Zapped! is a 1982 American sex comedyteen film directed by Robert J. Rosenthal and co-written with Bruce Rubin. The film stars Scott Baio as a high school student who acquires telekinetic powers.
Plot
Barney Springboro (Scott Baio) is a science nerd who obtains telekinetic powers after a lab accident. Along with his best friend Peyton Nichols (Willie Aames), a wealthy playboy with a dirty mind, Barney uses his new powers to take revenge upon bullies, cheat at sports, and expose attractive female flesh, particularly the beautiful but snobby Jane Mitchell (Heather Thomas). After typical hijinks, including an episode at the prom strangely similar to the ending of Stephen King's Carrie, Barney comes to realize that the best girl for him is actually Bernadette (Felice Schachter).
The film used several techniques to capture the feel of its high school setting for nostalgic fans. It was filmed largely at John Marshall High School in Los Angeles with the students as extras. The storyline rarely leaves the high school. The students talk mostly about social life and college plans, while the prom is in the gym. The senior trip is to the local amusement park. Of the major stars, however, only Felice Schachter was still a high school student when the film was shot. In fact, she missed her own prom to shoot the prom sequence in the film.
The film used a body-double for Thomas' nude scenes[3], as she refused to remove her own clothes; further controversy was generated when a complaint was filed by Thomas about a likeness of her head being pasted onto someone else's nude body.[4]
Music
The film's soundtrack was composed by Charles Fox and featured performances by Joe "Bean" Esposito ("Updike's Theme") and David Pomeranz ("Got to Believe in Magic", "King and Queen of Hearts"), which were big hits in the Philippines.
Targeted towards teenage audiences[8], Zapped! received generally negative reviews at the time of its release.[3][9][10][11][12][13][14]
Baio remembered the film fondly:
Great movie. Loved it then, love it today. I get more people asking about that movie than anything, no lie. And I had a ball making that. A cute, fun teen movie, and it made money. And it had Scatman Crothers! He was a good guy, and supposedly he smoked pot every day. That’s what I was told, but I don’t actually know. But I got to work with Willie [Aames], and it was a great experience... Good people, good crew, good director.
[15]
Despite initially negative reviews, Zapped! became a cult classic, selling heavily in videos. In 1990, it spawned a direct-to-videosequel, Zapped Again! (with only Sue Ane Langdon returning from the original cast).
^Canby, Vincent (August 27, 1982). Zapped, The New York Times, Retrieved December 15, 2010 (calling film "a half-baked, rather retarded parody of Carrie and a number of other films")
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