OKCRay

The A-plot here is similar to a Family Ties episode, the difference being the fraternity had the pledges invite a less than attractive girl to a dance as opposed to bringing a male classmate to a nerd party. However the B-plot is what really makes this episode shine. Wesley prepares a ventriloquist act for a school talent show using a Mr. Belvedere dummy and insults the entire family in the process.

This movie hounded me for YEARS. We saw this on a double-bill with PUFINSTUF, and all I could remember was it being a family-friendly western with a saloon gal as part of the plot. Thanks to the online Chicago Tribune archives I found the listing and solved the mystery. Someone had posted the movie to YouTube and this is definitely the movie I had remembered. Good performances by a veteran cast (the opening credits panning through a turn of the century catalog were pretty creative), this is an ideal movie you can enjoy with the family, hopefully Universal will finally make this available on DVD or BluRay.