Mischief (1985)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Absolutely the worst movie.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

This movie is not a superficial teen coming of age high school comedy drama at all. It may seem at first it's about hooking up and coolness. As the movie progresses it gets more and more involving. By the end there are some real insights into people's characters especially Kelly Preston's character is a very real lesson for guys to distinguish between physical attraction vs what's inside. Really feel for the cool guy Eugene who gets unfairly treated. Here is a feel good ending that is not too far out. Catherine Mary Stewart and Kelly Preston are the girlfriends. Worth watching.

"Mischief" started out as just another teen sex comedy, but I found myself sticking with it because of the characters. It rides the raunchy waves into a pretty good teen movie; people grow, relationships fall apart, others strengthen, it's nice. In its favor, it does feature the gorgeous Catherine Mary Stewart, Jami Gertz and Kelly Preston (the latter of whom has one of the most stunning nude scenes I've ever witnessed), and such beauty is no laughing matter.But the movie's greatest asset is its brilliantly realized small- town period. They didn't just set the film in Nelsonville, Ohio, they actually shot it there (how many movies set in Ohio actually film there?). Lends unbelievable authenticity to the time and place. The art department really nailed the malt shop and signage. And with that soundtrack, chock-full of '50s songs, it's like time-traveling without a flux capacitor. That level of immersion just doesn't happen everyday.7/10

The title and DVD cover, as well as the first few scenes of Mischief, may give the wrong impression: it's not a sexy-hi-jinx comedy in the vein of Porky's or other such movies made in the 80's. Rather, it's a nostalgic coming of age film, the legitimate spiritual successor of American Graffiti and The Last Picture Show, even if it's decisively more light-hearted and sexy than those films. While the characters in Mischief are based on familiar stereotypes, none of them are flat caricatures - Jonathan isn't a nerd but a very realistic shy, reserved boy of 17, and Gene is a slick, cool Don Juan but he also has the problems and insecurities of a teenager. Likewise, while the plot hangs tightly unto many clichés of the 50's-set teen comedy, it has enough heart and soul to set itself apart, to grab the viewer and make him care about the characters, who fill real and full. While it's not a masterpiece and it's very much a product of its time, Mischief is one of the better teen sex comedies of the 80's and a surprisingly mature and touching film that's still well worth seeing.

There's a natural wholesomeness to MISCHIEF, even if it does include the kind of sex scene you'd never see in a '40s film, but even so it comes across as surprisingly fresh and natural with a '50s soundtrack of pop songs that fill the background score in appropriate fashion.Acted with zest and skill, it's the tale of a love-struck teen (DOUG McKEON) and his high school romance with one of the prettiest girls (KELLY PRESTON). McKeon's cool best friend is played with style by CHRIS NASH. There's a nice comic flavor to the whole story and a satisfying conclusion when the town bully (D.W. BROWN) gets his comeuppance from an angry McKeon who smashes his Studebaker into Brown's fancy red sports car (front and rear) to make a mess out of it. "That's for Marilyn!" he tells the bully, before he drives off to find a date with someone else.It reminded me of an updated MARGIE ('46) in which Jeanne Crain was the gal in a coming of age story about flaming youth of the '20s. But whereas that film was strictly wholesome with a capital "W", MISCHIEF is grounded in the more realistic mid-'80s with language and sex scenes considerably more risqué than allowed in an earlier period. Still, it manages not to offend and is an enjoyable comedy played with a natural flair for comedy by a talented young cast.With '50s songs like "The Great Pretender" and "Don't Be Cruel" on the soundtrack, it has an authentic '50s flavor that gives it added credibility.