7. Midnight Madness (1980)
For a movie that helped launch a career, this one is really a forgotten film. OK, to be fair, it didn't really launch a career, it just introduced the world to Michael J. Fox. AND it starred a bunch of known names (at least they were known in the early 80's - names like David Naughton, Stephen Furst, Andy Tennant, even Eddie Deezen.) The plot was typical teenager fare for the early 80's, which is to say, it really really was thin: a bored brainiac creates "the ultimate" scavenger hunt and invites a bunch of college kids to participate. Seriously, the only thing I remember from watching this the first time around was how truly messy Leon's room was. I could not imagine trying to find anything in there! The next time around, all I remember noticing were the game control girls. (Hey, I was a teenager, come on!) I do recall the best part of the movie being the interaction of the residents of Leon's house, not the competition itself. Sad but true. Watching it the third time, I see it as sadly formulaic- Introduce characters, set up thin plot, and voila! College glory, hijinks and notoriety await the winner. Shame and disgrace await the loser. Bad acting awaits the viewer. Observe: Ok. The movie was indeed forgettable, but the basic idea could be resurrected, either as a screwball comedy, or as a reality/competition show. I can even see it being done as a web based competition, which would allow the viewer to play along and win prizes. Hey, it couldn't be any dumber than the original movie!