Mischief

A modest and charmingly genuine youth movie. Mischief doesn't, to be sure, fall squarely into the latter, uncrowded category that includes Diner, The Flamingo Kid, and Puberty Blues. But it has a lot more going for it than Porky's.[9 Feb 1985]

Mischief is captivating enough that its small failings are forgiveable. Its four principal actors -- McKeon, Stewart, Preston and Nash -- are fine-looking, but they don't rely on that surface characteristic to get them through. Under Mel Damski's direction, they seem to know their craft. And so, Mischief is a twinkle for the eye and a wash of nostalgia for the memory. [11 Feb 1985, p.D4]

IF Norman Rockwell had wanted to make ''Porky's,'' he might have come up with something like Mischief. Read full review

As comfortable as an old pair of saddle shoes, and just as worn...But for the persistent nostalgia buff, there are rewards -- five cents on a cash register, a dollar's worth of gas, car hops, submarine races, Howdy Doody, mirror dice, stacks of 45s -- all the froth that's left at the end of the ice cream soda. [8 Feb 1985, p.24]

This one combines elements of AMERICAN GRAFFITI, GREASE, and PORKY'S with a liberal dose of TV's popular sitcom Happy Days. Read full review

Mischiefin other words, is echt teen sex comedy, hitting its marks in the way a skilled carpenter drives home his millionth nail. Even the deviations from the formula, like the movie's sweet, naive tone, are only predictable extensions of the formula. Read full review

Neither terrible nor outstanding, it's the kind of middle-of-the-road picture that's hard to remember a week after seeing it. [8 Feb 1985, p.C2]