It's a Bikini World

I enjoyed this one, but not as much as the Frankie and Annette beach movies. This one has The Animals singing one of their hits, so that made it worth watching to go back to a different era. Lots of bikinis and Tommy Kirk just seemed older than I expected...lol. I guess it's my memories of him from the Disney movies. Anyway, this movie delves into how women can do whatever men can do...Deborah Walley, whom I always thought was so cute, trying to successfully complete and beat Tommy Kirk's character...and of course doesn't because at the time women were still considered "the weaker sex". However, she did manage to outsmart him, proving women are smarter than men...lol.

I just found this cheesy film enjoyable to watch, as I had never seen it before. I wouldn't rank this as one of my favorites. It simply cannot compare to the earlier, more carefree and fun loving beach movies. IMO it's worth watching....once. If you enjoy beach movies, stick to the earlier ones and Elvis movies.

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.

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!

It's Christmas in Los Angeles, and yet there are still kids hitting the beach in the early morning hours! Brrrr. Tommy Kirk plays the local Lothario who gets put down by the new girl on the block; he dons nerdy glasses and attempts to woo her Clark Kent-style, but she's more interested in showing up his alter-ego at skateboarding and speedboat racing. Stephanie Rothman directed, and though she doesn't cut back on the cheesecake factor, neither does she seem to know where exactly to point the camera. We get glimpses of behinds and legs and exposed tummies, but without faces and personalities it's all a beach blur. The skateboard race around local side streets is fun, and Deborah Walley twinkles and giggles pleasantly enough, but the quasi-pop art look is scuttled by the low budget and the musical numbers are lethargic. In fact, nearly everyone here seems to be dragging their feet, as if benumbed by the whole enterprise. *1/2 from ****