| Poison Ivy | |
|---|---|
VHS cover |
|
| Genre | Television movie |
| Directed by | Larry Elikann |
| Produced by | Marvin Miller |
| Written by | Bennett Tramer |
| Starring | Michael J. Fox Nancy McKeon Caren Kaye Adam Baldwin Robert Klein Joe Wright Cary Guffey |
| Music by | Miles Goodman |
| Editing by | Robert F. Shugrue |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Release date | February 10, 1985 |
Poison Ivy is a 1985 comedy television movie starring Michael J. Fox. Directed by Larry Elikann, the screenplay was written by Bennett Tramer. The film was produced by NBC and aired just months before Fox's feature film breakthrough Back to the Future and follow-up Teen Wolf.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Michael J. Fox | Dennis Baxter |
| Nancy McKeon | Rhonda Malone |
| Caren Kaye | Margo Klopper |
| Adam Baldwin | Ike Dimick |
| Robert Klein | Irwin 'Big Irv' Klopper |
| Joe Wright | Jerry Disbro |
| Cary Guffey | Timmy Mezzy |
Michael J. Fox plays camp counselor Dennis Baxter, who works at a boys' summer camp called Camp Pinewood, located in Clifton, Maine. He falls in love with the new camp nurse Rhonda (Nancy McKeon) and spends the summer trying to convince her to leave her fiancee for him. Baxter's campers include the slick-talking Jerry Disbro, the sensitive writer Brian, the baseball star Bobby, the overweight comedian Toby, and the shy Timmy Mezzy who is afraid of the water and wants to run away. The camp is run by 'Big Irv' Klopper and his wife Margo. Baxter's arch-rival is fellow counselor Ike, who is much more serious about his job than Baxter. Maintenance man Walter carries around a red-stained axe and is rumored to be a murderer.
As the summer progresses, Timmy makes friends with the other kids and stops trying to run away. Eventually he learns to swim and enters a swimming race in the annual Color War competition. Jerry, who is on the opposite team in the Color War, tells Timmy the story of "Tough Break Thompson", a camper who supposedly drowned after conquering his fear of water at the camp. Timmy panics during the swimming event when Jerry says "Timmy - tough break!" to him right before the race. Later, Jerry apologizes and the kids learn that their friendship is more important than the winner of the Color War, and the Color War is declared a tie. The climactic moment of the movie occurs when a camper shouts "Timmy Mezzy's swimming the lake!" and the whole camp runs to watch Timmy swims across the lake, finally conquering his fear of water. Walter is also revealed to be a painter who uses his axe to create art. At the end of the summer, Baxter is offered the job of head counselor for the following year, having been chosen over Ike. Rhonda and Baxter end up together.