Zapped!

Released by: Olive Films
Released on: May 24th, 2016.
Director: Robert J. Rosenthal
Cast: Scott Baio, Willie Aames, Scatman Crothers, Robert Mandan, Heather Thomas
Year: 1982
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The Movie:

Robert J. Rosenthal directed Zapped! in 1982 and the film has rightly retained a pretty solid following ever since it hit theaters almost thirty-five years ago. Why? Because it's just plain fun!

Like a lot of popular comedies from the era, this “A+ comedy that makes the grade” revolves around a group of lusty teenagers, chiefly Barney Springboro (Scott Baio) and Peyton Nichols (Willie Aames). These guys aren't the coolest kids in school, not by a long shot, but they are the best of friends. There's some concern on the part of Peyton, however, when Barney becomes unusually obsessed with his latest science project, an effort involving some white lab mice. See, Barney spies one of the mice in this project when it manages to move some food on its own… without ever touching it. He figures they've stumbled onto something big here, possibly the secret to telekinesis!

When part of the experiment goes wrong - dangerously wrong, really - Barney gets knocked out. When he wakes up, however, things are different: he's got telekinetic powers himself! He goes to Peyton with this first and, boys being boys and all, they decide to use Barney's newfound power to score with girls! Meanwhile, ace school newspaper reporter, the nerdy Bernadette (Felice Schachter), starts poking around while Peyton lends himself in some hot water when he gets too close to resident school fox, Jane Mitchell (Heather Thomas). As Barney's star begins to rise, he and Bernadette start to hit it off - but what will he choose - popularity and fun or…. true love?

Co-written by director Rosenthal (who cut his teeth writing teen sexploitation pictures for Crown International like The Pom Pom Girls and The Van, then making his directorial debut with Malibu Beach) and Bruce Rubin (who also wrote Blood Rage!), Zapped! is gloriously goofy stuff and so much a product of its more carefree time that it hurts. But it hurts so good! It's light to be sure, there's nothing approaching any real depth here, just a series of gags as the good guys wind up pitted against the bad guys with some sexy fun thrown in here and there for good measure - but if it ain't broke, why fix it? Rosenthal and Rubin knew what they were doing here and they do it well.

Of course, the cast help out a lot too. Seeing Heather Thomas pop up here is a treat, especially if, like many of us, you crushed on her pretty hard in your childhood or pre-pubescent years. She's gorgeous, sure, but she's also really well cast here as…. the gorgeous gal who all the guys want. And all the guys, of course, includes Aames as Peyton. He's a kick to watch, goofy, sure, but still funny and he and leading man Scott Baio are totally believable as best friends. They have good chemistry and play off of each other's wonky personalities quite nicely in this picture. Felice Schachter is also very likeable here - and we all know how things will play out for her character. Toss in cameos from Scatman Crothers, Sue Ane Langdon (Weird Al's aunt from UHF!), an instantly recognizable Irwin Keyes, professional goofball Eddie Deezer, Sanford And Son's LaWanda Page and a blink and you'll miss it cameo appearance from pretty Jewel Shepard and this is worth seeing for the cast alone.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Olive Films presents Zapped! on Blu-ray in its proper 1.85.1 theatrical widescreen aspect ratio in AVC encoded 1080p high definition. For the most part, the movie looks quite good on Blu-ray. Grain gets a tiny bit heavy in spots but that won't bother most. Detail is pretty solid throughout, close ups in particular, while black levels are strong and generally pretty inky. Nicely lit outdoor shots really look quite good. Skin tones look nice and natural, there are no signs of edge enhancement or noise reduction and although the disc is single layered compression artifacts are never a problem. This is a really nice transfer overall.

The only audio option for the feature is an English language DTS-HD 2.0 Stereo mix, there are no alternate language options offered nor are there any closed captioning or subtitles options provided. Clarity of the audio is fine. The levels are nicely balanced and there are problems with any hiss or distortion.

There are no extras on the disc save for static menus and chapter selection.

The Final Word:

Zapped! is indisputably a product of its time, but so what - that's half the movie's charm right there. This is a fun watch, it's not a perfect movie but it holds up better than you'd probably expect it to. The cast are great, the pacing is quick and the movie is still pretty funny. Olive's Blu-ray release is barebones, but it sounds good and looks even better. Recommended.

Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!