Turma Bossa Nova

Instantly forgettable and pretty bad color "rock n roll" film that's deadly dull. It's got all the clichés, like the older generation who doesn't "get it", and young people dancing and strutting their stuff in revealing outfits.

The female eye candy, in the form of pretty Mary Ann Mobley and her other girlfriends, are about all there is to watch in this deadly dull timepiece. Some of my favorite '60s groups, like The Animals and The Dave Clark Five, get to perform a few numbers on stage, but their material is just as underwhelming.

* out of ****

The best movie representation of dated and camp I could dream. Despite excelling at every aspect of dated material, it finds unexpected ways to amuse. It's obvious lesson on women's rights, and the absurd manner in which it tries to illustrate sexual equality, is an unexpected bonus. You may want to watch it more than once so you can catch smaller details. For example: the background on the ski mountain, and the fact that her lipstick is applied on top of the snow. If you only like 'quality movies' then don't even consider it. You must appreciate 60's pop music because there are a lot of hysterical band/dance scenes. If you like this sort of thing then I recommended it strongly.

Okay, it's got Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto, plus the Jimmy Smith Trio, so as others have said, if you like jazz, you've got two good scenes. Personally, I love the Dave Clark Five and The Animals, but the songs they perform here are far from their best. They aren't hits, and why they'd choose to waste filler material on a movie with the potential to reach a bigger audience is beyond me.

One of my pet peeves is when a film features a song clearly written by an older songwriter with a background in show tunes and the like, and tries to pass it off as a big pop hit. I can't fathom any universe in which the song performed by Mary Ann Mobley, "Get Yourself a College Girl", would be a hit. And yet she's presented to us as this major songwriter with her finger on the pulse of today's youth.

The script feels like it was thrown together on the set. Is it about Mary Ann Mobley being booted out of college? No, wait, it's about her fighting and falling in love with her publisher. Nope, never mind, it's about re-electing a senator. Oops, looks like we're out of time. The end. But before we go, here are the Dave Clark Five and The Animals to sing some more songs you've never heard of while we film them in a straight-on close up that looks like a mugshot.

Great material for Mystery science theater. Just imagine you're Crow or Tom Servo and toss in the appropriate comments. This movie is so bad that is crosses way over the line into high camp. That's when the humor becomes unintentional. I love it. What were they thinking? A couple of old pros, character actors Willard Waterman and James Millhollin provide some actual humor. The main reason to see this movie is the music. The Animals and the Dave Clark Five do a horrible job lip-synching their songs but there are actually a couple of honest jazz musicians in Stan Getz and Jimmy Smith who are great. There's also a dixieland band of young guys who even tap dance. Unreal. Freddy Bell and Roberta Lynn are the worst third-rate Vegas act you can imagine. favorite line: "Where did you almost get that bikini" "I wear a 10 but and 8 looked so good, I bought a 6." Nancy Sinatra, Chris Noel, and Mary Ann Mobley are smokin' and for you girls there's Chad Everett. This movie is about what Hollywood thought the hip college student were like in 1964 and they couldn't be more wrong. The results are hilarious. Check it out on Turner tv sometime, tape it if you have to. You'll be glad you did.

Yes, the jazz fans will certainly like parts of this movie. That's a very young Gary Burton playing vibes behind Stan Getz blowing sax and Astrud Gilberto singing the English version of "The Girl From Ipanema". At the time this movie was made, Burton had only been recording for a couple of years or so. (I don't recognize the bassist or drummer.) Another treat in this movie is the Jimmy Smith trio. There are copies of the Getz/Gilberto number on Youtube, but the quality is horrible. Now if they would just release this thing on DVD! They may have already, but it isn't readily available. If anyone knows anything about that, please post it!