The Ski Bum

This is a hard film to track down, seeing as it is unavailable on home media platforms and potentially was never released on DVD. However, given my work on another film with "Ski Bum" in the title, I felt compelled to seek it out and give it a watch. I waited until ski season which ended up being a good decision: I watched it with my dad who knew all the filming locations in Vail, Colorado, and so it turned into a fun nostalgia trip adjacent to the actual quality of the movie.

Let it be known this is a B movie closer in line with exploitation cinema than a traditional movie would be. It's trippy but not in a characteristically fun way. The lead actor, Zalman King, plays Johnny, a ski bum fed up with the yuppie affluence around him. But he plays with little charisma, mumbling his way through the whole runtime, and the film does little to enhance itself cinematically. There is no plot to speak of, the film follows Johnny as the world around him engulfs him and he rejects it in slacker fashion. Mixed in with some cool ski action, great locations, trippy sound effects, and electronic music.

The most recognizable actor in the film is Charlotte Rampling in her bombshell days. But despite second billing, she's not given much to do. There's some thin plot about her relationship with Johnny, but the majority of the film is situations where Johnny is unhappy in the ski world. Doesn't make for a great story. But it would've been a very fun film to work on.

There's a big moment that probably ensured this film would never receive a major release: a 12-year-old girl attempts to seduce Johnny in a scene that really doesn't hold back on that premise considering the taboos (and legal dilemmas) involved. The fact that there's no written controversy about it implies that the movie probably never got a major release, therefore never caused a stir. It cements it as a film for grindhouse audiences, not the mainstream theaters, despite an otherwise tame picture.

Ultimately, this is a great time capsule of Vail circa early 1970s, but beyond that a poor film even for ski fans or even exploitation fans.

Here is another example of a film that could have ONLY been made in the '69-71' period. Things were loose, strange, in transition, crazy creative idea's abound. But here is a film I cannot for the LIFE of me understand why it has not received more attention or acclaim over the years. Not even a single comment here on he IMDB! (which is a rarity) I feel like I should write a detailed review of The Ski Bum, it deserves it. But somehow I'm in the same kind of mood Zalmon King's character was (looking exactly like a brooding young Sean Penn throughout the entire film) Charlotte Rampling does that 'ravenous kinky seductress' thing she does best, not unlike in "The Night Porter". I suspect the average simple minded movie-goer would not take an interest or understanding to this film due to it's 'stream-of-consciousness' nature. Average humans need to have cohesive plots and things explained, but they can't seem to handle sheer brilliance in it's many forms. I do not belong in this world. After seeing this film I realize that my interests, films, idea's will certainly NEVER 'fit in' to the real and practical world, so why am I here?

From the end credits this appears to be a student film that got distribution, which speaks volumes-it's a rare student feature that sees distribution. Released during that rarefied moment between the death rattle of the studio system and the American cinema renaissance of the seventies, The Ski Bum gives a voice to the disaffected youth who are alienated from the straight world they want little to do with.

With Zalman King's ski instructor as a stand-in for the hippie culture, he sees the establishment culture as disorienting as a bad LSD trip, which seems to be the point of the optical and audio distortions. Yes, he can make good money working for The Man, but that world is as surreal to him as a hippie commune would be to a button-down executive. Following the movie age to "show, don't tell," the drug-like sequences speak volumes.

There were some good films that depicted the clash between hippie/youth and the establishment, like "Joe," some well-intentioned failures ("Zabriske Point"), and some horrible flops ("Skidoo"). "The Ski Bum" is a quietly brilliant success.

A colleague of mine lent me this movie. Apparently he bought it for 99 cents (or something). Based on the cover (hot-tub, two girls in bikinis, guy with mullet haircut) I was somewhat hesitant to watch it. But, it's raining today, so...

First of all, the cover has NOTHING to do with the movie. It is NOT an action movie, despite what the synopsis says. There is NO action, no violence... there is NO GUY WITH A MULLET!

What we DO have, however, is what appears to be a UCLA film student's project (check the end credits). The opening credits were obviously chopped off to make way for the random title "Point Zero" which isn't the title of the movie at all.

If you enjoy late-60's thrown-together stoned-out flicks, you'll probably love this (especially the scene in Aspen where we meet some funny hippie dudes just... hanging loose).

It's no use to tell you what the movie is about in detail, so I'll make it quick: Ski "bum" gets job teaching rich dude's family how to ski and gets wrapped up in shady business transactions. He struggles to maintain his hippie ideals and not sell-out to the man, dig?

Three things: 1) be prepared for some great "echoplex" tape echo effects on the audio while our hero freaks out constantly. 2) check out a very young Jackson Browne playing guitar at the steam-bath party 3) the music in the movie is by Joseph Byrd (of the band "United States of America" which is classic late 60's acid-drenched psyche music - Beatles meets Charles Ives with many electronic gadgets. worth checking out.)

Peace- DJE