Spirited, fun-loving gym coach (Mark Harmon, never more charming or high energy) is saddled with high school kids stuck in summer school due to terrible grades in English, needing to get them to pass a test at the end so he can reach tenure. While the vice principal (a well cast stick-in-the-mud Robin Thomas) doubts Harmon can do it, the kids, through bribing (Harmon agrees to grant them favors if they will allow him to teach them English!), start to actually study and learn progressively. Meanwhile Harmon continues to ask fellow teacher Kirstie Alley (never more yummy) out on a date, unimpeded by her constant rejection towards him.
An electric cast of familiar faces in young roles, a splendid sunny coastal setting, sense of humor that aims to please, breezy direction that makes the most of the formula plot, and some delightful homages to the slasher films of the 80s (this was around '87 as slasher films were riding the high soon to wane in the next few years) really keep the film appealing. It is a cult comedy that is anchored (and boosted) by Harmon's winning personality (he is mostly known as a dramatic actor with more effort toward intensity and sincerity which makes this character a welcome change of pace for him) with memorable duo of horror make-up aficionados, Chainsaw and Dave (Dean Cameron and Gary Riley, quite a pair), leaving a zany impression.
But the cast is filled with faces those who grew up with television and movies in the 80s and 90s know: Patrick Labyorteaux (Little House on the Prairie; Heathers; Ghoulies III: JAG) as football player needing to lift his grades to make the team, Courtney Thorne-Smith (Melrose Place; Ally McBeal) as teenage surfer infatuated with Harmon, Kelly Jo Minter (after this she was in both The Lost Boys and A Nightmare on Elm Street 5) as dyslexic student trying to get her driver's license, Ken Olandt (April Fool's Day was right before this and he also starred in Leprechaun a few years later) as underage stripper who sleeps during summer class, Shawnee Smith (Saw; Who's Harry Crumb?) as pregnant teenager Labyorteaux takes a shine to, Richard Steven Horvitz as allergy-plagued dork who is burdened with being the black sheep in terms of not passing class (he has made a career as a voice artist), foxy foreign exchange student Fabiana Udenio who eventually strips to bikini and is an object of lust for the horror film geeks to drool over, and hulking Duane Davis who goes to the bathroom on the first day and returns the last to take the test (and passes with the highest grade!).
Memorable scenes include the cast frightening a sub for Harmon with a splatter scene right out of a Freddy movie (the make-up effects are epic!), Harmon losing his girlfriend to a Hawaii trip as he must stay behind in order to remain employed, fireworks setting Harmon's couch on fire during a party at his house, Harmon's early teaching methods (which included field trips to an amusement park and the library), the summer school ending exams which had all the students rushing to just finish them, and the driver's exams where Cameron and Minter have their share of problems. Harmon and Alley have good chemistry, and his efforts finally pay off at the end...and how Harmon tries to disable Courtney's crush on him comes with some complications. Harmon's simply infectious, and NCIS fans might want to take a look at this to see a more laid-back and easy-breezy personality quite different from the rock of Gibraltar he inhabits on the long-time military action show.
An electric cast of familiar faces in young roles, a splendid sunny coastal setting, sense of humor that aims to please, breezy direction that makes the most of the formula plot, and some delightful homages to the slasher films of the 80s (this was around '87 as slasher films were riding the high soon to wane in the next few years) really keep the film appealing. It is a cult comedy that is anchored (and boosted) by Harmon's winning personality (he is mostly known as a dramatic actor with more effort toward intensity and sincerity which makes this character a welcome change of pace for him) with memorable duo of horror make-up aficionados, Chainsaw and Dave (Dean Cameron and Gary Riley, quite a pair), leaving a zany impression.
But the cast is filled with faces those who grew up with television and movies in the 80s and 90s know: Patrick Labyorteaux (Little House on the Prairie; Heathers; Ghoulies III: JAG) as football player needing to lift his grades to make the team, Courtney Thorne-Smith (Melrose Place; Ally McBeal) as teenage surfer infatuated with Harmon, Kelly Jo Minter (after this she was in both The Lost Boys and A Nightmare on Elm Street 5) as dyslexic student trying to get her driver's license, Ken Olandt (April Fool's Day was right before this and he also starred in Leprechaun a few years later) as underage stripper who sleeps during summer class, Shawnee Smith (Saw; Who's Harry Crumb?) as pregnant teenager Labyorteaux takes a shine to, Richard Steven Horvitz as allergy-plagued dork who is burdened with being the black sheep in terms of not passing class (he has made a career as a voice artist), foxy foreign exchange student Fabiana Udenio who eventually strips to bikini and is an object of lust for the horror film geeks to drool over, and hulking Duane Davis who goes to the bathroom on the first day and returns the last to take the test (and passes with the highest grade!).
Memorable scenes include the cast frightening a sub for Harmon with a splatter scene right out of a Freddy movie (the make-up effects are epic!), Harmon losing his girlfriend to a Hawaii trip as he must stay behind in order to remain employed, fireworks setting Harmon's couch on fire during a party at his house, Harmon's early teaching methods (which included field trips to an amusement park and the library), the summer school ending exams which had all the students rushing to just finish them, and the driver's exams where Cameron and Minter have their share of problems. Harmon and Alley have good chemistry, and his efforts finally pay off at the end...and how Harmon tries to disable Courtney's crush on him comes with some complications. Harmon's simply infectious, and NCIS fans might want to take a look at this to see a more laid-back and easy-breezy personality quite different from the rock of Gibraltar he inhabits on the long-time military action show.