RECESS: SCHOOL'S OUT
As school ends and summer vacation sets in, prankster and fun
lover T.J. Detweiler (voice of Andrew Lawrence) is horrified to
learn that rather than looking forward to three months of unstructured
play time, all 5 of his friends are leaving for various types
of summer camp: aspiring actor/singer Mikey (Jason Davis/Robert
Goulet) is headed for drama camp, smart but geeky Gretchen (Ashley
Johnson) is off to space camp, tomboy Ashley (Pamela Segall) has
signed up for wrestling camp, and so on. Despondent, T.J. expects
a boring summer. However, while riding his bike past the empty
school, he notices a strange green glow coming from inside. Assuming
that aliens are holed up in the building, he contacts Principal
Prickley (Dabney Coleman), who promptly disappears. Sensing trouble,
T.J. reassembles his camp-bound gang for a full-scale, kid-style
investigation.
In reality, it is evil ex-principal Dr. Benedict (James Woods)
who has taken the school hostage. Benedict, who always wanted
to abolish recess altogether to improve test scores, has invented
a powerful magnetic ray with which he intends to alter the moon's
orbit, resulting in perpetual winter on Earth and therefore no
summer vacation from school. Soon it is all-out war.
Okay, I admit it's a pretty stupid plot, but it's the dialogue
that amuses, often including jokes that travel well over the heads
of the kids in the audience. What's more, the soundtrack is quite
fun for us children of the '60s, including great psychedelic pop
standards like "Incense And Peppermints," "Let
the Sun Shine In," and "Purple Haze." The film
includes a flashback to the summer of love, when both principals
were long-haired hippies, and ends with an acid-induced musical
number behind the credits that would rival any Doors concert.
If you have to take the kids to a low-rent cartoon, this experience at least is enjoyably trippy. ***½