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The plot is simple: a mastermind, Leon, stages a Los Angeles-wide scavenger hunt, inviting five captains and their teams to play for everlasting glory. Heralding in the class-consciousness of later '80's movies, there are the White Team (nerds on mopeds); the Green Team (jocks in Meat Machine convertible); Red Team (sorority gals); Blue Team (outcasts in super-van with computer--TRS-80?); and Yellow Team (the good guys). Any bets on the winners?

It's low-brow, slapstick, often cheesy and utterly improbable stuff. Yet in its own twisted universe, it _works_. The best thing HBO ever did in its youth was airing this movie practically every day. I don't think I ever watched it from start to finish, but I watched segments so many times that it all came together. Barf and Melio playing the piano; Pabst Blue Ribbon; the Big Boy; MISS!!!!!!!; roller skates; the arcade . . . and of course, the immortal "fagabeefy?". Almost mindless, but pretty darn clean, especially in light of today's gross-out flicks. (It was Disney's second PG movie, after The Black Hole.)

Other amazing tidbits: this was the film debut of both Michael J. Fox and Paul "Pee Wee Herman" Rubens. Stephen Furst (Harold, the leader of the blue team) out-Flounders Flounder, his role in Animal House. The hotel desk clerk, Marvin Kaplan, played Henry on TV's "Alice." Andy Tennant, the snyde Melio, has gone on to bigger (if not better) things as the director of "Anna and the King" and "Fools Rush In." He also was a dancer in Grease and a greaser in Grease 2, and he was in "1941" with Barf (Brian Frishman) and the nerd leader (Eddie Deezan, Eugene from Grease).

Amazing, isn't it?, that so many threads of trivia should intersect in such an odd place. Glad to see so many share fond memories of this film--and yes, that ultra-groovy, catchy, cheesy title track: "When midnight madness starts to get to you . . ." You've gotta see it to believe it. Enjoy, even as a guilty, nostalgic pleasure.

A cult classic of epic proportions
"Midnight Madness," I learned, was only the second live action 'PG' rated film to come out of Disney studios. The first was the science fiction film "The Black Hole," a movie best left moldering on video store shelves. "Midnight Madness" will never fade away since HBO, in its infinite wisdom, played the film on a perpetual loop from roughly 1982 to 1986. I must have watched this movie a thousand times during that period, and so did a million other people from the looks of it. Strangely, I completely forgot about the film for seventeen years, only remembering it when I stumbled over reviews for the picture on some website. Unfortunately, at the time it had not come out on DVD, so I had to wait until Disney saw fit to release it. Rewatching any film after a nearly two-decade interregnum is often a painful experience. In the case of "Midnight Madness," the sheer exuberance of the actors' performances and the wild hilarity of the plot completely overshadow spots of bad acting and general cheesiness. Never the sort of film that would win any awards-except for one of those raspberry trophies, perhaps-the picture still entertains. HBO ought add this to the queue again.

"Midnight Madness" is a scavenger hunt film in the vein of "Scavenger Hunt," "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," and "Million Dollar Mystery." Some guy named Leon (Alan Solomon) manages to convince a group of his fellow college students to take part in his latest entertainment, a scavenger hunt called "The Game." Five groups of kids will take part; each identified by a specific color, e.g. white, red, yellow, green, and blue. Of course, each group represents a clique on campus. The white team consists of the geeks, led by the always awesome Eddie Deezen in the role of Wesley. The yellow team, better known as the obligatory "good guys," consists of Adam (David Naughton), Laura (Debra Clinger), and eventually Adam's little brother Scott (Michael J. Fox). Jocks constitute the green team, lead by Lavitas (Brad Wilkin) and composed of athletes with monikers like Armpit (Curt Ayers). The blue team is the villain of the film, a group of offbeat nuts like Melio (Andy Tennant) and Barf (Brian Fishman) led by the egomaniacal Harold (Stephen Furst). Finally, the red team is the girl team, with the most notable contestants here being two giggly, overweight twins named Lulu and Peggy (Carol Gwynn and Betsy Lynn Thompson respectively). Each group has its own quirky attributes, and all of them despise the other teams. Harold, for instance, can't stand Adam because Harold's father thinks Adam is the archetypical "perfect" son. When he looks at his own boy, his attitude is summed up in one word: yech.

As the game progresses, we see the teams roaming the city while Leon runs the show from his grungy apartment. Clues lead the teams to an observatory, a beer factory, a piano shop, a burger joint, and several other places. Cheating, tricks, and outright hostility mark every leg of the game. Harold, who must win no matter what the cost if he is to retain even a shred of his father's affections, cheats from the get go with a fancy computer that instantly decodes Leon's clues. Problems often threaten to derail the teams, such as a flat tire for the yellows, Peggy and Lulu running off to dance at a disco, and melting marshmallows. Then there are the clues, cryptic messages that mystify the contestants. They more often find the clues through dumb luck than any sort of skill. "Look between the two melons," for example, would not offer up an instant answer no matter what the circumstances-unless you're a guy, perhaps. All of the midnight madness takes place firmly within the confines of late '70's and early '80's pop culture. The hyper cheesy disco tune at the beginning, a clue in a video game, and two gals on roller skates wearing tube tops are a good indication that "Midnight Madness" could not have been made at any other time.

The acting is often painful to watch. I can't remember a time I saw facial expressions so overdone. Naughton and Clinger are the worst performers in the film, but even then it's all done in such an innocent way that you tend to forgive their ridiculous overemoting. On the other hand, other actors do a great job. Andy Tennant's Melio is a real hoot, as is Brian Fishman in the iconic role of Barf. Eddie Deezen does dork better than anyone on the planet and he's at the top of his game in this film. Fortunately, the script provides these thespians with the best lines and scenes in cornball celluloid history. "Fagabeefe. Hey Melio, Fagabeefe!" is a line that should ring from the highest buildings in the land. My absolute favorite scene involves Barf playing that keyboard (Chopsticks, I think?), soon joined by Melio, to the great consternation of Harold. Priceless, just priceless. I don't think I even need to mention the whipsaw fast pace of the movie since any picture about a scavenger hunt will always move at lightning speed.

I rented "Midnight Madness" when I watched it recently, but I really need to buy a copy. My sister, I suspect, doesn't know this movie is out on DVD and would simply love to see it again. Sadly, the disc contains no extras. You can't tell me they couldn't get some of these guys together to do a commentary, especially Michael J. Fox if for no other reason than this was his first film role. Too, the transfer is fullscreen instead of glorious widescreen. Still, I'm not complaining. Revisiting this movie was like stepping back in time to those lazy days of childhood before jobs, relationships, and all that other junk took center stage in life.

Leon=The Highest Being
When we gaze upon Leon, truly, we are seeing the most accurate personification of God ever captured on film. Few people know, or are allowed to know, that a copy of this movie was found by police in the VCR of Kurt Cobain in the very house in which he perished. He blew his head off.

Kurt Cobain was a disturbed individual and a drug abuser of the highest order, but "Midnight Madness" is, at heart, a sweet film. The good people really do come out on top.

May I return to a discussion of Leon? As Game Master, he pulls every string, but he also allows the contestants abundant latitude to do as they wish. Philosophers call this "free will." I call it genius.

This film is not for everyone. There is an uncomfortable moment when a white woman (and landlord to boot) refers to a black officer of the law an "ape."

Court records in King County, Washington State show that on March 13, 1997, Kurt Cobain's birth mother legally adopted his widow, Courtney Love. Think about that next time you sit down for a meal with your family.