» Review Summary
Forgotten Friday - Zapped!
Short Version: As this feature becomes more popular I find our readers suggesting films I loved that even I forgot! Zapped is one of those cheese fests that just need to be seen just to prove it happened!
Release: July 23, 1982
Genre: Comedy
Director: Robert J Rosenthal
Staring: Scott Baio, Willie Aames, Robert Mandan, Scatman Crothers, Heather Thomas
» Review
Forgotten Friday - Zapped!
Thanks for checking out our Forgotten Fridays feature. This is a feature to review some older films that maybe you have forgotten about or maybe never got around to seeing that we just want to share. They may not be old, maybe not forgotten, but they are not new. Just fun to share.
Today’s review is Zapped!
THE GENERAL IDEA
Barney is a student/science lab 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 for no better reasons than beating up bullies, cheating at sports and stripping girls, particularly co-star Heather Thomas.
THE GOOD
This is 80s sexploitation at its most modest. For the most part we seen teens in lingerie (because all girls had fashionable matching undergarments in the 80s) and a few quick boob shots, but the whole movie is basically just a “what would you do” exploration and there really is no point to it. But its a fun ride, and you get to see the nerdy science geek get some revenge, and the inner teased school kid in you cheers (unless you were that bully - you jerks)
This film is also what started the relationship that got Baio and Willie Aames to work together again in TV’s Charles in Charge.
THE BAD
When Baio gets these superpowers the first thing he obviously thinks to do is strip women publicly. That’s pretty much the plot of the movie. Shirts popping open, dresses flying off in the air, skirts hiking up. Oh, he also uses his powers to freak out some priests and make the bully kick his own ass. So its basically just a free for all of “what would you do with telekenisis”
OVERALL
This is a brain off fun film that is more nostalgia than quality. I remember watching the crap out of this on VHS as a kid but then I was 11, so of course it was cinema gold for me. Boobies! It gets all its ratings for the cheap thrills it inspires, but worth the laugh to see just how pointless the story is.
I am going to introduce a new rating system for my Forgotten Fridays picks.
Since all of these Forgotten Friday reviews are going to be what I would already give a high rating to, I had a Tv, Rent or Buy scale going on, but it would seem that an overwhelming majority of my picks get a BUY rating.
So with every Forgotten Friday you see from now on, you get to rate your anticipation for yourself!
TV – If you are at least a little curious, catch it if it comes on TV.
Rent – If it is something you have heard of and forgotten, or just remember enjoying this as much as I did once upon a time, go rent it.
Buy – But if you are like me, and you agree with my review you should go buy it. If its featured here, I already have.
Loved it as a youngster! Dont forget what caused the Bao super power= WEED.
and wasn’t that janitor the voice for Hung Kung Fooey?
WOW I also have alot of nostalgia for Zapped. I saw it 3 times in a theater. Movies like that fit the 80’s and I highly doubt you could get a theatrical release for a film like that in todays market. GOOD pick!
Chuck
WOOT THOSE BOOBS!
haha
Lol yea, worth a re-watch just for all the gratuitous Heather Thomas scenes. It would probably seem quite dated now but at the time I quite enjoyed it.
I like the idea that a kid gets superpowers and he isn’t hung up about responsibility. I remember an episode of Heroes where a girl with the ability to control people her voice goes around stealing cars and telling cops to piss off.
I loved Zapped. I got it on Beta around 1984.
Scott Baio, Heather Thomas… there’s no way you could do wrong.
Epic B-Movie.
I will admit to having a thing for Heather Thomas, be it on TVs Fall Guy, TJ Hooker or the B film Red Blooded American Girl…
Charles In Charge aside…
This film was a pile of C-R-A-P and Rodney gets two negative no-points for digging up things that should remain dead, buried and forgotten. For the int’l friends who thought this waste of film stock and the hour and a half stolen from your life spans, my sympathies. If any of you half to drag out the VHS clunkers to watch the mess for the hundreth time, please do the public at large a big favor and notify your next of kin before doing so.
People may be concerned for your well being.
My well being is still without question Darren.
And considering the (surprisingly) overwhelming number of positive comments in regards to this crappy 80s gem, I will be inclined to disagree with you. Seems other found some entertainment value out of it then even I did.
I think that was the first time I saw boobs in a movie. My babysitter was watching it on HBO and I snuck in the room. Awesome!