Ski Party

Todd Armstrong and his buddy Craig Gamble (Frankie Avalon & Dwayne Hickman) aren't having any luck whatsoever with their lady friends Linda & Barbara (Deborah Walley & Yvonne Craig). When they learn the ladies are going to be going on a ski trip, our two pathetic heroes decide to follow in fear of permanently losing their gals should they not. Despite their inability to ski, Todd and Craig head off on and find Lesley Gore singing on the bus trip. They finally arrive at the lodge and still find themselves having no luck with Linda & Barbara. Finally the two decide to dress up as women (Jane and Nora) in order to learn how to ski from a sexy Swedish ski instructor but also inadvertently end up getting to learn much more about Linda & Barbara, and other women, than they ever knew or understood before. James Brown and the Fabulous Flames also show up at the lodge and perform "I Feel Good".

This Beach Party comedy movie isn't quite what one expects given enough experience with the previous films (for one thing neither the Eric Von Zipper nor Bonehead appear in this one) but it's nevertheless mindless and innocent fun. Its plot owes more than a little to SOME LIKE IT HOT but this does have its fun moments..my favorites included:

the public service announcement hiding Linda's explanation to Nora the secret that should be known only to women.

the character of Freddy, one of the greatest Beach Party villains ever, who falls in love with Nora

What happens to Todd, who despite a broken leg, after journeying a long distance in the snow to be with the Swedish ski instructor Nita...

Like so many "beach movies," and variations of them, I first saw this one when it was pretty CLOSE to new. It's easy to jump on it for being a "Some Like It Hot" rip-off, forgetting that the men-disguised-as-women joke has probably been going on FOREVER. Even though it's considered the masterpiece, SLIH didn't INVENT the idea. (And, this movie even acknowledges that one in one little line.) This one has some genuinely clever moments (though I wouldn't care that much if it DIDN'T). There's the carefully set-up joke that ends in front of the gas station with the line " 17 cents worth of regular" (you have to see the whole thing for yourself). And the moment where Dwayne Hickman "breaks the fourth wall" in a pretty original way - "Look, nothing's going to happen for a few minutes. Why don't you go get a coke or something?" And of course the cameos (which you usually expect from these movies) - Annette Funicello herself as Frankie and Dwayne's professor (!), and Dick Miller.

The only difference between the usual AIP beach movie fluff and this film is that it's colder and they've put on dry clothes. Other than that, it's Frankie, Debbie, Dwayne, and a pre-"Batgirl" Yvonne Craig up to the usual shenanigans. The only plus here is rare film appearances by James Brown, doing the classic "I Feel Good," and Leslie Gore, with what proved to be one of her last big hits, the Marvin Hamlisch composition "Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows." It's for this last reason alone, I think, that this movie used to be frequently aired on AMC's "American Pop" series, often in letterbox to show off the Squaw Valley scenery. Incidentally, at the end of the movie, there's an invitation to watch for the whole crew again in "Cruise Party." As far as I can determine, that film was never made, probably because they finally figured out that, in the wake of the so-called "British Invasion," the beach blanket bimbo genre had finally run its course.

Annette Funicello has a brief cameo as a professor, and Dwayne Hickman was added to the beach gang in a futile attempt to keep the series fresh. Really lame take off of "Some Like It Hot". Aron Kincaid plays his usual big-man-on-campus pretty blond boy routine. There are only two reasons to watch this movie. Leslie Gore singing on the bus on the way to the ski resort, and James Brown doing a split in the snow the end of "I Feel Good".

This is a fun a movie and worth at least to watch one time. this takes a person back when sex wasn't a dirty word for 15 year olds. it treats the young watcher with respect. guess what the guys chase the girls and the girls chase back. in today's moral climate even that seems a no no. if anything it's too mature for the one who wants hanna montanna making noises with her armpits. haver fun and relax and learn to grow up a little. and yes it's OK for boys to like girls and vice versa despite what your pastor has been telling you. there's no catch it's just fun. you won't fall out of your chair laughing. it's not widely funny it's just fun. and that's enough for me.