The Zoo Gang

Another in a long line of low budget, predictable teen movies. A group of nice kids rent a building from a skid row bum who claims to be in possession of the domicile. Of course, he lied. They work hard to turn it into a rock club, but are ousted by a local repo company run by a smarmy thug and his imbecile boys. Things come to a head when the teens learn they can have the property back if they re-install the bum into his living quarters on the place before a certain date. This film should appeal to young teens, but me, I thought it was a total waste of time.

I was living in Prescott when The Zoo Gang was being filmed. I lived right down the street from the main filming site. The club that the Donnelly's tried to take over was an old Checker Auto Parts Store before they closed it down. The Hotel that was across from that was the Hassayampa Hotel. That is where the other kids got on top of the roof and cheered everyone on. Across the street from the Hassayampa was the old Library, I used to go to that Library when I was a little girl before they built the new one. Down the street from there was the Marina Movie Theater. I watched many movies in that Theater. The hill that they take the motor home down on is Elk's Hill, we used to sled down that hill when we were kids in the winter when it snowed. We used to skate in the Plaza by Bucky O'Neal in the square. My fondest memories in Prescott are around the time that this movie was being filmed. I had a couple of friend's that were extras in the movie. So, I know this movie personally, I am a native of Prescott. I thought it was cool to actually know people that got to be extras in it.

This is the sad story of the Donnely brothers. They want to be accepted by their peers but they can't because of bourgeois prejudices. The local rich kids use their parents' money to convert a deserted warehouse into a club. The boys want to help out, but their poor single father can't spare any money. So the boys offer to work at the club. They even throw out a troublemaker to show their good intentions. However, the rich kids don't want them around. The boys are expelled from the club, teased about their clothes and hair, ostracised from the community and even assaulted.