In this comic twist on "Carrie", low-key, nice-guy science whiz Barney Springboro (Scott Baio) has an accident in his lab one day, endowing him with powers of telekinesis which affable, scheming best pal Peyton (Willie Aames) is most anxious to exploit. Barney finds himself falling for pretty student reporter Bernadette (Felice Schachter) while Peyton spends the movie lusting after sexy but snooty Jane (Heather Thomas). It all comes to a head at a hysterical prom dance that earns the movie its R rating.<br /><br />I think that key to the success of this movie for me is likability - both the characters and the movie itself. Even Peyton is not as obnoxious or smarmy as the character could have been. It's an engaging bit of 80's era nonsense, with decent special effects and several laugh-out-loud comedy moments. Examples include baseball coach Dexter (always lovable Scatman Crothers) having a marijuana-induced fantasy (including Albert Einstein!), Barney getting mooned by some dolts in a car and teaching them a lesson, and the utterly dumb but amusing "Exorcist" and 'Star Trek' send-ups. The script also goes so far as to have Barney recite Travis Bickles' immortal quote from "Taxi Driver"! Best of all is the climax; the film-makers don't fail to give their audience what they've been waiting for, as a number of attractive young ladies get stripped of their clothing.<br /><br />The cast gives it a great effort right down the line: Marya Small and Roger Bowen as Barneys' uptight mom and bland dad, Robert Mandan as befuddled and love-starved principal Mr. Coolidge, and Sue Ane Langdon as Ms. Burnhart. Familiar faces in small roles include Merritt Butrick, Irwin Keyes, Eddie Deezen, LaWanda Page, and Corinne Bohrer.<br /><br />As shameless, raunchy, and upbeat youth-oriented 80's comedies go, I would consider "Zapped!" a fine movie of this type. Those cheesy and sentimental ballads got to be a little much for me after a while, but they don't really erase the charm of this fun flick.<br /><br />7/10