Lemon Popsicle

Taking a trip smack dab to the origins of Cannon Films founders Yoram Globus and Menahem Golan, I wanted to see the movie that (in a way) launched it all. Equal parts a coming of age story and prerequisite sex film, 'Lemon Popsicle' was pretty much what I expected ... but what a doozy that ending is.

The story is your simple boy meets girl and falls in love in 50's Israel. He tries to get her attention, but to no avail (she's not interested). He has two schoolyard friends and when the good looking, confident boy of the trio sets his sights on his dream girl he isn't able to say or do much. Saying anything more would venture into spoiler territory and give away the third act.

An Israeli production you can see it with an English dub or keep the original language and go for subtitles. The acting is raw, but solid. There's some light crude talk between the boys, but nothing highly offensive. Light nudity as well. There's a lot of vintage American music tracks featured.

'Lemon Popsicle' is a everyday tale at its heart beyond the lite sexual escapades. It holds a lot of real truths and hurts that young boys and grown men alike come to learn the hard way. Potent for 1978, director Boaz Davidson and Cannon Films would do an Americanized remake years later.

Originally available in the UK on Hokushin Home Video (remember them??), this, the first of the Lemon Popsicle series, kind of showed what growing up in the 60s was really like (after the sanitised schmaltz of GREASE). Three horny teenage friends spend most of the film searching for love, sex, and parties, and they find all three in abundance. This film has a magnificent soundtrack of late 50s early 60s classics (which was released on blue vinyl in the UK) and some way over the top comic sequences which belie its non-mainstream production values; this film was made as a German-Israeli co productionby director Boaz Davidson. One of the stars, Zachi Noy, Huey (the overweight kid) has gone on to become a major star in his home country (even starring in a 9th instalment of the series released this year - see the imdb for further details). So, besides the music, I love the romance, I love the comedy, and I love the sex scenes which come across as very dirty in certain scenes. The first two sequels, Going Steady and Hot Bubblegum are also sheer brilliance; the fourth film Private Popsicle is okay, but the fifth in the series BABY LOVE is possibly the most awesome teenage film EVER made!! See it if you can find a copy - come on lets have DVD releases please!! Number 6 is total rubblish, and 7,8, and 9 don't seem to have been translated into English yet (or released in English anyway).

Footnote: Lemon Popsicle was remade in the US in the mid-80s as THE LAST AMERICAN VIRGIN which also features a phenomenal 80s soundtrack and is recommended to all!! Any other fans of the series please contact me.

right guys first off I've been watching these films since i was a very small boy,these films especially this first one are all amazing,the soundtracks to most of them are brill,50s and 60s rock n roll tunes playing in the background of an old fashioned coming of age movie.music like bobby vinton,bryan hyland,etc etc,it follows the exploits of 3 friends,benji,huey and ladies man bobby,the plot lines are roughly the same on all films,benji falls in love,then gets hurt,bobby just has a good time,going from girl to girl,and unlucky huey who's always getting picked on,lol,but if your looking for a good old fashioned softcore titillation with an amazing soundtrack,then these films are definitely worth the look.

Although Lemon Popsicle is actually a sex comedy, it's not offensive at all and the fact that it is set in the early 60s provokes a feeling of innocence and naivety. It's about situations most of us have been through during puberty (and beyond) : chasing after some girl, going to parties hoping to make new acquaintances etc. The soundtrack is beautiful and adds a lot to the accurate depiction of that era. The direction is another story...

The first sequel was not as good.

6

If hollywood needed to learn from a script for 'The Last American Virgin', it would have come from this movie. The movie was made in the late 70's and depicts an early 60's Israel. The movie portrays teen-age situations, surrounded by a wonderfully rich soundtrack. In fact, the soundtrack is so good, you can just close your eyes and not watch the movie at all. HOWEVER, the soundtrack is thoughtfully mixed into the plot to provide a very nice effect.