Summer Job

I gave SUMMER JOB a 5 out of 10. An explanation is surely in order, because I happen to think this is a bad movie: a comedy without many jokes, written and directed on a level that would need more work to pass muster in a high-school film studies class.

Yet a 5 it gets. Why? Because SUMMER JOB was one of the first T&A comedies I ever rented at Blockbuster (I didn't rent all of the other ones, just some of them) and even though it was stupid, it was also harmless, had the "good people" winning out at the end over the jackasses and witches, and didn't have pretensions of being more than it was. In fact, the movie's stupidity made it more, not less, fun.

This video probably won't be available--to the extent it's really widely available--once video stores start following Blockbuster's lead and replacing VCR tapes with DVDs, so I wanted to say my peace on it before it disappears, for a movie that is bad yet not easy to forget, try as one might.

My review was written in May 1989 after a Cannes Film Festival Market screening.

Unbelievably in theatrical release Stateside, "Summer Job" represents the nadir of the teen sex-comedy genre, an amateur-night film deficient on all levels.

Plotless wonder, with seven producers credited, including underachieving scripter Ralph Wilson, runs through tired sight gags and stupid dialog that is so badly acted and mechanically executed one can only marvel at the cynicism of its makers.

Sherrie Rose is the young supervisor of college kids working at a Florida resort for the summer. There's some practical joking, fraternizing with grotesque guests and boring partying. None of it works or is the least bit diverting.

Paul Madden's minimalist direction repeats camera setups in the manner of early D. W. Griffith, avoids camera movement and omits any hint of action footage. Apparently some pretty girls dropping their tops for a second or two is supposed to justify the rest.

Flat line readings are par for the course, while the token nerd is overplayed embarrassingly by thesp billed as simply Geoge O.

Cannes Market audience laughed only once, when a foppish waiter ineptly took a stab at reciting French dialog.

Ghastly 80's t & a comedy. There's nothing about this movie that's remotely entertaining. I hated it when I was a teen and I still hate it today. Boring film about some punk kids (who are too old to be young adults) who have a summer job whining one minute and trying to fool around the next. Save your time and don't waste it on mindless bunk like this. TEASE! Not worthy of anything. F

This movie had everything I hoped for, bad acting, cheesy 80s music, big hair, exquisite mullets, rampant nudity and mindless fun. I honestly can't say that there is much of a premise to this movie, a plot would have killed this joyride. To best summarize this Z flick, it's about a bunch of kids from around the country spending the summer working, well, a summer job.

This group of kids (or in reality, adults in their mid to late 20s) included a cowboy, a spastic geek, a fat guy, a jock, a princess, and a couple of mega hotties with mega big hair. This privileged bunch were picked from over 600 applicants for the job of a lifetime, they should have felt so fortunate. This group learns all about heartbreak, sex, voyeurism, dirty old men, psychotic cooks, you name it, all in one short summer. T&A galore, painfully bad dialogue and a gut wrenching performance by Orkestra, which features members of Electric Light Orchestra all decked out in white suits, oh ya!! I had too much fun watching this schlock fest. My friend said it best when he said this movie has aged like milk, it has the 80s written all over it from the second it starts.

I can't believe I've already devoted this many words to describe this rubbish but I will say I'm not surprised that all of the members of this movie's cast never developed an acting career, not even George O!! This is the kind of garbage that you used to see on USA Up All Night, so if you're a fan of trashy 80s beach films, then by all means, go see it. Just accept it for what it is.

"Summer Job" is billed as a sex comedy, I suppose, but it fails on both counts: it's tame and unerotic and, at the same time, thoroughly unfunny. The characters are stereotypical, the acting is poor, the humor level low and nobody would accuse the film of intelligence. However, all this imbecility seemed inoffensive to me, maybe because it never gets downright sleazy, and the film is certainly a lot less boring than several "high-profile" motion pictures.