Scott Baio Movies

This 1982 made-for-TV version of the Lewis Carroll classic Alice in Wonderland features an all-star cast. Such celebrities as Donald O'Connor, Maureen Stapleton and Eve Arden struggle to perform while buried under mounds of makeup and tons of eccentric costuming as Carroll's alternate-world loonies. Alice in Wonderland was first telecast Oct 3, 1983, on PBS' Great Performances. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Here's the basic "shtick" of Bugsy Malone: it's a gangster picture enacted by children. Acted out before scaled-down sets, the film details the career of Bugsy Malone (Scott Baio), who rises to the top of the criminal ladder in 1920s New York. Whenever gunfire is called for, the kiddie crooks substitute whipped cream for bullets. Paul Williams contributes several songs, which are performed by adult singers and lip-synched by the pint-sized actors. The cast includes John Cassisi as diminutive Capone clone Fat Sam, and then-13-year-old Jodie Foster as the sultry nightclub thrush Tallulah. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Two and half years after it was cancelled at the end of its first season on CBS, the youth-oriented sitcom Charles in Charge staged a spectacular revival in off-network syndication, returning to the air in most markets in January of 1987. Of the original CBS cast, only Scott Baio as 20-year-old college student Charles and Willie Aames as his best friend Buddy were carried over into the syndicated version. When last we saw Charles, he was working as "male governess" in the New Brunswick home of the Pembroke family, riding herd on the three Pembroke children, whose ages ranged from 10 to 14. In the first episode of the "new" Charles in Charge, Charles and Buddy return from a two-week camping trip only to discover that the Pembrokes (played by different actors than in the network series) have decided to move to Seattle, and to sell their home to the Powell family. Quickly ingratiating himself with Ellen Powell (Sondra Kerns) and her curmudgeonly father Walter (James Callahan), Charles manages to secure a new male-governess position, agreeing to watch over Ellen's three children while her husband, a Navy officer, is commanding a station in the South Seas. Fortunately for Charles, two of three kids are virtual carbon copies of the Pembroke children: oldest daughter Jamie (Nicole Eggert) is crazy about boys just as Lila Pembroke had been; and 12-year-old Adam (Alexander Polinsky) is very much the same carefree sprite as his "clone" Jason Pembroke. Only middle child Sarah (Josie Davis), a shy, mild-mannered girl, represents a contrast to her Pembroke counterpart, the wisecracking Douglas. Halfway through the season, Ellen Travolta makes her first appearance as Charles' free-spirited mother Lillian, whose personality clashes harshly with that of the staunch traditionalist Walter Powell. Though Lillian is supposed to make only a brief visit, she ends up moving to New Brunswick, and by the next season she'll be a full-fledged regular. Although the budget of the syndicated Charles in Charge was lower than that of the CBS version, the producers did not cut corners in their choice of talented and instantly recognizable guest performers. Among the actors showing up in the series' first 24 off-network offerings are Ben Stein, Betsy Palmer, Robert Costanzo, Michael Dorn, Kay Lenz, and Michelle Johnson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Charles in Charge begins its fourth season on the air -- and its third season in off-network syndication -- with the title character, a now-22-year-old college student, still earning his bread and board as male governess for the three Powell children: Jamie (Nicole Eggert), Sarah (Josie Davis), and Adam (Alexander Polinsky). Helping Charles perform his duties is his best friend Buddy (Willie Aames), while the Powell kids' mom Ellen (Sondra Kerns) and grandfather Walter (James Callahan) carefully watch over our hero to make sure he doesn't screw up (which he hasn't yet, at least not to any great extent!). A few changes are in store this season. First off, Charles' freewheeling mom Lillian (Ellen Travolta) purchases the cast's favorite hangout, Sid's Pizza Parlor, reconverting it into the '50s-themed Yesterday Café -- a move that does not assume full significance until the two-part episode "Charles Splits," in which a bump on the head transforms Charles into his favorite TV character, "the Fonz" from Happy Days. (Is it necessary to remind anyone that Scott Baio himself was a Happy Days alumnus?) Secondly, Justin Whelan is introduced in the role of Lillian's wise-guy nephew Anthony, who shakes things up in the Powell household for a handful of episodes. Thirdly, Charles meets the love of his life, Stephanie Curtis, played by none other than Erika Eleniak. And finally, we meet Commander Robert Powell (James O'Sullivan), long-absent husband of Charles' employer Ellen Powell, for the very first time. Guest stars this season range from veterans like Charles Nelson Reilly and Donny Most to comparative newcomers Kellie Martin and Tracey Gold. The most poignant guest appearances is that of Sally Struthers, playing a demure schoolteacher who turns out to be a fugitive '60s activist in the episode "Still at Large." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The team behind the Scream trilogy, director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson, present another entry in the teen-horror genre with Cursed. Starring Christina Ricci and Jesse Eisenberg, the film tells the story of two siblings who have to battle a werewolf that has been wreaking havoc on their neighbors, just as they learn that they might be marked with "the sign of the beast," and may become werewolves themselves. Along with Shannon Elizabeth and Judy Greer, Cursed also co-stars Dawson Creek alumnus Joshua Jackson, as well as R&B star Mya. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Three guys from New Jersey decide they need some male bonding with their fathers -- whether their fathers like it or not -- in this independent comedy. When his grandfather dies, Richie Gallo (Scott Baio) finds himself thinking about his relationship with his family, and realizes that he barely knows his aging father Jimmy (Dean Stockwell). Richie discusses his emotionally distant relationship with his dad with his pals Al (Carlo Imperato) and Philly (Thomas Calabro), and they confess they aren't much closer to their own fathers -- and their fractured family lives have had an impact on their less-than-stable relationships with women. Richie decides they should get closer to their dads before it's too late, so Richie, Al, and Philly fast-talk their fathers Jimmy, Charlie (Joe Viterelli), and Phil (Alex Rocco) into joining them for a long weekend getaway of family bonding, though the older men are hardly enthusiastic about the idea. Star Scott Baio co-wrote the screenplay for Face to Face, which was based on a story he wrote with Adam Ferrara and fellow cast member Carlo Imperato. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Foxes details the exploits of four teenage San Fernando Valley girls as they drink, dope and sleep their way into oblivion. Jeanie (Jodie Foster, in a standout performance), the most grounded of the quartet, deals with her burned-out working-student-mother (Sally Kellerman, also excellent) while playing mother to her cohorts; Annie (Cherie Curie), a promiscuous drug-vacuum, attempts to dodge her psychotic police officer-father while partying round the clock; Madge (Marilyn Kagan), an overweight tag-along, who tries desperately to fit in with her wilder friends; and Deirdre (Kandice Stroh); an insecure liar and also-ran. While the performances (particularly the aforementioned) are good, and the direction is solid, the script doesn't seem to go anywhere; maybe that's the point, though, since neither do the characters in their vacuous, instant-gratification-based existences. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide

Celebrity photographer Gianni Bozzacchi supposedly wrote and directed this uneven romantic drama based on his own personal experience. Struggling photographer Mario Cortone (Scott Baio) falls in love with the pretty debutante Nicole (Kelly Van Der Velden), daughter of the popular but moody stage star John R. Yeates (Christopher Plummer). The young lovers try to sustain a relationship in spite of their cultural and economic differences in this routine teen romance. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide