's younger sister is starting to learn to hitch....yikes....all in all this movie is very entertaining and tries to have a great moral message about scary and dangerous hitching and thumbing rides can be. One chilling scene, in particular, shows 2 innocent teen girls at night who get in the wrong car after hitching and then it cuts to a scene showing the psychopath running over their bloody clothes with his car after presumably murdering them. I found it a great dark chick flick, and as far as made for TV movies of the time this one definitely shines. And the cast is relatively famous too, Katherine Helmond from "Soap" is Julie's mom, her boyfriend Nick is Christopher Knight from the "Brady Bunch" Dominique Dunne from "Poltergeist" is Cathy, Dick Van Patten from "Eight is enough" is Julie's dad, Less from WKRP in Cincinnati is Dana's dad Craig T. Nelson plays a guy who picks up Julie hitching etc. Etc. It's definitely worth a watch, and I really enjoyed it! Only thing I couldn't understand is why the friends continued to hitch knowing how it affected all their friends but I guess you gotta to leave that all up to your imagination.
Roseanne: One for the Road (1990)
Another good episode!
As I mentioned in a previous review I am not a big fan of this show but this was a good episode. The earlier episodes were better. The Conner family is headed to Moline Illinois to visit grandma (Roseanne's mother) and they leave Becky and Darlene home alone because Darlene has basketball practice and Becky and her friend have a report due for school. While studying the girls talk about being party animals and trying liquor. Becky's friend tried beer at Wrigley Field and with a boy she liked and Becky feels peer pressure to drink with her so she busts open the liquor cabinet and creates "tornado" drinks which have all kinds of booze in them. They add a little root beer to it too but it is still very strong causing them to get zonked. Becky and her friend now must deal with consequences of being drunk. Great episode and very real, dealing with pre-teenage alcoholism.
Roseanne: No Talking (1989)
One of the best episodes ever of this show
This Season 2 episode was totally real. In this one,14 year old Becky Conner is extremely upset with her mom Roseanne and has been for a good month. She feels Roseanne treats her like a "little kid" and controls her too much as she reveals privately to her sister Darlene. So Becky gives her mom the silent treatment and acts angry distant and moody around just her. Then Aunt Jackie intervenes when Roseanne accidently finds Becky's diary and she has to make a pivotal decision regarding her relationship with her daughter. I remember feeling like Becky when I was a teenager at times and I was angry at people trying to control me too so I understood her feelings. I am not a huge fan of this program but I did really enjoy this episode quite a bit. It was simple without a lot of the crazy Conner drama found in later episodes. I also like Lecy Goranson as Becky and wish they didn't have to switch Sarah Chalke into her role. Very good episode. I've seen it multiple times.
In the Heat of the Night: Crackdown (1989)
Best episode of this series!
Its a warm spring night in Sparta, Mississippi. 13 year old Corrie Kroller (Dana Barron) and her best friend are at an outdoor junior high school dance party when they spot some cute older guys. Corrie runs off with one of them and the two go for a walk after his friend offers him a bag of something...they end up behind a bush and he pulls out a crack pipe and offers Corrie some, to which she accepts....the rest is history..got to tune in to find out. This is a great 80s drug PSA type episode of this series with great acting (Wilson Sweet is really emotional in this) and shows what the damaging effects of crack and drug use can be. Is available for view on Amazon prime.
The Drifter (1988)
One of my favorites!
I love this movie! I know a lot of ppl. might laugh at me but this film is a favorite of mine, even if it is low budget. I first saw it in the 1990s as a TV movie on the old WPIX TV channel from New York and recorded it on a VHS tape. Loved it! It is about a young, single and pretty fashion designer driving home from San Francisco to Los Angeles CA and she picks up a mysterious handsome drifter while on the road. They hook up at a hotel for the night. Ooo..Very hot and sensual, the lovemaking scenes between Miles O'keefe and Kim Delaney are some of the hottest ever..since then her whole life changes! He stalks her once she reaches home and her real life serious boyfriend is getting suspicious! I love the mysterious, thrilling story! A real gender twist on fatal attraction set in the dark seedy side of Los Angeles! And I love the whole stalker/messy love triangle in this film as it builds the tension to the climax. I own it on DVD and I love it!! And luckily it was reuploaded to YouTube. Great Lifetime-esque 80s movie and definitely a must watch. Ok there may be some filming eras like being able to see the boom mike in some shots but so what still a great picture And R.I.P Larry Brand.