I just watched 3 O’clock High on Amazon and I remembered this mostly as a movie from cable t.v. that I watched piecemeal. So actually watching it from beginning to end was unusual.
The plot is pretty straightforward, a new kid arrives with a bad reputation. The protagonist Jerry is assigned by his friend, the editor of the school newspaper, to do an article about him. They meet in the restroom and Jerry unfortunately activates the new guy’s hair trigger temper by touching him. (People really shouldn’t go around touching other people. I absolutely don’t blame the antagonist at all. I used to do the same thing when I was younger if you touched me.)
So Jerry is now in a situation where he has to fight the new kid (Buddy) at 3 p.m. I don’t know if you’ve ever had a scheduled fight but it’s an intense experience watching the hours count down. Once in the military I had a fight sked for after the workday with a guy whose nickname in the barracks was Zeus. We even had spectators. It was lots of fun. But I digress.
Metaphors abound in the school day. A nature film about a cricket being devoured by a scorpion (though a quick wiki dive suggests it may have been a pseudoscorpion) and another class is reviewing the battle of Hector and Achilles.
Jerry is not without allies. His friend the editor concocts a plan to get Buddy thrown out for having a knife in his locker. Franny, a goth girl with a ghost spiritual advisor named Ethan wants to ‘bond’ with him to increase his strength and his younger sister is there to provide support and snark in equal measure.
There is a scene that seems to confuse most everybody (as per internet message boards going back to 2010) where Franny surprised Jerry in a candlelit school store fully ready to bond. They share their first kiss (it’s implied she’s had an unrequited crush on him for some time) and it becomes passionate. The kiss breaks off and Franny is suddenly uncertain and shy, and says they’ll find another way to deal with Buddy and then leaves.
I was confused as a teen watching this and I still am. Message boarders speculated that a fantasy suddenly got real and she wasn’t ready. Others say that the kiss revealed her own feelings were more friendship than actual romance. I agree, at least in part, that the fantasy suddenly became real and she needed time to process that. I don’t think the kiss was bad because it’s portrayed as growing more passionate not less, and she kisses him again after the fight scene. If you’ve seen it and have your theory please post in the comments. If you haven’t seen it but still have a theory post that in the comments as well ;)
His sister Brie suggests that he get himself thrown in detention. In English class he therefore gives a book report on an adult novel “Honey goes to Hollywood” and his English teacher begins by reprimanding him but gets aroused by his use of syntax and exposition and he kisses her at the end. Then he passes out from his hypoglycemia (he skipped lunch) and wakes up in the nurse’s office to find out that rather than land detention he had scored his teacher’s home phone number.
Jerry also tries paying someone to fight his battle for him but that kids get’s the snot beat out of him in spectacular fashion. Eventually the actual fight is on at 3pm and Jerry is first saved by his friend the editor attacking Buddy and getting his ass kicked. Franny tells Buddy he has to go through her and he grabs her by the face and throws her out of the way.
Jerry manages to deliver a punch and for the first time Buddy is shown as vulnerable and starts to bleed from the nose. Jerry has taken some shots too and appears to be down for the count when his little sister sneaks him the brass knuckles that Buddy had brought with him for ‘reasons.’
Jerry manages to land a punch with the knuckledusters and Buddy goes down for the count. The next day Jerry’s blonde crush comes to visit him and confirm he’s coming to her party, to the consternation of Franny. Then his English teacher shows up looking sexy and plants a possessive kiss on Jerry and it looks like his life has gotten much more interesting.
This movie is about how I remembered it. Franny is gorgeous and was definitely a teenage crush. Her hot and cold act makes as little sense as every other woman I’ve ever dated. The book report scene was much more fun than I remembered it. I don’t think I appreciated the physical humor of the bookcases in the library going down like dominoes before.
I highly recommend this movie but it has a fair amount of cringe. Watching all the 80’s big hair and fashion was fun all on it’s own. And the woman who does the voice of Lisa Simpson has a small part as a cheerleader who gives the exposition of Buddy’s backstory as well as Jerry’s new bad boy reputation.
