Paradise Bungalows

After reading the reviews regarding "The Virgin Queen of St. Francis High", I was compelled to rent the movie to see if the comments made by other viewers were justified. The reviews were so dire that I needed to see for myself if this movie was really as "inept" as others had claimed it to be. I put the tape in and began watching what was supposed to be the "worst movie ever". I was prepared to add my venomous review to the list, but what I discovered instead, was that I genuinely enjoyed the film.

The movie revolves around a nerdish type of guy named Mike (Joseph Straface), who makes a $2,000.00 bet with Randy (Lee Barringer), the most popular guy around, that he can get Diane (Stacy Christenson), the most popular girl around, not to mention the most unatainable one, to a place called Paradise Bungalows. A sort of lover's lane motel in the woods. The antics begin when Mike tries to woo and win Diane's heart with his impish charms and with the aid of his best friend Charly (J.T. Wotton).

Through his persitence, Diane begins to fall for Mike's charms and against the adivce of her best friend Judy (Anna Lisa Iapaolo), who also happens to be Charly's sister, she ends up going to Paradise Bungalows for the weekend.

Judy discovers the truth about the wager and feels it her duty to inform Diane about the deception. Now Mike must save face with Diane and save her honor as well, by confronting Randy in the climax of the movie.

I found the climax reminiscent of a Sergio Leone western and found it a most entertaining homage, as the hero and villain face off in a classic "Good, Bad and Ugly" encounter. It was a stylish ending to a stylish movie.

All in all, the Virgin Queen of St. Francis high was indeed a pleasant surprise. It was funny, enchanting and endearing. I found myself rooting for Mike as he went from a bumbling nerd to charming hero. After watching the film I had to conclude that the other critics simply missed the point and compared to the myriad of useless romantic comedies out there, I found this to be a gem. It was fresh and different. The music was great and really added to the overall experience as did the great scenery.

I would indeed wholheartedly recommend this film and give it a two thumbs up!

The other day I found this video at a bookstore by chance, and I wonder how come Hollywood does not make such innocent movie anymore rather than making those filthy ones. Mike (Joseph R. Straface) appears as a shy boy, and he is such a sweet actor. I fell in love with him and I watched this video many times. Of course I recommended to my friends. Also the music was great and if you like top gun soundtrack or 80's sound then you will definitely love this one. My recommended tracks are "wait for another day" (theme of this movie) and "strange things to remember". I was surprised that "paradise bungalows" and the hotel where Mike said his father own the place (Banff springs hotel) really exists in Canada. If you are looking for a fresh, innocent movie then please check this out!

Well I for one thought this was a great little comedy and great look back at the eighties. Sure it was an idea that's been done before, (boy meets girl, boy tries to win girl, boy looses girl, then boy wins girl back), but it was fresh and funny. The lead actor kept me laughing through the film and the leading lady was not only a good actress, but she was very nice on the eyes as well. I cannot imagine for the life of me, a "mutiny" occurring during the screening of this film. I've seen many films that have deserved to have eggs thrown at them, but this is definitely not one of them. It was a sincere attempt at a genre that is all too often moronic in its attempt to induce laughter. It was a genuine film and the arc the main character took through the movie was realistic and endearing. Indeed all the actors did a wonderful job in keeping the film lively with their perfomances. Kudos to the director for taking the chance to portray a teen comedy that has some intelligence to it. I would, and have recommended this video to friends of mine and to those would be "mutineers", step on the plank and jump, cause you don't know a sincere film when you see one.

In most respects, this film is a clunker, hence the bad reviews; however, it is only fair to note that what the film is, and what it obviously intended to be, are two entirely different things.

I don't know anything about the film's history, but it comes across like a no-budget college student film. Penned and directed by Francesco Lucente, the story is about a wager between two high school students, Mike and Randy. Mike, frustrated by the fact that he's constantly one-upped by the hubristic Randy, bets his nemesis $2,000 that he can bed Diane, the title character, who obviously has a reputation at stake. And the `courtship' is on. However, as Mike undertakes the challenge, he finds himself falling for his intended conquest.

Similar plot lines have been used to better effect in recent efforts, namely She's All That starring Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Rachael Leigh Cook, and American Pie, featuring the relationship between Chris Klein (Oz) and Mena Suvari (Heather), both released in 1999. Unfortunately, Lucente didn't have an astronomical budget to work with - heck, none of the scenes even feature St. Francis High. But, low budget efforts have worked before, so that can't be targeted as the primary reason this film doesn't work.

The film mainly falls flat for two reasons: 1) a weak script, and 2) a wooden performance by Joseph Straface in the leading male role. Straface just doesn't possess the acting chops to convince the audience that Mike has what it takes to win over Diane, and therefore it isn't very believable when he does succeed in his mission. Even so, Stacy Christensen delivers a respectable performance as Diane, the title character, and Anna-Lisa Iapaolo (now a New York-based jazz singer) as her best friend Judy, Lee Barringer as Randy, and J. T. Wotton as Charles (Mike's best friend and Judy's younger brother), do adequately in their supporting roles. Wotton, in fact, comes across as a natural in front of the camera, managing to salvage many of his scenes with Straface, whose character has most of the screen time.

The ending of the film was downright ridiculous, consisting of a `chickie run' between Mike and Randy. I was left with the impression that Lucente chose to work the scene in out of homage to Rebel Without A Cause, a true teen classic, completely neglecting the fact that it was an absolutely pointless maneuver on his part. It just doesn't seem to really fit into the film. It was as though he had run out of ideas and was fishing for a dramatic ending.

Although the film does have some heart, it lacks much else to recommend it, save for some half-way decent tunes on the soundtrack. Sadly, I must concur with the overall consensus that there really isn't much going to recommend this film to others, unless you want to be left, like I was, with a feeling of what could have been but never will be.

People, you are being very unkind to this movie. It is not as bad as many of you make it out to be. A totally valid point is that the male lead is too weak to carry it off. Stacy Christensen, a wonderful girl-next-door type with drop-dead gorgeous looks depending on the angle of the camera, wows me with a surprisingly good performance. That 'mean kid' Randy seemed to have been played by a dreary male model type who is obviously all show and no go = another weak performance in a key role. The little friend kind of was a stronger performance while that wasn't really necessary. The soundtrack, at times, with that instrumental number, wants to take off with a John Hughes movie type sound... You wanna add "Hey, hey, hey, hey" to it and go "no chains could keep us apart" and the Eighties vibe is naturally there, but this is, of course, not in the class of CAN'T BUY ME LOVE and SAY ANYTHING or any John Hughes movie.

Anybody notice the simmering Tom Cruise idolization? He is referenced, and there seems to be a predominant RISKY BUSINESS vibe with the Ray-Bans and the music miming.

The movie is worth seeing for Stacy Christensen. But had she not been in it, had some other actress been cast, chances are it would have fallen totally totally flat. But she saves it from being a total disaster and merits the watching thereof. Even if the movie is a dork, you won't mind so much.

Anyway, I have very little hope for some of the other titles on the Dangerous Babes box-set, and is just relieved that this one wasn't a total waste of time. The title of the movie sounded snidely sarcastic and I expected something kinda rude with the girl as target. This movie on the Dangerous Babes collection is kinda out of place. This is a sweet offering, family fare (well, almost).

I've noticed that Stacy has only acted in one other movie. She went to the other side of the camera. But judging from this, she should have been in several more, and opposite a worthy star actor.