Midnight Madness is a 1980 cult comedy film from Walt Disney Productions, starring David Naughton. The film is about a group of college students who participate in an all night puzzle solving race. It strongly resembles It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, and is Michael J. Fox's first film role. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 394 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (496 × 755 pixel, file size: 100 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)http://www. ... Ronald William Miller is a former professional football player and a former top Disney executive. ... David Naughton (born 13 February 1951, in West Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.) is an American actor and singer, best known for starring in the 1981 horror film An American Werewolf in London as David Kessler. ... For other persons named Michael Fox, see Michael Fox (disambiguation). ... Stephen Furst as Vir Cotto in Babylon 5 Stephen Furst (born Stephen Fuerstein on 8 May 1955 in Norfolk, Virginia) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Flounder in the feature film Animal House (1978), as Gonzer in the feature film Up the Creek (1984), as Dr... Buena Vista, which means pleasant view in Spanish, may refer to a number of things. ... The year 1980 in film involved some significant events. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Comedy has a classical meaning (comical theatre) and a popular one (the use of humour with an intent to provoke[[ laughter in general). ... Walt Disney Pictures logo (2006-present) Walt Disney Pictures refers to several different entities associated with The Walt Disney Company: // Walt Disney Pictures, the film banner, was established as a designation in 1983, prior to which Disney films since the death of Walt Disney were released under the name of... David Naughton (born 13 February 1951, in West Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.) is an American actor and singer, best known for starring in the 1981 horror film An American Werewolf in London as David Kessler. ... Its a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a comedy movie that followed the Hollywood trend in the 1960s of producing gigantic and epic films as a way to woo audiences into movie theaters. ... For other persons named Michael Fox, see Michael Fox (disambiguation). ...

Tagline: The most fun you'll ever have... in the dark.

DVD Tagline: A Wacky College Adventure

The film did poorly at the box office and was panned by critics, but later gained a cult following, and has served as the inspiration for many real-life puzzle and alternate reality games. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... An alternate reality game is a cross media game that deliberately blurs the line between the in-game and out-of-game experiences. ...

The game

Leon (top center) and the five team leaders. Harold (Blue, top left), Wesley (White, bottom left), Donna (Red, bottom center), Lavitas (Green, bottom right) & Adam (Yellow, top right)

Leon, a genius, summons five college students to his apartment and challenges them to participate in his latest game creation: The Great All-Nighter. He tells them about his game and instructs them to form teams. At first, the leaders refuse to play, however, rivalries between them lead all five to change their minds by the game's start time. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

The game works like this:

1. Teams are given an initial clue to solve.
2. When the clue is solved, it will lead to a location.
3. At that location they must find and solve another clue leading to another location and eventually the end.

Leon, as "game master," keeps track of the teams locations with a giant map, and various radio equipment. The teams also supposed to call and check in at each clue (though many of the teams end up skipping at least one location).

Starting at sundown, the five teams meet and are given envelopes with the first clue. They travel around Los Angeles, deciphering new clues in various locations, including the Griffith Observatory, a piano museum, the Pabst Blue Ribbon brewery, a restaurant, a mini golf course, the Los Angeles International Airport, and a video arcade. The first team to reach the final destination wins the game. Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... Panorama of Los Angeles and Griffith Observatory viewed from the Hollywood Hills. ... A short grand piano, with the top up. ... Pabst Blue Ribbon (colloquially PBR) is an American brand of beer with a long history and current popularity among the working classes and retro hipsters. ... The entrance of a brewery. ... Toms Restaurant, a restaurant in New York made familiar by Suzanne Vega and the television sitcom Seinfeld A restaurant is an establishment that serves prepared food and beverages to order, to be consumed on the premises. ... Miniature golf, also known as mini-golf, crazy golf or Putt-Putt, is a game modelled after the sport of golf. ... Runway layout at LAX “LAX” redirects here. ... A video arcade (known as an amusement arcade in the United Kingdom) is a place where people play arcade video games. ...

The movie focuses mainly on the struggle between the yellow and blue teams. The adventures of the other three teams are subplots, as well as the situation at Leon's apartment ("Game Control"). Here, along with his female assistants (Candy and Sunshine), Leon monitors the progress of the game. Already unpopular with his landlady, Mrs. Grimhouse, for the amount of noise he makes, Leon faces eviction if any of the other tenants complain. Several of them do show up to complain, but as Leon explains the mechanics of the game to them, they become fascinated with it and help run it, much to the annoyance of Grimhouse. A subplot is a series of connected actions within a work of narrative that function separately from the main plot. ... A landlord, is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called the tenant. ...

The game culminates in race-to-the-finish at the Bonaventure Hotel, followed by a huge party. Bonaventure Hotel (May 2005) The Westin Bonaventure Hotel is the largest hotel in Los Angeles and one of its most photographed structures. ...

Teams

The teams hunt for a clue at the Los Angeles International Airport

Teams are made up of characters who are broad stereotypes. They wear matching sweatshirts, and ride in vehicles that also match their team color. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... For the 1996 Blur single, see Stereotypes (song). ...

• The Green Team, also known as "Meat Machine," are made up of jocks from the school football team. They are led by Lavitas (Played by Brad Wilkin). They antagonize members of both the Red and White teams into playing. The team vehicle is a VW Beetle with a logo saying "meat wagon".
• The White Team is made up of debate team nerds, led by Wesley (played by Eddie Deezen). The White Team rides matching mopeds.
• The Red Team is made up of a family of 4 sisters who are the members of an unpopular sorority. Led by Donna (Played by Maggie Roswell). Two of the members are a set of overweight twins (many of the jokes involving the red team come at their expense) and the other two are feminists. The Red team's vehicle is a pickup truck which is soon destroyed by the green team.
• The Yellow Team are the main focus of the film. Led by Adam (Naughton), the yellow team picks up an additional member, Adam's troubled younger brother Scott (Fox), partway through the game. Adam learns that his brother is only acting out to get his attention. They also force the shy Flynch, whom Adam has been counseling, to play the game rather than allow him to go on a date with an ugly girl. Also on the team are Laura, Adam's love interest, and Marvin, another friend of Adam's. The team vehicle is a Jeep owned by Marvin.
• The Blue Team are all selfish, rude, unattractive, and cheat at every opportunity. They are led by overweight snob Harold (Stephen Furst), who is intensely jealous of the popular Adam. Melio (played by future Hollywood director Andy Tennant) purposely instigates fights between Harold and his girlfriend, Lucille. "Blade," a Mexican-American who is constantly brandishing his switchblade knife, never speaks. An additional member, Barf (Brian Fishman), is apparently autistic. The team vehicle is a van equipped with a computer that can solve clues, however this device is destroyed early on when Harold hides a stash of marshmallows in the circuitry.

The term jock is a classic American stereotype of an athlete. ... The Volkswagen Beetle or Bug is a small family car, the best known car of Volkswagen, of Germany, and almost certainly the world. ... Look up nerd in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Eddie Deezen (born March 6, 1958 in Cumberland, Maryland) is an American character actor, primarily cast in stereotypical nerd roles. ... A picture of several mopeds from a ride sponsored by the Moped Army. ... Maggie Roswell is an actress best known for her voice work on The Simpsons depicting the characters of Maude Flanders, Helen Lovejoy, Miss Hoover, and Luann Van Houten among others. ... The term overweight is generally used to indicate that a human has more body fat than is considered useful for the optimal functioning of the body. ... Fraternal twin boys in the tub The term twin most notably refers to two individuals (or one of two individuals) who have shared the same uterus (womb) and usually, but not necessarily, born on the same day. ... Feminism is a social theory and political movement primarily informed and motivated by the experience of women. ... Mazda B-Series compact pickup truck with extended cabin and home-made wooden rack. ... Jeep is an automobile marque (and registered trademark) of DaimlerChrysler. ... Stephen Furst as Vir Cotto in Babylon 5 Stephen Furst (born Stephen Fuerstein on 8 May 1955 in Norfolk, Virginia) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Flounder in the feature film Animal House (1978), as Gonzer in the feature film Up the Creek (1984), as Dr... Andy Tennant (born in 1955) is an American dancer, screenwriter, and film and television director. ... Mexican Americans are citizens of the United States of Mexican descent. ... A switchblade (also known as automatic knife, switch, or in British English flick knife), is a type of knife with a folding blade that springs out of the grip when a button or lever on the grip is pressed. ... Autism is classified by the World Health Organization and American Psychological Association as a developmental disability that results from a disorder of the human central nervous system. ... A van is a kind of vehicle used for transporting goods or groups of people. ...

Legacy

The DVD covers: Anchor Bay and Walt Disney Pictures Presents

Midnight Madness was rated PG—only the second film from the Disney company to receive anything other than a "G" (the first was The Black Hole). Though produced by Disney, the company's name did not appear on the credits, possibly due to its racier/offensive jokes. An alternate theory is that Disney thought that teenagers would be more likely to see the film if their name was not associated with it. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The MPAA film rating system is a system used in the United States and territories and instituted by the Motion Picture Association of America to rate a movie based on its content. ... The Black Hole is a 1979 science fiction movie directed for Walt Disney Productions by Gary Nelson. ...

Following a limited release and bad reviews, the film achieved a small cult following after it began airing on the HBO cable network. After a 2001 DVD release from Anchor Bay Entertainment, Midnight Madness was rereleased in 2004 by Disney DVD with the "Walt Disney Pictures Presents" logo—the first time that Disney has officially associated itself with the film. A cult film is a movie that attracts a small but devoted group of obsessive fans or one that has remained popular over successive years amongst a small group of followers. ... HBO (Home Box Office) is a premium cable television network with headquarters in New York City. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Midnight Madness has inspired many spin-offs and other Alternate Reality Games (ARG). Among some of the more popular recreations are:
Midnight Madness (Hot Springs, Arkansas) - Played every December
Midnight Madness Brevard (Brevard County, Florida) - Played on a tri-monthly basis, culminating with a yearly Tournament of Champions edition
The Game - a non-stop 24-48 hour puzzle solving race that is currently active in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Seattle Area
A spin-off (or spinoff) is a new organization or entity formed by a split from a larger one such as a new company formed from a university research group. ... Alternate Reality, see Alternate Reality (computer game). ... Sign from the city limits. ... The Game is a non-stop 24-48 hour treasure hunt / puzzlehunt / road rally that is currently active in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Seattle Area. ...

The stop motion animation program Robot Chicken (shown on Adult Swim) has featured brief homages to Midnight Madness, two in Episode 1-10: Badunkadunk, and one in Episode 2-6: 1987. In the first episode, two scenes from the film are reenacted, one where Leon reveals himself to the team leaders, another where Blue Team member Barf assembles the letters of a clue into the nonsense word "Fagabeefe". In the second, the chant of "Meat Machine" is reenacted. Stop motion is an animation technique which makes things that are static appear to be moving. ... Robot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series distributed by Sony Pictures Digital and produced by ShadowMachine Films, currently airing in the US as a part of Cartoon Networks Adult Swim line-up, in Britain as part of the Bravos Adult Swim line-up, and in... Adult Swim, sometimes rendered [adult swim] based on its logo, is the name for an adult-oriented television programming network. ...

Trivia

• Michael J. Fox's first film. Since most of the film was shot at night, the producers needed someone of legal age (18) who could work all night, but still look the part of Adam's younger brother. His name appears as "Michael Fox" in the opening credits, and "Michael J. Fox" in the closing.
• Adam at one point drinks Dr Pepper, for which Naughton was a spokesman.
• Paul Reubens (better known as Pee-Wee Herman) has a small part as the "Pinball Proprietor."
• The Star Fire game in the video arcade that provides the clue to the final destination was an actual arcade game of the period. The game play was real; however a special open cabinet for a standing player had been created for the movie, since the real game cabinet was an enclosed cockpit in which the player was seated.
• The movie was novelized in a 1980 paperback, Midnight Madness, by Tom Wright (Ace, 1980) ISBN 0-441-52985-2

This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Paul Reubens (born Paul Rubenfeld on August 27, 1952) is an American actor, writer, and comedian, known professionally for his character Pee-wee Herman. ... Pee-wees Playhouse is a childrens television program starring Pee-Wee Herman. ... Star Fire was a groundbreaking arcade game by Exidy that brought a number of innovations to the market. ...

See also

• It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World
• Million Dollar Mystery
• Rat Race

Its a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a comedy movie that followed the Hollywood trend in the 1960s of producing gigantic and epic films as a way to woo audiences into movie theaters. ... Million Dollar Mystery is a movie released in 1987 as a promotional piece for Glad-Lock brand bags. ... Rat Race is a 2001 comedy film (not to be confused with The Rat Race of 1960) directed by Jerry Zucker. ...

External links

• Midnight Madness at the Internet Movie Database
• Fagabeefe: An unofficial fan page devoted to the film
• [1] Another website about the movie
• Roger Ebert's 1980 review
• Comprehensive Synopsis/Review at 3B Theater
• DVD review at Digitally Obsessed
• Hot Springs, Arkansas's 2006 Midnight Madness
• Midnight Madness Brevard County, Florida