The Unauthorized Saved By The Bell Story (2014), directed by Jason Lepeyre (Ashlyn)

Wow. 

I could probably leave this review right there, but I'm gonna keep going anyway!

But really...wow. Dustin Diamond executive produced this hilariously bad Lifetime Channel film, and because the film is from his perspective, it's even worse. The kid actors are all too young to have been a part of the Saved By The Bell madness. In fact, it seems as though most of them are too young to have ever seen a first-run episode of the original show or its sequel, Saved By The Bell: The College Years. Partially because of this, the acting overall seems even more wooden than it was on those sitcoms. The direction is passable, the editing is really rough (even for a TV movie), and the framework of the story often crosses the line from bittersweet to plain ol' bitter.

The themes that really stand out here are that Mr Diamond really feels victimized by the entire cast and crew of the show, and that Lifetime truly believes a half a roach and a Dixie cup of vodka and soda will destroy the world. 

Besides all the terrible misses for this movie, the nostalgia factor certainly sits in the hit category. The clothes! The hair! The scene recreations! That plus the general train-wreck nature of this somehow makes the beastly thing watchable. 

I give it a 3/10 grade, because it really did make me laugh. Even if it didn't mean to.