Joey

It may not say so in the film credits or be listed under "filming locations" but the school scenes in "Joey" were filmed at my high school - Jericho High School on Long Island, during the winter of 1983. I was Class of '84 and some of my classmates have minor roles, including Stu Lowitt as "Richard." Our gym teacher, Mrs. Schwartz, has a silent but memorable role.

I remember this being filmed during my junior year, and never really knew what became of it. Apparently it wasn't released for nearly 3 years, and even then, it must have had an extremely limited theatrical run, followed by late-night cable purgatory. It's virtually impossible to find now - don't hold your breath for the DVD release - but I recently tracked down an out-of-print VHS copy on Ebay.

It's far from a great film. Cheaply made, badly acted, poorly written - I still don't know why Joey is supposed to be such a rebel, other than he wears shirts with the sleeves cut off. I do have to admit it has its moments. The soundtrack isn't bad, especially the song "Tonight All Night." The dinner-table fight between Janie and her mother is one of the more realistic that I've seen on film. This film is also notable for the wimpiest-looking street gang in cinema history, the Lunatics.