Okay, leave your brain behind. After all, this is the first installment of moviedom's biggest celebration of mindless fluff. Okay, no one's expecting Oscar bait from a title like Beach Party, and it certainly doesn't disappoint. Between the sunny swimsuit foreplay and California's sand, sea, and surf, it's the peak of pre-Vietnam hedonism. And a heckuva lot of fun it is for those unashamed to say so. Annette and Frankie, Frankie and Annette, he loves her, she loves him. But first they have to find each other amid all the other shaking' and wigglin' going on.
And, oh yes, there's one-finger warrior Bob Cummings to carry the acting load, along with a perfectly groomed Dorothy Malone to keep him company. Add a goofy Jody MacCrea and a fractured Harvey Lembeck, and there're chuckles aplenty. Then there's perpetual motion Candy Johnson. Hook her up to a power plant and she'll light up LA. And catch those sunsets over the glorious Pacific. Hard to believe there was ever a carefree time like this for teens. But then, isn't this what the Hollywood Dream Machine is for. Here, it's hitting on all eight, and happily so.
(It seems not fair to rate this ad for Surfin' USA on the usual scale. But on the Fluff Meter it rates a '10'.)
