Pajama Party

American International Pictures at their goofy best, hitting a "Beach Party" high-point with this insane slapstick opus. Having seen all the "Beach Party" flicks (including "Ski Party" and "The Ghost In The Invisible Bikini"), I have to say this may be my favorite. Frankie Avalon is relegated to a cameo playing a Martian leader--in scenes tinted red!--but Annette Funicello is here, having trouble with a new beau who says he's from Mars. Annette is very appealing warbling the title cut poolside (she gets dunked!) or crooning "Stuffed Animal" to a colorful toy monstrosity who winks at her. There are some big laughs: Buster Keaton's battle with the perfume spritz girl, Dorothy Lamour getting a lesson in today's fashions, Susan Hart's slow shimmy making a volcano erupt, the kid who hates "mush!", and Elsa Lanchester flitting around the teenagers, casting caution to the wind (one of the bikers calls her an "older doll"). Fun stuff! *** from ****

I LOVE this film, particularly the scene at the dress store, with Dorothy Lamour.

Yes, the 2nd model out, IS the one and only Terri Garr. The last dancer out - the one doing the INCREDIBLE 'Swim,' is Ms. Toni Basil.

These two women have a combined history (which might've started here. Does anyone know?), as, it was shortly after this film, that Terri became a dancer on the late, great ShInDiG!, with Toni as both a dancer and choreographer.

I saw some reviews here which were practically out for blood in their negativity, their dislike of this film.

The one that stuck in my craw, was the person who said they were in high school (in LA) at the time, and this film was so bad, they couldn't sit through it - 'FIVE(?!?!) times.'

O - kaaaaay.

While it's true, it's not the best, it does have things going for it, starting with Tommy Kirk, who I've always liked. I can only imagine how he felt, to basically be given the 'beach movie mantle' - ALONE.

That had to be a little unnerving tonhave that weight put on you. But, he did have the help of Annette, and a truly fun cast, with everyone from Buster Keaton, through to Dorothy ('poor me, pour me another drink') Kilgallen (huh?).

Yes, it's stupid, but, it's fun. It's not supposed to be anything other than lightweight fluff, and, it does it's job admirably.

Every time this film comes on, I'm front-and-centre, waiting up for that terrific dance at the dress store.

And, again, to the person who hates this - but, keeps seeing it: you keep saying you leave after only the 1st few minutes. There are very few films that are great after only a few minutes.

Next time you 'force' yourself to (try and) watch PAJAMA PARTY...just try to at least see Dorothy, Terri, and Toni? You might end up with a smile.

This was what passed for entertainment when I was a teen. Speaking of which, I saw very few, if any, actual teens in this production. Did see the Maytag man though: this guy always leaves me in stitches for some reason. How well I remember his portrayal of Honest John in a segment of "Beverly Hillbillies". As to exactly why I remember this so well is well beyond me, I just do. Another highlight of this film was Don Rickles, one of my all time fave comics. But the ultimate high point of this or any of the sand and surf epics is none other than Eric Von and his cycle Ratz. They are without peer and I'll fight to the death over this belief. Ok, not to the death, but I do love Von Zipper. I have seen several of the beach pictures and this may be the zaniest one yet....you stupids!

I just watched this beach flick and I'm certain that the music in Rocky Horror was influenced by this awesome surf and skin flick. There's even a scene where Tommy Kirk has a "Transducer". The story is less than ridiculous and that makes it enjoyable camp from the summer in America before the Beatles. West Side Story it's not, but the dancing and music are so expertly snychronized you'll think the actors are computerized. Look for Buster Keaton as "Cowabunga", he steals the show!

While none of them would qualify as brilliant film-making, this is easily the best of the drive-in "beach" movies produced by American International Pictures between 1963-67. This is the only beach movie I've ever sat all the way through without looking at my watch, and the IMDb rating of 3.0 it has as of today's date is unduly harsh.

One of the reasons Pajama Party is more enjoyable than the rest is the absence of Frankie Avalon. We only see the back of his head throughout the film, his character only being revealed in the closing segment. For once, Annette (I believe her character is called Connie is this particular outing) is not subjected to Frankie's rather sexist treatment; in the other films he expects her to be chaste and faithful to him alone while he looks at other women and studiously avoids any kind of committed relationship until the finale'. In Pajama Party, the Frankie character has never existed, and Connie instead falls in love with Go-Go, with the biggest obstacle in their relationship presented by the fact that Go-Go is a Martian sent on a scouting mission to precede the invasion of earth by Don Rickles and some other Martians up to no good. Tommy Kirk does pretty well with the awfully shallow part of Go-Go, his only weak point being the unfortunate ballad he has to sing in the convertible with Connie (driving down the highway with the top down, yet there is no wind or noise…!).

The entertainment value in these films today is their ability to provide us with escape into an easier, more innocent time. Those of you familiar with my Mrs. Astor reviews here on IMDb know this is usually my primary objective with any old movie. This film is one non-stop romp through an endless carefree teenage summer. The kids must fight for their right to party against invading Martians, con-artists, and of course quasi-Nazi Erick von Zipper and his Rat Pack, who in this film are outraged that the teens have left footprints on "their" beach (our writers must be running out of reasons to justify Von Zipper's existence by this point).

Guest stars Dorothy Lamour and Buster Keaton add much to the movie. Ms. Lamour is wonderful as the manager of the local dress shop. Mr. Keaton frequently appears in these films as an Indian, he has a brilliant scene here with the perfume counter girl, which can be attributed more to his fifty years of comedic work than any fit of genius that might have been borne by the writers of 1960's beach movies. The real spark of life in Pajama Party is brought by guest star Elsa Lanchester, always an absurd delight, here she is the aunt of the Jody McCrea character…he's always named Chunk or Hunk or Junk, in this one he's named Lunk. Our third set of bad guys, headed by the Maytag Repairman, are out to steal Aunt Wendy's millions, and she is a delightful airhead who manages to continually foil their plots without ever really being aware of their presence.

The film is further populated by the usual band of teens, all of the American International beach films have more or less the same cast, including Donna Loren, a singer far more talented than the material she is given, and Candy Johnson, who must surely be the most violent go-go dancer in the history of the world.

TRIVIA NOTE: It's interesting how a bit of trivia can get out into the movie fan community and be repeated by dozens of folk who apparently don't verify it first. While numerous sources credit Teri Garr's first movie appearance as being in the 1968 film "Head" starring The Monkees, she does in fact appear in 1964's Pajama Party. I recently heard TCM Host Ben Mankowitz state that Ms. Garr "appears just to the right of Annette Funicello in every major scene", a comment that I have also seen repeated verbatim on other IMDb reviews. Interesting, but untrue. Ms. Garr plays the second model in the fashion show sequence (which begins approximately 37 minutes into the film), but the character of Connie does not even arrive at the dress shop until the fashion show is over. Teri Garr can be seen dancing to Annette's right in the final musical number, Pajama Party, but this is hardly "appearing to Annette's right in every scene of the movie".

You may also spot Toni Basil. She is the girl in the red bikini in the first dance sequence, and the girl in the silver bikini at the fashion show. Slow it down, you can tell it's her pretty easy by the shape of her face.

In summation, if you're interested in beach movies or just want some fun post-Camelot escapist entertainment, Pajama Party is the best of the lot. It will keep you smiling and tapping your foot and rooting for those clean wholesome kids. I wished I could just hop into my giant yellow convertible and tool down to the beach for the summer without a care in the world.