Primavera na Pele

As near as I can tell, this movie is about the four least funny dumbasses in the world going to Fort Lauderdale. I guess it's really not fair to say that they aren't funny, because there are no actual "jokes" per se in the film. Things happen, and the actors sort of react to everything as if they are being funny, but they're not. One guy keeps yelling, "Look at all these people! They're all having fun!" Obviously, he wasn't looking at the audience.

I think Perry Lang here is still playing Hewitt from his quintessential seventies retards-are-people-too movie, "Hewitt's Just Different." When he is trying to convey that his character is having a good time, he dumps a cup of beer over his head and goes "AAAAAAAAAAAH!"

There's lots of strangely homosexual undertones in this, too. You could make a good drinking game to it---each player picks a main character and has to drink every time that character does something latent, like when Paul (The Idolmaker) Land strips down to his jock in a hotel room before two guys he just met about ten seconds earlier.

This movie is so wrong-headed it's hard to pin down every moronic moment, but the nightclub musical numbers stand out as particularly inept. Harry Manfredini must have run through a lot of double-A batteries for his Casio scoring this flick. During these scenes everyone is clapping to their own imaginary beat, which never bears even a remote resemblance to the actual one. I haven't seen this much hopelessly caucasian clapping since the last time I watched "Wild Horse Saloon."

It's hard to believe that at one time this stuff was released in theaters, and that people stood in a line to see it. It's even harder to believe there are still people out there who love this crap (see previous user comments) without any irony whatsoever. I mean, I plan on taping it the next time it's on, but mostly because I find it endlessly entertaining to watch movies that look like they were made by people who had never seen a movie before.

The best thing I could possibly say about this was that the lady who owned the hotel played Eddie's mom in "Diner." And I don't even know why that's a good thing. Also, if you watch it on Comedy Central, listen for when they accidentally left in an F-word when they were editing the soundtrack. Our fun-loving protagonists are in a bar and a male wet t-shirt contest is announced (oh, one of THOSE bars) and one guy asks, "What do we have to do?" His buddy shouts back, very clearly, "Who the f___ cares?" I couldn't have put it better myself.

"Nelson" (David Knell) is a rich college kid whose dictatorial stepfather, "Ernest Dalby" (Donald Symington) just happens to be running for the U.S. Senate. But rather than staying around and work on his stepfather's campaign he decides to follow his best-friend's advice and go to Ft. Lauderdale for spring break. Unfortunately, when they get to their hotel they discover that there has been an error with their reservation and find that two other young men named "Stu" (Paul Land) and "O.T." (Steve Bassett) have also been given the same hotel room. Fortunately, they soon begin to realize just how sheltered they have been which causes both Nelson and his best-friend "Adam" (Perry Lang) to not only decide to allow them to stay in their room but to also join them in their quest to seek out the opposite sex and party. What none of them realize is just how infuriated Nelson's stepfather has become when he finds out that Nelson is in Ft. Lauderdale having a good time. Because of that he has hires a shady real estate agent to find Nelson and also sends two of his own goons to bring him back. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie I will just say that this was one of many "beach movies" which sprang up in the late 70's and continued throughout the 80's. Typically, these films differed from those in the 60's due to their more explicit and crude nature. That's not a criticism necessarily but rather a simple observation. As far as this specific movie is concerned, it had its share of topless women but nothing really out of the ordinary for this particular sub-genre. The big problem with this movie was that it was just plain dull. The plot was too basic and the humor wasn't very good either. Likewise, other than Corinne Alphen (as "Joan") none of the actors really stood out one way or the other. That said, I have rated the movie accordingly. Below average.

I LOVED this film! It is such a reminder of the great teenage sex films of the 80's. HBO used to show this almost 24/7 and I still watch it everytime I can. Most people probably dismissed this film as being nothing more than another 80's "teenage coming of age" movie, but it really is more! Look at MTV's Spring Break yearly specials and "reality" shows. You'll see how much things REALLY have NOT changed. It should be noted that Steve Bassett who was an actor in this film went on to become one of the most loved actors in the daytime drama "As The World Turns" in the role of "Seth Snider" for many years. If you catch this film, watch it an relive the 80's fun all over again! And by no means, Don't Burn It!

Welcome to Florida!

Maybe your last vacation was just working two jobs instead of three - now you are in Eff Ell Lay. It would be immoral not to pursue women, beer and that evil dude from the Unsafe Buildings Commission.

Actually, the guy from the USC was really the only hole in the script. Why did he choose to join those thugs after he did the bit that he was paid off for? The rest of the film was coherent, the acting suberb (was it? I kept getting distracted by the actresses) and the beer keep flowing right along with the storyline.

I especially liked the part where O.T. swims through the water with a knife in his teeth. Could Coppola have come up with such imagery?

Charming Ft. Lauderdale spring break film from 1983. Would this movie ever win any awards for cinematic excellence? Not a chance. But then it never tries to be anything other than what it is; mindless spring break fun circa-1983, but with a difference. The movie has heart, treating its likable leads in a positive way rather than depicting them as the stupid, sex-crazed, goofs that most films of the time seem to prefer. In short, there are a LOT less worthwhile ways to spend 101 minutes.

Although this was my era, I never experienced spring break while in college myself (much to my ever-lasting dismay). But movies like this allow those of us spring break wannabe's who missed out, a way to share in the fun.

DON'T bother watching if you are looking for a deep, filmatic experience. Instead, simply celebrate the era and enjoy the good "clean" fun that was Florida's spring break, before 'girls gone wild'!