The Little Rascals

This feature version of the old Hal Roach 'Our Gang' comedy series plays so young we could be watching another species. None of the cast is over three feet tall, and what they lack in acting ability they make up in freckles. Smarmed-down hair with spikes, sideways caps, bowlers and bow-ties give an old-fashioned look to the diminutive members of the He-Man Woman-Haters Club, and speeded-up sequences and venerable visual gags give the token nod to the original series. There's plot: Alfalfa (Hall) falls for a cutesy girl and incurs the ire of club president Spanky (Tedford), who pronounces the death sentence; and their rocket-shaped little car is threatened with its first defeat in the Go-Kart Derby. Director Spheeris (Wayne's World) seems to have taken her obsession with youth culture beyond the limit, including a scene of dancing teenies in pink leotards that would make John Waters blush. Many reaction shots feature Petey the dog covering his heart-branded eye with his paws.