Ski Party

The only difference between the usual AIP beach movie fluff and this film is that it's colder and they've put on dry clothes. Other than that, it's Frankie, Debbie, Dwayne, and a pre-"Batgirl" Yvonne Craig up to the usual shenanigans. The only plus here is rare film appearances by James Brown, doing the classic "I Feel Good," and Leslie Gore, with what proved to be one of her last big hits, the Marvin Hamlisch composition "Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows." It's for this last reason alone, I think, that this movie used to be frequently aired on AMC's "American Pop" series, often in letterbox to show off the Squaw Valley scenery. Incidentally, at the end of the movie, there's an invitation to watch for the whole crew again in "Cruise Party." As far as I can determine, that film was never made, probably because they finally figured out that, in the wake of the so-called "British Invasion," the beach blanket bimbo genre had finally run its course.

It's pretty funny, especially when you consider yodeling polar bear and the unusually-sweatered gender confused ski lodge manager and Annette as the haughty college professor for the very likely class `Fun Without Sex." Plus Frankie and Dwayne are pretty funny. Modern moviegoers are waaaaaaaaaay too uptight.

Todd Armstrong and his buddy Craig Gamble (Frankie Avalon & Dwayne Hickman) aren't having any luck whatsoever with their lady friends Linda & Barbara (Deborah Walley & Yvonne Craig). When they learn the ladies are going to be going on a ski trip, our two pathetic heroes decide to follow in fear of permanently losing their gals should they not. Despite their inability to ski, Todd and Craig head off on and find Lesley Gore singing on the bus trip. They finally arrive at the lodge and still find themselves having no luck with Linda & Barbara. Finally the two decide to dress up as women (Jane and Nora) in order to learn how to ski from a sexy Swedish ski instructor but also inadvertently end up getting to learn much more about Linda & Barbara, and other women, than they ever knew or understood before. James Brown and the Fabulous Flames also show up at the lodge and perform "I Feel Good".

This Beach Party comedy movie isn't quite what one expects given enough experience with the previous films (for one thing neither the Eric Von Zipper nor Bonehead appear in this one) but it's nevertheless mindless and innocent fun. Its plot owes more than a little to SOME LIKE IT HOT but this does have its fun moments..my favorites included:

the public service announcement hiding Linda's explanation to Nora the secret that should be known only to women.

the character of Freddy, one of the greatest Beach Party villains ever, who falls in love with Nora

What happens to Todd, who despite a broken leg, after journeying a long distance in the snow to be with the Swedish ski instructor Nita...

Teenagers loved this "epic" baby boomer classic. Best part: Lesley Gore singing her huge 1965 hit "Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows" on the bus! Gore had many better hits, but this one fit this movie perfectly. Some funny and interesting scenes.

"Todd Armstrong" (Frankie Avalon) and "Craig Gamble" (Dwayne Hickman) are two college roommates who aren't having any luck with two girls they like named "Linda Hughes" (Deborah Walley) and "Barbara Norris" (Yvonne Craig) respectively. So, they decide to go on a ski trip in order to stay close to them. Unfortunately, they continue to strike out and--unable to figure out why--they decide to shift gears and put a new plan into motion. Now, rather than reveal any more of the story and risk ruining the film for those who haven't seen it, I will just say that this film has a direct relationship to the beach movies of this particular time. That said, people who weren't alive during this time or haven't seen any of the beach movies produced in the early 60's, probably won't appreciate the music or the comedy. But make no mistake, the music was pretty good, and I thought some of the scenes were quite funny as well. Likewise, I thought both Bobbi Shaw (as "Nita Elksberg") and the aforementioned Yvonne Craig certainly helped in the scenery department. In any case, I enjoyed this film and rate it as slightly above average.