Growing Pains also known as Bad Manners is a 1984 American black comedy teen film released by New World Pictures. Written and directed by Robert Houston and produced by Kim Jorgensen, the film follows a group of teenage delinquents who escape the oppressive Catholic orphanage where they live in order to rescue one of their fellow inmates. While the films adult stars Martin Mull, Karen Black, Anne De Salvo, and Murphy Dunne received top billing in promotional materials, the story is told through the perspective of the adolescent protagonists played by Georg Olden, Pamela Segall, Michael Hentz, Joey Coleman, and Christopher Brown.
As prospective parents come to the Home of the Bleeding Heart to assess the children for adoption, the orphans, desperate not to be separated from the family they have in each other, make every attempt not to be selected. However, the family of young misfits is shattered when the Fitzpatricks Martin Mull and Karen Black, a selfabsorbed upperclass couple, find Mouse irresistible and decide to adopt him, promptly whisking him away to their suburban home in Santa Barbara, California. Devastated by Mouses departure, the group of young rebels devise a plan to rescue him, outwitting the maniacal staff and escaping the oppressive orphanage. In their odyssey to free Mouse, the four streetsmart teenagers lie, cheat, and steal their way to Santa Barbara, wreaking havoc on suburbia every step of the way.Although listed by several online sources under the title Growing Pains, in his October 1984 review of the film, Boston Phoenix film critic Owen Gleiberman consistently referred to the film by the title Bad Manners. The film was both written and directed by, then 29yearold, Robert Houston credited as Bobby Houston, whose only previous writingdirecting credit at the time was the Samurai themed actionadventure feature film, Shogun Assassin. Filmed in 1983 and produced by Growing Pains Productions, Bad Manners was released by New World Pictures in October 1984. Songs for the films soundtrack were written by Ron Mael and Russell Mael of Sparks. Sparks also performed several of the songs for the film, including the films title song, Bad Manners. ........
Source: Wikipedia