No Shirt, No Mask, No Service for Ricky Schroder

We've got a doozy for you this week.

We all know Ricky Schroder has a hard time staying out of the news, but he literally couldn’t even keep his mask on this week at Costco let alone his shirt on in Target for Rage, the latest gem we’ve dug up from TheArchive.
 
TFR stars Ricky, Freddie Prinze, Jr., and Henry Winkler (or as Gen Z calls him, “that funny old guy who won an Emmy for his role in that amazing Bill Hader show.”) Hey Gen Z, it’s too bad THE FONZ came into his own so late in his career! Nevertheless, we were lucky enough to find some of his work that came out around the time you were born.
 
More than 20 years before the discovery of Winkler in Barry, he starred in this 1997 TV drama Target for Rage based on the 1992 Lindhurst High School shooting. Ricky Schroder who, in addition to playing a real-life lunatic in a Costco near you just the other day, apparently also played himself in Get Him to the Greek -- national treasure Jonah Hill’s two hander opposite Russell Brand which is another real gem, but sadly you won’t find that on TheArchive.
 
Also starring, Freddie Prinze Jr. (yes Gen Z, “that voice over actor and Fred from the Scooby Doo dog movies from the early 2000s”), Target for Rage explores mental health issues with some highly dramatic acting and writing to boot. 
 
While the tragedy of this true story is unimaginable, and our hearts go out to those who suffered at the hands of the madman who perpetrated this school shooting, we wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t hear about this MOW when it debuted.
 
May 19, 1997 was when it originally aired on ABC. That same day, Lost World: Jurassic Park released and Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick got married. So most of the world was otherwise indisposed and unavailable for TV, or they were mourning the loss of Millie, President George H. W. Bush’s dog. A lot went down that day. Including Target for Rage.  
 
With all that said, it is fun to see the Emmy winner for best supporting actor in Barry play a cop who gets to ultimately talk Ricky Schroder off the ledge and into surrendering amidst his siege. Where was he when that poor Costco employee had to endure Ricky’s real-life rage? Winkler’s character’s shrewd negotiation tactics are held in high esteem by his fellow hostage negotiator who points out that he should have been, “a used car salesman,” to which Winkler responds, “I was a used car salesman before I became a cop.” Cinema verité.
 
But all kidding aside, it is important to note that these cautionary tales do need to be told. If even one person can be saved, then the film did its job. It is however important to also note that Winkler’s final dénouement moment is when he kindly requests that Schroder come out of the building with his shirt off. Super hot. And clearly an important plot point the production found critical to the story.
 
For all you out there looking for a film with Ricky Schroder wielding weapons shirtless, we’ve got it.

So while we don’t have the footage of him refusing to mask up in Costco earlier this week, based on the unhinged insanity he portrays in Target for Rage, we think this is the perfect substitute.
 
Just kidding. Of course we have the footage, it’s right here.

We did you a solid now go and watch Target for Rage. Shirts and masks optional. 

Stream Target for Rage and so much more free on TheArchive's Roku channel.

           

     

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!