Zuma Beach

I can definitely think of worse ways to spend a weekend afternoon than watching this 70's jigglefest that is so reminiscent of the scads of beach movies that originated in the early 60's. Not nearly as engrossing as the best of the genre (see California Dreaming), but it does provide early screen work from Timothy Hutton, "Terminator"'s Michael Biehn, and a fantastically scrumptious Rosanna Arquette. Credits indicate an appearance by Delta Burke; look fast for I did not see her.

It is true that there are a lot of beautiful people in bathing suits in this movie. While this is not necessarily a bad thing it probably has distracted some people from the wonderful character development throughout this film. The dialog is clever and the scene's flow evenly from one to another. It has always amazed me that so much is happening in just one afternoon on a beach in California. Watch it with an open mind. Enjoy the beautiful scenery and magnificent bodies but also revel in the simple story of changing lives. This is a pleasant easy going movie, no bad language, nudity or serious violence.

This was made for TV and cannot be bought but it shows up every so often on cable.

10 is a really high number to put on a movie. I look at films and if there is nothing that I would change then it should have a 10. This is rating the movie on itself and not ranking it in comparison other movies. Of the 1000 or so movies that I have seen I would rank this one around 985+. I cannot readily think of 15 movies that I thought were better. Movies that I would watch multiple times rank highest. I have seen this one at least 6 times and will watch it again

Suzanne Somers stars as a fading rock singer that after lots of problems in the record studio decides to go away from it all and goes to Zuma beach. Once there she spends few days there and gets involved with the lives of the many youths that live there.

This made for TV movie looked a bit monotonous especially after 1 hour and the plot was paper thin. However, it had a nice soundtrack and concept and some appearences by future stars such as Rosanna Arquette, Timothy Hutton and Michael Biehn. Not horrible, just ok.

TV Movies of the Week reigned in the 1970's before cable and the video rental boom, always filling time decently enough...

And at ZUMA BEACH, escapism is pretty fine, like with sexy Kimberly Beck as Cathy, new girl in town and cousin of Rosanna Arquette's Southern California local, Beverly, who thinks apish Steven Keats, as car parking shyster Jerry McCabe, is a fox... so goes the 1970's...

But the mainline centers on a singer named Bonnie Katt: wherein Suzanne Somers, after teasing Richard Dreyfuss in AMERICAN GRAFFITI, blowing up in MAGNUM FORCE and right at the beginning of her game-changing breakthrough on THREE'S COMPANY, dons a sexy one-piece bikini, making the beach her own strutting sandbox...

With a breezy teleplay written by horror icon John Carpenter the same year he'd serve up PJ Soles a HALLOWEEN demise; here she plays Nancy, equally promiscuous as her radical cinema starlet, fawned over by a passive young man (Mark Wheeler), related to a mentoring Keats...

Yet she'd rather give it up to pre-TERMINATOR Michael Biehn's popular lifeguard anyway... ZUMA is full of eclectic pop culture and doesn't even realize it yet (including Tanya Roberts)...

"There is a God," one smitten guy says. "Yeah," adds another. "And there goes His daughter..." so thus the mortals are under Suzanne's spell -- the boys for obvious reasons, and the girls either look up to her experience and laidback aura, or don't know why she's around at all, stealing their own curvy thunder...

Yet as much as other guys try, only Keats piques her interest... As a former entrepreneur, both are dodging more promising careers...

Eventually, Somer's Katt tells everyone who she really is, and why she's taking a break from the music biz as we experience one mellow day instead of an entire chaotic weekend so the characters mean only as much as their lightweight, melodramatic problems, each with a resolution right around the sandy corner...

Like a young Timothy Hutton as a cigarette-smoking junior lifeguard (mentored by beach MC Les Lannom), who, two years shy of the Oscar-winning ORDINARY PEOPLE, scrutinizes everyone, including several shy fellas seeking creative ways to hook up with the aforementioned bikini-clad beauties -- while everyone basks in the groovy 1970's sunshine within the titular dream haven.

'Zuma Beach' stars Suzanne Somers as Bonnie Katt, a fading pop star who heads for the title location for some R & R. During one eventful day, she becomes involved in the lives of the various young folk who frequent the place.

Don't look for much more plot than that in this script that was co-written by John Carpenter, whose slasher film "Halloween" was a big hit the same year that this TV movie premiered. It may not exactly be intellectually stimulating, but it does provide decent, light entertainment with some poignant moments.

Somers, hot off the successful second season of 'Three's Company', is likeable enough (and does actually sing her own songs), and yes, viewers who just want to see her in a bathing suit for 98 minutes may be fairly satisfied. The script involves rivalries, guys on the make (naturally), a young man (Mark Wheeler) thinking of leaving for greener pastures, a local figure (Steven Keats) who's built himself into this sort of mythic character, and a climactic beach volleyball game.

'Zuma Beach' is mostly noteworthy for the selection of future stars and otherwise familiar faces in the cast. Michael Biehn is fun as an antagonistic jock named J. D., but everybody here does an ingratiating job.

Overall, a nice, pleasant beach movie with attractive ladies and equally attractive photography.

Six out of 10.