Junta Juleil's Culture Shock: P.J. Soles

Showing posts with label P.J. Soles. Show all posts

Friday, August 19, 2022

Television Review: ZUMA BEACH (1978, Lee H. Katzin)

Stars: 2 of 5.
Running Time: 104 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Suzanne Somers (THREE'S COMPANY, SERIAL MOM), Michael Biehn (ALIENS, TOMBSTONE, THE TERMINATOR), Rosanna Arquette (PULP FICTION, AFTER HOURS, DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN), P.J. Soles (HALLOWEEN, ROCK N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL, CARRIE), Tanya Roberts (THE BEASTMASTER, A VIEW TO A KILL), Steven Keats (DEATH WISH, THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE), Mark Wheeler (THE CONVERSATION, APOLLO 13), Gary Imhoff (SUMMER SCHOOL, THE GREEN MILE), Delta Burke (DESIGNING WOMEN, WHAT WOMEN WANT), Kimberly Beck (ROLLER BOOGIE, FRIDAY THE 13TH PART IV: THE FINAL CHAPTER).
Tagline: "Her life had suddenly become a long drive to nowhere... so what better place to get it all together than her old stomping grounds, Zuma Beach! Let's get it together with a batch of beach boys and their golden girls... frolic with Suzanne Somers on Zuma Beach!"
Best one-liner: "Have some confidence in yourself." –"I can't. It's 9:30, and the stores stop selling confidence at five o'clock. And tomorrow is a holiday."

"I wrote that for a producer who just said he wanted a beach movie. He ended up selling it to Warner Bros., and soon Suzanne Somers was starring in it. I was going to direct it––for about ten seconds––but one of my mentors, Richard Kobritz, who later produced Christine, helped me see I didn’t want to do it. It was vastly rewritten, so I really shouldn’t have taken credit for it, but I was a little asshole in those days."

–John Carpenter, when asked about ZUMA BEACH by Fangoria in 2013

Almost ten years ago, I did a "Poor Man's Carpy" series on this blog, devoted to John Carpenter marginalia like the co-scripted TV movie SILENT PREDATORS, the Tommy Lee Wallace-helmed VAMPIRES: LOS MUERTOS, trashy Hallo-sequels HALLOWEEN 666 and RESURRECTION, and the Dennis Etchison novelizations of THE FOG and HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH. One which slipped under the radar was ZUMA BEACH. So here we are, in the dog days of summer, finally taking a look at this forgotten CBS Late Movie "sort of" written by Carpenter and three other guys.

What can we learn about John Carpenter from ZUMA BEACH? Very little, I'm sure, given his above quote, but I think it's worth looking into. (Says the guy who did a two-part deep dive into John Carpenter's filmmaker-buddy-garage band, The Coupe de Villes.)

It's a straightforward slice of life, giggle and jiggle flick designed to eliminate two hours on a lazy, hazy summer evening. Though it ends with a volleyball game, it never even possesses stakes as high as in SIDE OUT.

Suzanne Somers plays a pop star (whose big hit is the fictitious "Silent Whisper"), and she's having a mid-career crisis.

In need of a reset, she clears her head at Zuma Beach, where she once enjoyed poetry and sand castles as a child. Zuma Beach is populated with a rogue's gallery of horny teens, pre-makeover nerds, beach bums, surfers, football jerks, hot dog enthusiasts, kite fliers, windjammers, cool visor-dudes and the like.

Somers becomes something of a beach elder here, primarily because it's a teenage hotspot. She dispenses wisdom, smiles pensively, and takes in some rays.

Bullies vaguely receive their comeuppance, romances spark and fizzle, and everyone more or less fritters the summer away. This is ZUMA BEACH, ladies and gentlemen. It's so dedicated to its quotidian ensemble that if it were better written and had more interesting characters, it might even feel like an Altman or Linklater flick. As is, it's merely a pleasant time-waster filled with bright 1970s colors and some amusing and unexpected performances. For reference, the real Zuma Beach is in Malibu, about a 70 minute drive from the PRINCE OF DARKNESS church.

If I were trying to draw a real John Carpenter connection, I'd probably compare it to THE FOG, which also sees a strong woman adjacent to the music industry (Adrienne Barbeau as "DJ Stevie Wayne") finding her footing in a California beach community. There are even times that ZUMA BEACH feels like "a Carpenter horror movie, but before the horror begins."

The image of a child playing with his dog in the surf... recalls Stevie Wayne's son finding a plank from the Elizabeth Dane in THE FOG? C'mon, I'm trying here.

Oh, and there is a lot of feathered hair in this movie. Might I remind you that it was shot in 1978.

Mark Wheeler's elaborate feathered coiffure helmet puts Mark Hamill's to shame

With such a bare bones plot, you start focusing on strange details. Like Suzanne Somers' suntan oil, which looks like it's being dispensed from an Elmer's glue bottle.

We have young, Toto-era Rosanna Arquette as a character who tokes a lot of reefer. She's doing that quirky comedic 'Rosanna Arquette thing,' mostly indistinguishable from her performances in AFTER HOURS and DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN, which is okay!

You have to admire (pre-Reagan) CBS Standards & Practices allowing such casual drug use to slip by without dramaturgical rebuke.

Michael Biehn pops up, also in one of his very first roles, as a crazy-eyed, eyebrow-indicating lifeguard who uses his lifeguard tower as a bachelor pad.

Here, he's trying to pressure HALLOWEEN's own P.J. Soles into pre-marital sex. It's a good thing Michael Myers isn't around!

HALLOWEEN was released October 25, 1978; ZUMA BEACH debuted September 27, 1978. HALLOWEEN was filmed in May, and based on the look and general disposability of ZUMA BEACH, I have to imagine it was filmed that summer. It's quite possible that P.J. appears here as part of some John Carpenter favor; but given his disconnect to this movie, it's equally plausible that it's pure coincidence. I at least have to hope that John Carpenter was not responsible for a line of dialogue about "extracurricular sex-tivity."

Soles: "I have six pigtails"

As usual, P.J. Soles is a hilarious delight. And she has six pigtails. Count 'em––six! Why would anybody need six pigtails? Maybe she's choosing to pull focus by-way-of ridiculous hair/costume accoutrement––she does has a history of that. You may recall that in Brian De Palma's CARRIE, she established herself as the Queen of Pulling Focus with her big 'ol red rainbow ballcap. Bless.

There are some terrible, copyright-skirting faux-Beach Boys songs which play throughout, Tanya Roberts and Delta Burke wander through the frame, and Michael Biehn gets sand kicked in his face: a sobering experience for Zuma Beach's resident bully/Casanova.

There's a volleyball game and a riding-men-by-the-shoulders race,

and that's all she wrote. Er, rather, that's all John Carpenter and (at least) three other guys wrote. Do you feel like know all you need to about the ZUMA BEACH experience? I hope so.

Friday, October 31, 2014

Film Review: HALLOWEEN (1978, John Carpenter)

Stars: 5 of 5.

Running Time: 91 minutes.

Tag-line: "The night HE came home!"

Notable Cast or Crew: Starring Donald Pleasence (THE GREAT ESCAPE, PHENOMENA), Jamie Lee Curtis (PERFECT, PROM NIGHT), P.J. Soles (CARRIE, ROCK N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL), Charles Cyphers (ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, THE FOG), Nancy Kyes (ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, THE FOG), Kyle Richards (THE WATCHER IN THE WOODS, ER), Brian Andrews (THE GREAT SANTINI, THREE O'CLOCK HIGH), Nick Castle (writer of ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, THE BOY WHO COULD FLY). Written by Carpenter and Debra Hill (THE FOG, REBEL HIGHWAY). Edited and production designed by Tommy Lee Wallace (STEPHEN KING'S IT, HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH).

Best One-liner: "Death has come to your little town, Sheriff."

HALLOWEEN. The gold-standard for American slashers. Foreboding atmosphere in 5/4 time. A seasonal ode to the boogeyman, that blank slate whom we ourselves illustrate, whose gaps we fill with our innermost fears and deepest uncertainties.

As our subconscious mind paints vivid nightmares as we sleep, so does it adorn the empty mask of Michael Myers: he is whomever we wish him to be. Myers is so formless, Donald Pleasence's Dr. Loomis can't even ascribe a gender: "Don't underestimate it." It is we who give form to The Shape, that "infinitely patient" shadow in the mist, that void, that lurker in the dark.

"Every town has something like this happen," intones the cemetery groundskeeper, and in those words is the history of 20th Century American horror, from H.P. Lovecraft to Ray Bradbury to Stephen King to Wes Craven to David Lynch. No place, no town, and no mind is immune from the horrors of life and the dread of death.

I adore HALLOWEEN. Many of its successors have been garbage. Glorious garbage, usually, but garbage nonetheless. HALLOWEEN was a masterpiece, a perfect storm; a the fervency of youth, the craft of experience, a certain magic of atmosphere. Dean Cundey's cinematography captures a mood and a time and a place, dipping occasionally into that melancholy horror vibe I've written about elsewhere.

Raymond Stella's panaglide work is off the charts: this movie looks far more professional than many of its big budget counterparts.

Carpenter's brilliant score (supposedly written in three days) is exquisite. At one point, two alternating piano keys build a wall of mood that stands taller than a dozen inferior films.

The characters (Jamie Lee Curtis, in particular) are instantly likable. They have real hopes and dreams and feelings; sometimes we eavesdrop on their mundane, high school activities– zoning out in class, talking about boys... at one point Jamie Lee and Nancy Kyes are just driving around and bullshitting and tokin' the reefer and fearin' the reaper (yes, Blue Öyster Cult makes a soundtrack appearance) and it feels like a scene out of DAZED AND CONFUSED. Real life is unfolding, and consequently we care about what happens to these people.

Unlike many of HALLOWEEN's successors, these characters are not token victims or sluts or sacrificial lambs – they're just folks, the genuine article– they could be friends of yours. I'm betting a lot of the credit here belongs to Debra Hill, Carpenter's writing and producing partner, who also also made major contributions to THE FOG and ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK.

I also must point out the wonderful understanding of spatial relationships and the geography of the neighborhood. We always have a grasp of what's happening and where: the Myers house, the high school, the general store, the Strode house, the Doyle house, etc. This is key when it comes to separating HALLOWEEN from the slasher pack. Scenes of terror are far more suspenseful when you can actually understand what's going on. You'd think that would be obvious, but alas...

In any event, others have written quite admirably and extensively about these aspects of HALLOWEEN: I highly recommend J.D. of Radiator Heaven's exploration of Carpenter's craft, as well as John Kenneth Muir's psychological analysis of Mr. Myers. I, as usual, shall devote the remainder of this review to tackling my beloved minutiae: so, without further ado, here are my unlucky thirteen favorite facets of the pumpkin-flavored gem that is HALLOWEEN.

Spoilers will follow, but I assume you've all seen HALLOWEEN already. I hope. If you haven't, in penance you must listen to the Silver Shamrock song from HALLOWEEN III on loop while drinking the contents of a six-demon bag.

#1. Where's the blood?

Incredibly, this film which set a new benchmark for American horror (and in the same year as the gory masterpiece DAWN OF THE DEAD) contains nearly nothing in the blood n' guts department. Our only glimpse of viscera is in the opening scene when Michael stabs his older sister Judith, and, between the slats of his mask, we can barely discern the blood welling from her chest. Ah, the power of psychology: the film is so effectively frightening that many are convinced this thing is an out and out gorefest. Nicely done, Carpy!

#2. The spooky imagery of the inmates wandering the asylum grounds the night of Michael's escape.

It's a subtle, fleeting image, but one that lingers.

#3. Chain-smoking Carpy.

John Carpenter was so stressed out by the making of the film– his most ambitious project to date– that he chain-smoked like a madman. While Annie (Nancy Kyes) investigates this hedge, puffs of Carpy's cigarette drift across the screen. It's very difficult to tell in the screen grab because the smoke blends in with the leaves, but it's the kind of goof that somehow enriches the entire experience.

#4. Michael Myers amid the fluttering laundry.

An oft-imitated scare. It's simple, bold, and in broad daylight. It shouldn't work but, oh boy, it does.

#5. The production design of Laurie Strode's (Jamie Lee Curtis) bedroom.

It's simple and cozy, but with the James Ensor poster and the Raggedy Ann doll, we see a juxtaposition of burgeoning woman and naive youth. And yet both conjure feelings of masks and contortions and the morbidity of childhood. I have always felt that Raggedy Ann has rather macabre implications, and James Ensor's (a Belgian modernist painter of the 19th and 20th Century) work sort of speaks for itself:

Join the party!

#6. A Coupe de Villes cameo!

About a half-hour in, while Jamie Lee and Nancy Kyes drive from point A to point B, on the radio in the background is a generic doo-wop song that proclaims "Shanananana, let's rock, shanananana, let's roll, shanananana, let's twist!" The performers are none other than the Coupe de Villes, the rockin' trio made up of John Carpenter, Nick Castle (who plays Michael Myers and co-wrote ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK), and Tommy Lee Wallace (who co-edited HALLOWEEN, devised the Michael Myers mask, and directed HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH). You can (and should) read more about the full glory of the Coupe de Villes here, here, and here. And here.

#7. That beautiful moment when Michael Myers casually drives his station wagon behind Donald Pleasence, who has no fuckin' idea. He could've nipped this whole thing in the bud before sundown, had some dinner, and taken a load off at the local Haddonfield pub. I'd watch that movie, for sure! Ah, well.

Anyway, allow me to say a few words about Pleasence's "Dr. Loomis," a character born of dogged, no-nonsense intensity.

He says many ridiculous things in this movie and imbues them with power. He is our Van Helsing. He sets the stakes. He tells us what we're up against. And he sells it. God bless Donald Pleasence.

#8. Carpy's voice cameo as Annie's needy boyfriend Paul.

Paul's kinda fun, kinda sleazy, and absurdly lazy. He browbeats his girlfriend into giving him a free ride ("Come and pick me upppp...") even though she's babysitting and doing laundry and kind of freaked out. This directly leads to her brutal murder. C'mon, though, don't judge– Carpy just wanted a ride! Imagine it: Carpy waiting around on the stoop for a ride that never comes. Hell, I'd watch that movie, too.

#9. The subtle joy Donald Pleasence gets out of frightening children.

While staking out the old Myers place, some trick-or-treaters stumble a little too close to the dangerous site. Pleasence pretends to be the boogeyman and whispers "Get your ass away from there!"

The children take flight, and then Pleasence smiles, utterly pleased with himself.

Even when you're fighting against the existential concept of evil, a man's still gotta get his kicks somewhere.

#10. P.J. Soles is a goddamn blast.

From Riff Randell in ROCK N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL to Norma in CARRIE, she playfully and lovably embodies every scrappy gal from the 1970s and succeeds in absconding with every scene she appears in. In her final bit, her fate is sealed when she asks her bespectacled boyfriend for a beer, again and again and again.

"Where's my beer?!"

Thanks to her, the "boyfriend who steps out to grab a beer and never comes back" has become a stock figure in horror film. It's truly a cautionary tale, and has stopped many a beer-fetching dead in its tracks.

#11. This one comes courtesy of my girlfriend. The major question she had was, "Where, exactly, are all the parents? Some key party? It was the 70s." She made a good point. Hey, is that why the Sheriff (Charles Cyphers) is so grumpy? He spent his Halloween traipsing around with Donald Pleasence instead of gettin' his freak on with the swingers from EATING RAOUL?

Donald Pleasence: bitter about not being invited to the key party.

On a more serious note...

#12. The neighbor who shuts Laurie out during her moment of need.

Violently pursued by Michael Myers, Jamie Lee Curtis finally makes it out of the house and shouts for help from the next-door neighbor.

A shadow comes to the window and looks her over, and in a nod to Kitty Genovese, shuts the blinds and turns off the porch light.

You really feel Laurie's desperation in this moment, which may actually be the most chilling scene in the film.

#13. The ending. And not simply the banality of the unmasking or the uncertainty behind Michael's disappearance. I mean the final shots of the film:

The void, the breathing, the emptiness.... these are the places we have seen Michael, and now they are empty. But there is not even a whisper of reassurance. The terror never came from Michael– it came from that void. All we really ever had was the void; we projected the rest.

This kind of oppressive foreboding prefigures Carpenter's THE THING, where vacant corridors take on a life of their own in a very similar fashion.