OK, let's get real. Nobody has seen this outside of MST3K because no one else would show it. The earlier comment that this movie may have been taken out of context is ridiculous. The fact is that it is a typical low budget Centron film. However, I don't think most of the people offering reviews are being completely fair. In general, I really like this film. It points out reasons for taking industrial arts classes that I never thought of before. This is the entire point of the film, so I'd have to say mission accomplished. The acting is mediocre, but given the budget these kinds of films had to work with, it's understandable. I think the part of the coach was well cast (he looks like a Basketball coach). My main complaint about the movie is the kid's tool fetish during the opening monologue. I think that was poorly scripted, even taking budget into account. Some MST3K movies are completely unwatchable without Mike, Joe and the bots (Manos hands of fate and The Pod People come to mind). Others stand on their own (Plan 9 from outer space, The head that wouldn't die). To say that Best Brains edited for content is absurd. I'm sure things were chopped down a bit to fit in the allocated space, but I have seen several movies in both versions and have not noticed any significant difference between them.

How in the name of anything holy can "Why Study Industrial Arts?" claim to be an educational film?! If this is education, then I'd rather be an idiot! Actually, this movie could have only been created by an idiot. The only reason that it's even worth talking about is because "MST3K" once showed this drudgery. As you might imagine, Mike, Servo and Crow had plenty of funny comments.If I ever make an educational film, it will be a promotion of vegetarianism. Here's the plot: in 1950s suburban America, mom and dad are trying to feed little Jimmy meat. Jimmy breaks out into a song (to the tune of "U Can't Touch This") about why he chooses to be a vegetarian. Yeah, that's my kind of educational film.

Herk Harvey and Centron bring us another little instructional piece of fantasy, this time regarding shop class. A bespectacled young man (who looks likes my dad when he was in high school) discusses with his Mickey Mouse-eared friend on why he loves shop class. He narrates about his fantasy through the short, including his career discussion with his shop teacher, who does not resemble any shop teacher I ever had in high school. Anyway the discussion leads to another discussion about shop with the basketball coach, who states that shop never helped him, yet it did since he now has a ready made hobby of building giant recipe card boxes.MST has a field day with this short, I would think 95-100% of anything put out by Centron would be great material for the gang from Best Brains.

Wow! Having never taken a shop class, I am happy that I never considered it. Actually, I cannot remember anyone from High School who did take shop -- except for Sheephead in the back of the bus, but he dropped out. You would think that if you were making a filmstrip about why you should take a string of classes that offers ridicule, that you would make your spokesman some what attractive and less dweeby (I used the word spokesman, because everyone knows that girls should not take shop classes, that's why schools offer home economics). The guy with glasses is not only slightly repulsive, but definitely learned the fine art of acting from shop teacher Bow Tie. Given that the Mystery Science version was funny, this short is so out- moded that it is a hoot nonetheless.