I'm surprised to see so many negative reactions to this film. As a regular junkie for obscure 80s comedies, I kind of liked it. I mean, the underdog story was quite far-fetched and there were several elements to make it laughable (the music video-like sequences scattered through the more motivational sequences in the film),but it is it really deserving of such poor ratings? Actually, this is the kind of film that an obscure 80s comedy/drama fan might only appreciate (it is probably destined for cult status anyways, even if the following for such is extremely small) because you have to expect (and forgive) a lot of campy cheesiness. Afterall, that's the natural byproduct of the underdog genre.

This is the story of an optimistic, and idealistic, teen from NYC. A recent high school grad, he's determined not to be stuck in some dead end junk job that he would regret for the rest of his life. Among the three friends who are primarily the main protagonists of this film (along with Harold Gould as Rockerfella and Marisa Tomei as one of the girlfriends),he is the dreamer with plenty of ideas for greatness. Opportunity comes a-knockin' this time in the form of a deed to an upstate hotel inherited from an Aunt, along with eight thousand dollars worth of debt. Despite urgings from his mother not to bother with it, he and his friends plan to fix it up and turn it into a youth hotel, The Hotel Majestic.

This, of course, is much to the chagrin of the small town's high profile investor, who, in cahoots with another sleazy businessman, intend to get their hands on that hotel any way they can. And when the teens refuse to sell it to him, he turns the whole town of middle-age and senior ogres against them. Being the underdog genre, you have to know that these kids (and their friend, Rockerfella) aren't going down without a fight. Like I said, you have to expect quite a bit of cheesiness. But the film has it moments of sly city humor (I particularly like Jimmy Biao's character, Stienberg) and other elements that may make it worth watching. I actually started watching it with the impression that it was going to be terrible (I had bought it at a video store where I usually have zip luck with the selections). Certainly, fans of obscure 80s films ought to give it a try.

This movie could only be interesting to someone who is conducting an anthropological study of 1980s pop culture. Bad hair, bad soundtrack, bad lipstick, gratuitous shots of women's legs, bad over-acting, ludicrously tight pants, bad plot. It's just very bad.

OK folks, if you LOVE 80's cheese, then this is the movie for you. I love this movie primarily because my dad played Cromwell(the villain)in it, but beyond that, I just really enjoyed the silliness of it all and the fact that the film transports me to a different time in my life. I was 14 years old when the movie was released, so I was really into all of that early MTV cheesiness. The soundtrack was great and was truly one of the best things about the film (other than Dad, of course),but there were also scenes in the film that were very clever and funny. I think that the direction could have been a lot better (sorry Miramax),as the young actors had the tendency to "chew the scenery" at times and needed their overacting to be reigned in a bit. Harold Gould's performance was flawless, however. He's a true professional. It's very hard to make sense out of a silly script, but he managed to develop a wonderful character. The bottom line is that the film is just good fun. Forget about the improbable plot, the bad acting, and the terrible direction and just let the movie transport you to a different time in your life. I've seen it hundreds of times over the years with friends who have wanted to see some films my dad has done. Before I let anyone watch it, I always give the disclaimer that it is a super-cheesy 80's film and believe it or not, my dad is a Shakesperean-trained actor (he played Horatio in Richard Burton's Hamlet, among other roles),but everyone always ends up loving the movie because it's truly a piece of 80's nostalgia. My dad will be the fist person to tell you that it's a horrible movie, so he always chuckles when someone tells him how much they loved it. In my opinion, if you want to relive 1986, then this movie is a must-see. :)