Learn Your Lesson...Scott Baio - Fri. Mar. 15 - 8PM

Oddball Films and curator Kat Shuchter bring you Learn Your Lesson...Scott Baio, the first in a series of programs highlighting the most ridiculous, insane and camptastic shockucational films and TV specials of the collection.  Round one of Learn Your Lesson features a triple dose of Afterschool Specials starring 80's teen heartthrob Scott Baio (Happy Days, Charles in Charge).  Watch little Scotty grow from a teen playing a young boy on the streets, to a young man playing a stoned and hilarious teen, to a full-grown man playing a High School kid with a drinking problem. We begin with Luke Was There (1976), an NBC Special Treat and one of the first credits on young Baio's resume.  The 16 year-old plays a boy forced to a life on the streets after his mother is hospitalized, and he's reduced stealing food stamps from old ladies.  In Stoned (1980), an ABC Afterschool Special, the now 20 year-old Baio plays sophomore Jack Melon, who's tired of being an invisible nerd and finds some new friends, self-confidence and a great sense of humor when he starts smoking pot. Strangers with Candy fans will delight in an eerily familiar outdoor rap-session with Jack's hip teacher.  And finally, a 24 year-old Scott plays a senior with a bright future, but a bad habit of drinking and driving in the CBS Schoolbreak Special All The Kids Do It (1984, directed by Henry "The Fonz" Winkler).  Will Scott Baio ever learn his lesson?  Will You?


Date: Friday, March 15th, 2013 at 8:00pm
Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street San Francisco
Admission: $10.00 Limited Seating RSVP to programming@oddballfilm.com or (415) 558-8117


Featuring:


Stoned (Color, 1980)
ABC After School Special (ASS) starring that loveable rascal Scott Baio.  Here he is lured into stonersville by a skateboard-riding dope dealer.  The munchies and problems at school ensue, climaxing with the near death of his older brother when the stoned Biao clobbers him with a boat paddle.


All The Kids Do It (Color, 1984) 
This time Baio’s a bit too old to be a teenage boozer who misses the diving competition after he wrecks his bitchin’ vintage ride. Directed by Henry “The Fonz” Winkler, All The Kids Do It is above average for a CBS Schoolbreak Special was and the killer soundtrack features The Plimsoles (Lie, Beg, Borrow and Steal) and Peter Gabriel (Shock The Monkey).


Luke Was There (Color, 1976)
In the first year of his Hollywood Career, 16 year-old Scott Baio stars in this tender tear-jerker about a young boy who must grow-up fast after his mother is hospitalized.  He's placed in a group home, where he throws some hilarious tantrums, until Luke helps him out of his angry shell.  But when Luke has to attend to his ailing mother, Scott hits the streets and tries to make it as a petty thief and a valet for old ladies.  He meets an adorable orphan and decides that the streets are no place for little kids.


About the Afterschool Special
The ABC Afterschool Special graced the television airwaves from 1972 to 1997.  NBC decided to get in the game in 1975 with their own offering: The NBC Special Treat, followed by the CBS Schoolbreak Special in 1984.  These shows sought to present powerful and persuasive cautionary tales and melodramas for teens and preteens. With subject matter from steroid abuse to anorexia to teenage pregnancy, these shows were often preachy and schmaltzy, but always...always Special!