Do It Debbie's Way

My review was written in February 1984 after viewing the program on a Video Associates cassette.

Debbie Reynolds enters the burgeoning home video market for exercise programs with a new gimmick: the all-star session. Package of three self-contained workouts is, as Reynolds admits, aimed at the viewer interested in a slower-paced, less strenuous shapeup routine than the aerobics-oriented sessions previously available. As such, this beginners' course is clearly pitched at an older crowd.

Apart from the treat of seeing familiar stars in a relaxed context (for example, Terry Moore who looks about half her age here), tape suffers from the usual repetition of doing the same exercises in different sessions to fill out a full-length cassette. Absence of dancing, bouncing or other physical movement. (Reynolds stresses stretching and flexing only) gives the program a static quality not evident in the often visually arresting aerobics tapes.

Camaraderie with pals such as Shelley Winters and Nita Talbot keeps things light. Music track taken from the "Switched on Swing" album exceprts of big-band tunes is closer to Muzak than invigorating exercise tempos.