Angus is a movie about the life of a fat kid and his wimpy little friend. They’re both picked on relentlessly by a single jock and his friends despite the fact that Angus can easily knock the guy out and possibly break his nose at the same time. But upon reaching high school Angus is seeking to take his schooling elsewhere as he’s grown tired of being picked on all the time. Thanks to a research project he’s been working on for just about the entire school year he might have a chance. But when he’s picked as the prom king, opposite his dream girl, who’s the prom queen, his chances of getting out of dodge without being utterly embarrassed for the rest of his life just went from slim to virtually zero.
Of course his grandpa has the best advice, “Screw ’em!” Pardon my language, but it had to be said.
10. The band Weezer was asked to write a song inspired by the film.
They did so but had to cut a few parts out so that it would be acceptable for the film.
9. The high school was in Minnesota.
The film was shot at Owotonna High School and the actual marching band was used to play the school song.
8. Angus had a dad in the original script.
In the original script Angus’ dad was still alive and gay. At another point both of his parents were gay, and then eventually George C. Scott was brought in to play his grandfather after it was decided to ditch the father.
7. This was James Van Der Beek’s film debut.
As you can tell it helped him gain a great deal of notoriety since his career kind of went on an upturn from this point.
6. Green Day is referenced throughout the movie.
Their popularity was still climbing during this movie and they were a favorite band of Angus and his buddy Troy.
5. The original title was going to be very different.
It was going to be A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune. That’s kind of a long title for such a simple yet touching movie.
4. The film was cut almost in half by the time it was released.
There were so many edits and deleted scenes that the movie was originally a lot longer. The version showed on TNT added in some of the deleted scenes that might have explained a bit more about the Bethune family.
3. Ariana Richards was in Tremors and Jurassic Park.
Remember the little girl on the pogo stick, Mindy? That was her. And of course it’s easy to remember Hammond’s granddaughter Alex.
2. Chris Owen would go on to star in American Pie.
He never really lost that geeky look but he would go on to star in the original American Pie series.
1. Charlie Talbert met his future director in a very odd way.
The kid who played Angus was caught making fun of the director behind his back. The director’s reply was that he should audition for his movie if he wanted to be a funny guy. Talbert did and he got the part.
The movie is worth more than just a look.
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