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Summer School Shooting Script notes
 

screenplay written by Jeff Franklin

[on-screen credit: story by Stuart Birnbaum & David Dashev and Jeff Franklin]
Shooting Script dated 12 August 1986, 135 scenes, 121 pages

Assuming most of what is in the Shooting Script was filmed generally "as is," here are the major changes and interesting items I've found listed in the sequence they appear in the script against the finished film. Some of these scenes may have been abandoned before they were filmed.

 

The Shooting Script supports several of the points made in Dean Cameron's letter about the film.

 

There are several line omissions and alterations -- I won't even try to list all of them. Most of the changes seem to be the difference between a "written" script and a "polished" film which is edited for pace and effectiveness.

 

Some of the language in the script is more explicit with use of the word "fuck" several times. This and some of the ideas in the script that are not used in the final film give the story a darker edge.  In the script, even Mr. Gills says "Festival of fuck-ups... and their king" in the final test scene, which becomes "Festival of screw-ups... and their king" in the finished film. Since the scene in the film looks like the dialogue was redubbed, they may have even filmed it this way. I think Carl Reiner did an excellent job of making the script lighter and the film genuinely funny.
 

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Kim, Shoop's girlfriend early in the film, was the first runner-up in the Miss Bod Butter Sunspread Pageant.

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Shoop wakes up using 3 alarm clocks on the first day of Summer School and mixes a protein shake for Wundermutt, his dog, while he just drinks a beer. [abandoned entirely before filming?]

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Dave and Chainsaw share a toast of Vodka and orange juice just before entering the classroom on the first day: "To the only way to survive in there..." [abandoned ?]

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Additional scene with Eakian and his grandma just before he enters the classroom on the first day. [abandoned ?]

 

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After the first day of class there are a few more interlude scenes not in the finished film: a sullen Kevin watches the football team practice without him, Larry goes home and right to bed without seeing his mom, Eakian's Grandma plays cards with her friends and fusses over him, finally giving him a big fat kiss and Pam goes surfing as her friend tells her that she has missed some great waves. Finally at the end of this sequence is a funny scene with Shoop channel surfing at home, only encountering programs referencing Hawaii: "Hawaii Five-O", "Magnum PI", etc. [abandoned because of legal clearance issues?]

 

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In Anna-Marie's introduction scene, where she is asked to sit wherever she likes, the Scuzzy Kid has a funny deleted line: "How about my face?"

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In the library scene, Dave and Chainsaw are giving Anna-Marie their review of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2" not the original film: "Sequels are always risky, especially to a genuine masterpiece, but this film extended the original vision while remaining true to its original plucky spirit." "Dave I agree with you, I'll' go a step further..."

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Shoop comes up with the idea of going on field trips rather than Rhonda in the Shooting Script. Shoop provides the permission slips himself rather than Chainsaw, but they still sign them immediately -- "done."

 

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At the Malibu Grand Prix, Dave and Chainsaw bully Eakian into loaning them five dollars so they can ride again. [abandoned?]

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After the Malibu Grand Prix, there is a scene on the bus where Dave and Chainsaw suggest they go to Vegas or Tijuana. Shoop suggests some place with rides.

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Rhonda watches everyone on the rollercoaster while sitting in front of a sign that forbids pregnant women from riding.

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At the petting zoo, Rhonda feels the stomach of an ewe feeding her babies.

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At the conclusion of the "Killer Bunnies" scene, Shoop explains it as "zoo theatre" to nearby parents and Rhonda explains what Dave and Chainsaw did last year.

 

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On the beach, Rhonda reacts to her baby kicking and talks about it with the other girls. This begins one of the abandoned running jokes that Rhonda gives a different "father" for the baby each time she is asked. It's Sean Penn or David Lee Roth when she signs up for Lamaze classes in the finished film. The Shooting Script includes deleted scenes where she implies the "father" is Tip O'Neill [Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 1980's] later it's Judge Wapner of the People's Court -- weird. This is interesting because Shawnee Smith played this type of smart one-liner role in the series "All is Forgiven" and also in "Becker." Maybe the idea was abandoned for legal reasons.

 

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Before Shoop is called into Gill's office for the field trips, there is a scene on the beach with Shoop trying to ask a girl out.

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Following on from this scene, Shoop has class on the beach. Mr. Gills and Eakian's Grandma go out to the beach, with Shoop explaining that they are writing poetry about the sea. [abandoned ?]

 

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In the Shooting Script, the Fourth of July party at Shoop's happens before Robin helps Shoop with his lesson plans instead of directly after Denise's driving lesson. This was probably moved in the finished film to improve the pace of the story.

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At the party, Eakian gets drunk and shows interest in Denise. All that is left of this in the finished film is the very end of it, with Eakian being "almost fun tonight" as he throws up in a trash can.

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The very end of the scene between Rhonda and Kevin on the lifeguard station ramp has been deleted, where Kevin digs a hole in the sand with his feet and lays down his towel, so Rhonda can "sleep on her stomach." In the finished film you can see Kevin kicking around the sand without this explanation.

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Before Shoop's couch is set on fire by a sparkler, Dave and Chainsaw tune in KMOS on the radio where they have "dedicated" "Highway to Hell" by AC/DC to Anna-Marie. [abandoned because of legal clearances?]

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When the party ends, Shoop drives Chainsaw home, where Chainsaw throws up on his dad. [scene mentioned in Dean Cameron's letter]

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When Shoop returns to his house, the rest of the class has reorganized and cleaned up his house.

 

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In the "writing is a form of communication" scene, the beginning has Shoop doing an Elvis impersonation and calling for examples of song lyrics that are written in poor English. Rhonda mentions "Ghostbusters" and Denise mentions James Brown's "I Feel Good." [some of this abandoned?]

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There is a Lamaze class scene following on from when Shoop mentions "it's a great place to meet girls." Rhonda says "this is my English teacher, Mr. Shoop" and implies that the baby's real father is Judge Wapner of The People's Court. [?!]

 

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Immediately before Denise's driving lesson, Dave and Chainsaw are at work and give Mr. Hoffman [the guy who takes nude photos of his wife] his developed film ["sorry the film was misplaced."] and then offer him some free film.

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Denise's driving lesson has several funny deleted one-liners from Dave and Chainsaw: "We should call whoever makes those driver ed. films. This is a fiery crash guaranteed" and "We are the living dead." Notice how abrupt the editing of this scene is in the finished film. It was probably trimmed just to speed up the pace of the film.

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In the Shooting Script, here, instead of the Fourth of July party there is a scene on the beach where Dave and Chainsaw propose marriage to Anna-Marie [mentioned in Dean Cameron's letter]. Chainsaw and Dave are then caught drinking vodka on the beach as in the finished film.

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After being picked up by the police, Shoop gets his picture taken in the police station. The scene where he calls Robin follows this scene directly. There is more material between Shoop and some fellow prisoners before he is picked up by Robin and Mr. Gills.

 

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There are a couple of deleted lines in the scene when Shoop finds Larry at the stripper club. Notice how quick the cuts are in the finished film here.

 

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"Who we admire most in the world and why" essay scene: there is one additional essay read by Kevin between Pam and Denise that does not appear in the finished film:

 

Kevin [reads essay]: 'Knute Rockne became head football coach of Notre Dame in 1918. His fame became nationwide in 1924 when the Four Horsemen led the Fighting Irish to the national title.'

Shoop: Kevin, didn't I say no looking up someone in the encyclopedia and changing the words around?

Kevin: I didn't. I copied it word for word.

 

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When Pam moves in with Shoop, her family helps her move all her stuff in right after Shoop says yes. They've got all the boxes, TV, etc. waiting.

 

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The "Freaks" film screening in the script becomes "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" in the finished film. Shoop's hilarious line "safe use of power tools" is a far less funny "reading can be fun" in the Shooting Script.

 

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When Denise takes her final driving test, rather than Dave saying: "Sir, you're really gonna earn your money today." The script has a hilarious line from Chainsaw: "Say goodbye to your car." [referring to Denise borrowing Shoop's car.] There are also a few deleted lines where Dave asks Shoop if he's gotten into Miss Bishop's pants yet. "I didn't think so."

 

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After Chainsaw returns from his driving test crash, there is another funny Lamaze class scene with Rhonda bringing Kevin this time. "Is this the baby's father?" "No. We're on a date."

 

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Pam has The Doors song "Soul Kitchen" playing on the radio when Shoop comes home to find her fixing dinner.

 

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When Shoop collects essays in the next scene, Eakian reads his complaint letter: '...are deeply sorry about the worms in your Fresh'n'Fruity Applesauce. We hope this case helps you and your law firm to continue to enjoy our family of fine Fresh'n'Fruity products.' The class enjoys the jars of applesauce while he reads. [abandoned ?]

 

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When Shoop resigns, he actually goes into Mr. Gills office, before Gills takes over class for the rest of the day.

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When Gills takes over class, Dave flips off the lights for "nap time" before Gills flips the lights back on and says "Don't think you can pull this BS with me." The class then proceeds to read comic books, nudie magazines, etc. as Shoop has encouraged them to read anything as long as they read. The humming gag follows this, though some of the funniest lines found in the film are not in the Shooting Script such as Gills having "dog ears."

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After the above scene, Shoop receives a postcard at home from Kim stating that she is going to manage a health club for her new boyfriend, Derek, in Sydney, Australia.

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When the class tries to convince Shoop to come back, Robin is present in the Shooting Script version of the scene.

 

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Final study montage: Rhonda can feel the baby kick and has Kevin feels her stomach. Chainsaws parents look in on him studying, Larry studies in his bedroom, looking over at his former stripper outfit.

 

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Shoop gives a little speech before they begin the final test. "You're not gonna pass this test because you wanna save my job, or play football or whatever. You're gonna pass for one reason... You know the goddamn answers. Here we go."

 

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Everyone plays volleyball after Shoop meets them on the deck after the final test, except Kevin and Rhonda who stay behind for a scene together:

 

Kevin: He's a good guy.
Rhonda: So are you. It's weird. I've never had a guy friend who was just a friend, you know. No messing around.
Kevin: I know, it is weird. But nice.
Rhonda: Real nice. You're like my best friend.
[They kiss each, first timidly then full on, then break the kiss.]
Kevin: There goes the friendship.

 

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[Dean Cameron mentions in his letter that this subplot between Rhonda and Kevin was mostly deleted from the finished film.]

 

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During the finale when everyone is in the principal's office, Shoop has some harsh words for Gills "Don't ever let me hear you call another kid a failure again."

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Shoop is granted tenure and Remedial English class in the fall by Principal Kelban.

 

 

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