Franklin Avenue

Bad Movies I'm Obsessed With
As my interest in the history of Los Angeles has grown in recent years, particularly the pop culture of L.A.--its old landmarks, stores, restaurants and other haunts--I've thought of the 1980 movie "Midnight Madness." That pic--Disney's second-ever PG-rated movie, after "The Black Hole"-- revolved around teams of college kids racing throughout town overnight in an "Amazing Race"-style game.
Anyone who had HBO in the early 1980s remembers the movie well; the pay cable channel ran it endlessly. The movie, notable for the big screen debuts of Michael J. Fox and Paul "Pee Wee Herman" Reubens, follows the exploits of five teams assembled by eccentric college student Leon, who has concocted "The Great Allnighter," a scavenger hunt around Los Angeles. The teams were divided by color: The good guys who play fair (yellow), the cheaters led by Stephen Furst (blue), the nerds led by "Grease's" Eddie Deezen (white), the sorority sisters (red) and the beer-loving jocks (green).
Teams were given clues to solve, which led them to various L.A. destinations (such as LAX or the Griffith Obervatory), where they then had to find the next clue.
It was glorious early 80s fluff, in the same vein as "Xanadu" or anything else from that era. And, after months of half-heartedly looking for it in video stores, I discovered online that it was available on DVD! I ordered it and finally watched it last Thursday, when I was home sick.
It didn't disappoint. Even though it's been probably 15 years since I last saw it, I remembered many of the key scenes. (And it turns out I'm not the only one.)

Now, for something truly fascinating: A group of Microsoft employees, led by one former Floridian who was inspired by "Midnight Madness," have been conducting their own elaborate races for the past decade. Looking at their official website ("Game Control"), this isn't child's play. Billed "The Game," these amazing extravagant, big-budget, 24-hour annual affairs. Check out the Rolling Stone article [here]. (Scroll down.)