Back to the High School USA

Actor, author, and activist Michael J. Fox spent the 1980s playing a teen protagonist in massive TV series and movies, but he had a string of early roles that helped shape his future, including the role of Jay-Jay in the movie High School USA (1983).  

This zany NBC pilot turned back-door M-O-W, is now on TheArchive, and features a who’s-who of TV stars like Todd Bridges, Dana Plato, Tony Dow, Ken Osmond, Bob Denver, and Dawn Wells, who unfortunately just passed away from Covid, to name a few; let’s just say the creators loved Gilligan’s Island, Diff’rent Strokes and Leave it to Beaver. 

Other well-known actors rounded off this cast, including an uncredited Brad Pitt as a bumbling library nerd, but the highlights of this lovable American school title are the scenes with Crispin Glover, Nancy Mckeon and Anthony Edwards, with Edwards flexing his nerd-to-cool acting range just before starring in Revenge of the Nerds, Gotcha!, Top Gun and many other huge films and series like ER.   

Which brings me to the most interesting aspect of this title: whoever decided to cast Fox in his next tv movie and his next first major feature film, must have watched High School USA, and loved the chemistry Fox had with McKeon, who starred opposite Fox in ‘Poison Ivy’ (1985), and with Glover, who ended up playing George McFly in ‘Back to the Future’ (1985). 

If you loved Fox as a teenager driving a modified sports car, you will love High School USA!

Learn more about TheArchive and its other hidden gems here.

TheArchive channel is dedicated to aficionados and lovers of story, craft, and silver screen fun – streaming rare, retro, and 4K restored films and classic TV. From indies and series, to Oscar winning documentaries, unearthed MOWs, and a killer horror library, TheArchive delivers forgotten, never-before-seen gems for free. Marilyn, Karloff, and Orson Welles stream alongside Reese, Keanu, and Samuel L. Jackson. Find true stories of Queen, Hendrix, and Sinatra, an LGBTQ library, MLK bios, and world history docs. TheArchive has the movies and shows you either saw, should’ve seen, or should be watching now!