Kid Flicks: The Buttercream Gang

Every family has a movie (or movies) that, for one reason or another, takes the VCR/DVD Player hostage and receives more repeat viewings than it deserves. In our house, some of those movies were Sister Act, The Meteor Man, and 3 Ninjas. These are just some of the movies I want to write about in my new series, Kid Flicks.

Sometimes Mormon kids don't get to watch real movies. Sometimes they "get" to watch Feature Films for Families. Some were okay, others were no gosh darn good. But there was one that stood above the rest. The Buttercream Gang. Has anyone else seen this charming 90-minute PSA against headbands and bike theft?

Did you watch that trailer? Oscar-quality stuff. For those who missed (avoided) The Buttercream Gang during their childhood, let me catch you up on the important details. Pete (that Paul Reubens-looking guy) is the President of the Buttercream Gang--a group of charitable young suburban fellows. They help grandmothers, grandfathers, and anyone else suffering from the Near Death years. Pete is the valiant leader, that is, until he moves away, joins a street gang, and starts wearing cholo shirts.

When Pete moves back to town, it's up to Scott (the new Mr. Buttercream) to put a stop to his shoelace stealing and rebellious attitude. Luckily for Scott, he's got help from the rest of the gang. Together, they show Pete that real fun is to be found in bike riding and hugs.

For some reason, my family watched this movie...a lot. In fact, I found a Buttercream Gang DVD at Amoeba a couple years ago and proudly paid one dollar to take it home. Has anybody else seen this movie? Were you proud to share the same name as the newly-appointed Buttercream president? I was.