Scott Baio Movies
Though he's had a very successful career as a television actor, tall, black-haired, and youthful-looking Scott Baio might be best remembered for dating seemingly every hot, blonde starlet to enter Hollywood. He made his first television appearance as a teen in 1976. He became a regular on the nostalgic sitcom Happy Days in 1977, playing the role of Fonzie's tough little cousin, Chachi, and became a favorite with many preteen girls. Later, he and fellow Happy Days cohort, Erin Moran, starred in the short-lived spin-off series Joanie Loves Chachi (1982-1983). When that failed, the two returned to their original series and remained with it through its demise in 1984. Baio was then cast in the lead of a new sitcom, Charles in Charge, as a conscientious young man who earns money for college by playing nanny to two lively teenage girls and their younger brother. The show ended in 1990, and the following year, Baio headlined another short-lived sitcom as the janitor/love interest on Baby Talk. In 1993, he played his first dramatic role in a series when he was cast opposite Dick Van Dyke in Diagnosis Murder. In the fall of 1997, Baio again returned to sitcom work with the Fox series Rewind in which he plays a marketing executive with a sense of déjà vu that leads him to return to his adolescent years during the '70s. Baio's movie work has been more sporadic. He made his first feature-film appearance as Bugsy in Bugsy Malone (1976). Most of his subsequent film work has been in such low-budget efforts as Skatetown (1979), Zapped (1982), and I Love New York (1988).In 2005, Baio took a recurring role on the cult hit Arrested Development, as lawyer Bob Loblaw. His deadpan delivery was a hit with audiences, as was the subtle in-joke of his appearing with fellow 80's teen star Jason Bateman. In 2007, Baio capitalized on his laundry list of hot and famous ex girlfriends with his own reality show, Scott Baio is 45…And Single. The series followed him as he faced up to his playboy past, working with a life coach to face up to his fear of marriage with the goal of proposing to his long-term girlfriend.
~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Toni Kalem, best known to contemporary audiences for her role as Angie Bompensiero on The Sopranos, stars in this ABC Afterschool Special as the teenaged victim of a crippling accident. Helping the girl overcome her handicap -- and her resentment over her situation -- are a concerned teacher (Dee Wallace) and a rebellious wheelchair-bound high schooler (Scott Baio). The story reaches an exhilarating climax as the two teens lobby to establish special bathroom facilities in their school -- and to participate in an annual six-mile race, which traditionally does not welcome or accommodate handicapped people. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Toni Kalem, Dee Wallace, (more)
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
- Starring:
- Jodie Foster, Scott Baio, (more)
- 1980
At the time this ABC Afterschool Special was originally telecast in 1980, one out of every nine high-school seniors had either smoked marijuana or was actively doing so. This story is about 15-year-old Jack Melon (played by Scott Baio), who knows all the risks of pot smoking but continues to toke up anyway. Written and directed by John Herzfeld, who also appears onscreen as concerned teacher Doug David, Stoned does not take the easy-out of preaching against marijuana but instead focuses on the reasons an otherwise sensible teen might take up the habit: In Jack's case, he does pot because of loneliness, a father who doesn't pay enough attention to his academic skills, and jealousy of his older brother's athletic achievements. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Baio, John Herzfeld, (more)
- 1980
Scott Baio plays the son of ex-hockey star Don Murray, who has reacted to the loss of his career with a steadily increasing reliance upon liquor. Baio begins to excel athletically in school, but when the inevitable disappointments set in, he begins to imitate his father's booze intake. Lance Kerwin plays Baio's best friend, who picks up on the early warning signs and tries to keep Baio from descending into alcoholism. Made for television, Boy Who Drank Too Much was intended as a "breakthrough" role for teen idol Scott Baio, who is in fact better than usual here. Based on a novel by Shep Greene, the film was cluttered up with too many superfluous subplots, including the pregnancy of one of Baio's teachers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
- PG
The short-lived roller-disco craze of the late 1970s served as inspiration for this dated comedy, which follows the patrons of a popular roller-disco palace as they prepare for a major race. Naturally, the climactic showdown features a wholesome, upright hero (Greg Bradford) facing the fearsome challenge of a leather-clad villain (a pre-fame Patrick Swayze). ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Baio, Flip Wilson, (more)
- 1976
- G
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
- Starring:
- Scott Baio, Jodie Foster, (more)
