Superchick

SUPERCHICK stars Joyce Jillson as a frumpy "stewardess" who transforms -between flights- into the titular crimefighter. Terra B. True (Jillson) hops off the plane and straight into some guy's bed, on a regular basis.

SHE'S ALSO INTO: Water skiing, tennis, and ultra-mod dancing.

HER TURN ONS ARE: Hunky guys, shag-a-delic puns, karate fights, and layovers.

HER TURN OFFS ARE: Clingy guys, hang-ups, and bad attitudes.

BEST SCENES: #1- The motorcycle gang -led by Dan Haggerty!- beat down! #2- Terra using her karate on a geriatric pervert (John Carradine)! This scene is rather uncomfortable to watch!

Incredibly, with everything that happens, SUPERCHICK is fairly dull. Its idiotic non-plot is packed with soft core cheeeze and absurd situations.

Another Crown International Pictures epic to fill the drive-ins of its day...

Suggesting nothing less than a movie-length version of the 1970s TV hit "Love, American Style," decked out with flashes of nudity, "Superchick" (1973) is a lighthearted piece of fluff that somehow still manages to entertain. And the lead character here, Tara B. True, really IS some kind of superchick. A stewardess (not flight attendant) who's so good-looking that even her plane's autopilot has made a pass at her (!), and with a hunky boyfriend in every port, this wingin', swingin' gal really does put the "lay" in "layover." What with her germaphobe surgeon beau in New York, her playboy with gangster problems in Miami, and her creatively challenged rock star dude in L.A., Tara sure does keep busy. And when she's not draining these guys of all their manly energies, as the viewer learns, she's liable to be taking a karate class, mile-high clubbing, fending off flashers and rapists, attending groovy pot parties AND stopping a hijacking attempt on her airplane. As I said, lighthearted fun, and surely good for a night when you're feeling somewhat brain-dead and just want to veg out in front of the tube. Future astrologist Joyce Jillson does bring some vacuous charm to her role as Tara, and the film looks handsome enough to please. Disappointingly, buxom '70s faves Uschi Digard and Mary Gavin (aka Candy Samples) are wasted here in very small roles, but still get to do what they do best--show off their chesticles! Though the picture is never laff-out-loud funny and doesn't really have many thoughts in its metaphorical head, it does succeed in being consistently amusing, and I suppose that is something. Strange that the end credits should call attention to Ms. Jillson's body double, however; don't think I've ever seen THAT before!

Back in the 1970's there was a lot of exploitation films: Sexploitation, Blaxpoitation, and others to mention. In "Superchick", you won't find it in a comic book! Here you have a stewardess(Joyce Jillson, 1945-2004) who wears her stewardess uniform. When she's off duty, she goes from brunette, to long hair blonde. The short hair brunette her is meek and mild. Her Superchick mode is adventurous and uninhibited. Consider this, the ultimate lover. She has three: A brain surgeon in New York; a beach bum in Miami; and a musician in Los Angeles. Each one knew nothing about the other. But the one in Miami was involved with a criminal mastermind. Unaware of the situation, she does her regular job as usual. In California, she goes to karate class where she meets the champion who is secretly bilingual. After a fine jostling, he gets the surprise of his life. After thwarting a hijacking, she has her "coming out" party. The funny part during the interview is when has her "news flash". This one is subtle, still true to its name. At least she didn't wear a cape and fly all over the US looking for love. That would be too corny! 2 out of 5 stars.

I'm not a "bad movie" fan, but this one has to be one of the exceptions. Probably unwatchable in 1973, the lifestyles, the lingo, and the attitudes are so comically dated that they lift the film to the level of unintentional satire. The plot is terrific. At least I think it is. I never really figured out what the plot is. But the atmostphere is like Valley Of The Dolls with 1/3 the calories. Superchick wanders from bed to bed without any apparent reason, and stops to deliver a few ridiculously bad Karate shots on the unsuspecting bad guys. Well worth watching if you understand that you aren't getting The Maltese Falcon.

Tara B. True (Jillson) is the ultimate party-girl; she has enough love to share with the world, so she became a stewardess to romance the world. With a guy in every port, Tara hides her blonde bombshell body disguised as a brunette. This movie is so 1970's, that the fashions have returned. For those fans in the know, poor Louis Quinn probably went blind (see Archie Bunker's Place) by Tara's dazzling beauty. John Carradine has a wonderful cameo.