It's a Bikini World

So much fun weirdness going on here...the plot is pure '60s cornball but the actors are game and there are a lot of strange subtleties to appreciate: The Pop Art feel of the film, from the comic book opening titles (this was made at the height of the Batman craze, after all) to the Warhol/Lichtenstein style artwork hanging on the walls (pretty ahead of its time...I want a pad just like Mike's!) -- Veteran horror actor Sid Haig as an Ed "Big Daddy" Roth type -- The Crispin Gloveresque "McSnigg" character -- Bobby "Boris" Pickett of Monster Mash fame playing the goofy sidekick Woody (?!?!) -- Nice musical performances, more imaginatively photographed than in most films of this sort. The Animals' "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" is a highlight -- Not to mention beautiful sunny locales and lots of bright, 1960s colors. If you enjoy beach party films, give this one a shot!

First, the positives - this movie contains some decent musical performances. Sure, they appear to be just lip syncing to the actual recording, but it's still nice to see The Animals and especially one-hit wonders The Castaways in color. We also get to see Sid Haig in one of his first bigger roles.

Overall, though, this film feels more like the last gasp of the beach movie genre than anything else. I hadn't realized they were still making these films as late as 1967, and judging by the lack of enthusiasm from the cast, they can't believe it either. There are some attempts to bring a looser, avant garde approach to the film. Or maybe it's just bad film-making. There are several seemingly random montages with overdubbed voices moving the plot forward. I'm willing to give the filmmakers the benefit of the doubt and assume this is intentional, but for all I know, it could be sloppy editing to cover scenes that should have been shot or bad writing.

The film has a downbeat feel to it, nothing like the bright, perky style we're used to with beach movies. The skies over the beach seem gray and the cast seems to be struggling with depression. I'm left with the impression that by this point, pot had clearly taken over as the drug of choice on film sets, making a Frankie and Annette style of film an uphill struggle at this point.

"It's A Bikini World" was a production of famed B movie studio American- International Pictures, but was released under their Trans American Films label. A.I.P. used that label on movies they handled that they thought might tarnish their reputation, and it's easy to see why they were probably uneasy about this movie. Unlike their other beach party movies, this movie is sorely lacking in energy. Scene after scene goes by that immediately falls on the ground with a thud. There's also not much of a story on display here, resulting in a lot of padding. Even the music (save for when The Castaways perform their hit "Liar, Liar") is nothing special. Sid Haig is kind of fun in his scenes, but he doesn't get a lot of screen time. A beach blanket bomb!

As a fan of the original beach party flicks, it was sad and disappointing to discover this rarely seen bit of cinematic fluff. By the time it was released, the genre had run its course and this was in no way going to revive it. It took the original pairing of Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello to resuscitate it in Back To the Beach, a fond look back at the genre.

Deborah Walley, who co-starred in some of the original beach party movies gets to star here along with Disney alum Tommy Kirk, who really should have hit the gym before running around with his shirt off. The movie has a poverty row feel about it. The jokes fall flat and the hipster lingo and characters are just embarrassing, as they probably were in the late 60's.

The only reasons to see this are for an early film appearance by Sid Haig who has recently had a career resurgence of sorts with his turn as Captain Spaulding in Rob Zombie's House of 1,000 Corpses and its sequel The Devil's Rejects; and of course for the music and the groups. They are still pretty cool, and the only way this film got 3 stars from me.

Stick with the original beach party movies, they are way more fun.

Deborah Walley and Tommy Kirk compete against each other in this battle of the sexes played out on sunny California beaches. When Walley initially rejects him, Kirk takes on a disguise and pretends to be the kind of guy that she claims she really likes. As usual in beach movies, there are popular music acts of the day, including the Toys and Eric Burdon and the Animals. Silly plot, yet one of the better non-Frankie and Annette beach movies as far as the fun quotient goes.