Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #64725 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-09-05
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 98 minutes

Amazon.com
Pop star Frankie Avalon and former Mouseketeer Annette Funicello inaugurated the beach movie proper (after Gidget tested the waters) with this celebration of surf, sand, rock & roll music, and, of course, sex. Frankie carries Annette (named Doris in the film) over the threshold of a beach cabin as she whispers "It's just like we're married." "Exactly!" he smiles before tripping over a dozen friends camping out on the floor. Well, not quite, as it turns out in the boys-against-girls contest of one-upmanship and jealous tantrums. Frankie woos the pneumatic Scandinavian Eva Six and Annette flirts with frumpy anthropologist Bob Cummings (wearing a beard that would scare Grizzly Adams). Meanwhile he secretly studies the mating rituals of the beach tribe with his eternally frustrated assistant Dorothy Malone. Harvey Lembeck (from Stalag 17) is the aging juvenile delinquent Eric von Zipper, a spastic motorcycle gang leader, while Morey Amsterdam recites silly beat poetry in a Chinese mask and surf rocker Dick Dale plays bongos and wears a gold earring. Look for bit parts by Beach Boy Brian Wilson (as a surfer) and Peter Falk (as a biker) and a cameo by Vincent Price. This first beach romp is about as sophisticated as a Keystone Kops farce (it ends with a slapstick free-for-all that wouldn't be out place in the silent era), but it's dumb, fluffy fun with lots of hunky boys and pretty bikinied girls shaking their booties and making out. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

THIS MOVIE HELPED ME KEEP MY SANITY IN VIETNAM
THIS DOPEY BUT FUN MOVIE FOR BABY BOOMERS HELPED KEEP ME SMILEING AND LAUGH A LITTLE ALL THOSE YEARS AGO, WHILE I SERVED IN VIETNAM. ITS FUN TO WATCH THESE VINTAGE MOVIES TO SEE HOW SIMPLE LIFE WAS BACK THEN, AND HOW YOUNG PEOPLE NEW HOW TO HAVE FUN COMPARED TO TODAY, DO YOU AGREE???

Widescreen Beach Treats!
The only extras are the trailers, but both "Beach Party" and "Bikini Beach" (which was actually the 2nd sequel to "Beach Party", following "Muscle Beach Party") are terrific fun, with decent surfing footage and lots of singing and dancing (Candy Johnson should have a license in frenetic dancing, she looks like a cyclone in fringe!). "Beach Party" has professor Bob Cummings studying the mating habits of beach teens, and inadvertently wooing Annette Funicello away from Frankie Avalon! It's a surprisingly non-slapstick comedy with beatnik overtones; the pie-fight finale is really the silliest it gets. Annette, her hair a sexy shade of cinnamon, is a natural for films like these: just a notch naughtier than her "Merlin Jones" comedies for Disney, she's forever G-rated, but it's nice to see her surrounded by surfin' kids and having a good time (her repartee with Frankie, John Ashley and all the girls is completely believable--and the director is smart to cut back to her as often as possible). "Bikini Beach" gives Avalon a dual role--and he seems to be having a ball playing Frankie and scenery-chewing British singer The Potato Bug (I could've done without his annoying maniacal laugh and broad accent). Both films look great on letterboxed DVD. Thanks MGM for a doubling the fun for the price of one.

Fun Lighthearted Romps
First on the bill is the one that started the whole damn thing, Beach Party. Frankie and Annette go out to a house on the beach for vacation. Frankie is excited coz he gets Annette ALONE to do with what he pleases. This isn't the case coz Annette gets freaked out by the idea of being alone with Frankie Avalon and invites a buttload of people. You see, Annette is saving herself for marriage(what a drag, huh?). Frankie's pissed at the change of events but shifts into party mode anyhow and surfs and boogies the night away with his buddies. Surf guitar king Dick Dale is along for the ride providing a few songs. All in all he's not given much to do but wear big pirate earrings and lip synch a few tunes. He spends an awful lot of time on the bongos. Soon the jealousy game begins. Frankie hooks up with a busty blond hungarian in an attempt to get Annette jealous and...horny I guess. Also renting a house on the beach is an anthropology professor who is studying the behaviors of the teenage surf culture(he's gonna write a book comparing them to African tribes). He's also able to put people in a state of suspended animation. He befriends Annette and wants to use her to get the info he needs to talk the talk and walk the walk on the California beach. Annette may have been saving herself for marriage, but she practically gives this professor carte blanche to study her in every way possible just five minutes after meeting him!! The professor is a moral man, and continues to avoid her advances. In fact he's given so many opportunities, you might find yourself yelling at the screen after awhile, telling this schmuck to just go for it. Of course we also get the debut of Frankie's arch-nemesis, Eric Von Zipper. Von Zipper is the leader of a biker gang called The Rats and Mice. He's the typical moron villain character that always says/does the dumbest thing, gets fooled, plan backfires, gets beat up, you name it. Kind of like a live action Yosemite Sam. The climax of the film gives us a Battle Royale between Von Zipper's gang and Frankie's beach buddies. In the end, everybody becomes friends, and they dance the night away. Cool cameo from Vincent Price too.
Bikini Beach ups the zaniness a bit, but if you enjoyed Beach Party, you'll like this coz the style's the same. Frankie and Annette are back at the beach for yet another romp. Annette's still not giving up the goods(not til she's married, remember?). Almost immediately Frankie pisses her off and it's straight back to breakup/make him jealous mode. This chick obviously has alot of issues to sort out, and Frankie should really consider kicking her ass to the curb at this point. But hey, the big lug is in love. Problems arise when a newspaper publisher(played by Keenan Wynn) starts writing articles about our beach buddies, calling them juvenile delinquents and trying to get them kicked off the beach.....PERMENENTLY! He travels everywhere with his pet chimpanzee(played flawlessly and dramatically by a guy in an ape suit) who also drives his Rolls Royce. The ape's name is Clyde(sound familiar?) and his purpose is to prove that what ever activities the Delinquents do, the ape can do as well, thus proving to the world that the surfing subculture live a lifestyle on the same level as an ape. Another obstacle for Frankie is a character called "Potato Bug". Bug is a very famous mod rocker and drag racing champion from Britain. This film was made around the time of the British invasion. The Beatles' popularity and influence, as we all know, would pretty much kill surf rock's popularity. Apparently the film makers didn't think too highly of this new music from across the pond, coz the character of Potato Bug is made as annoyingly and stereotypically British as you could possibly imagine. His accent, his laugh, his teeth, his lingo; I wouldn't be the slightest bit surprised if this guy wasn't an influence on Mike Myers when he created Austin Powers. Potato Bug is also played by Frankie Avalon, and very well I might add. Well naturally, this is the schmuck Annette goes for. Frankie can't take this hit to his ego and challenges Potato Bug to a drag race. Don Rickles shows up as a drag race announcer and gives Frankie a few pointers coz after all, Frankie's a surfer not a racer. Also on board to make things more interesting is none other than Eric Von Zipper. He certainly wants to throw a wrench in the plans. Cool cameos from surf greats, The Pyramids, Stevie Wonder(who must be about 12 here), and Boris Karloff.
Now, of all the films I like and watch, I get the most crap from family, friends and coworkers for liking these beach party movies. No kidding, they all put me through the wringer for these. Hey, I know they're corny, I wouldn't like them if they weren't. I just like the fantasy world they exist in. I love surf music, so that's up my alley(some of the original songs for the film are pretty bad). Who wouldn't want to live in a world where it's always sunny, there's always some chick that wants to sleep with you, no one has a job, but seemingly unlimited funds, everybody's having a good time, and aside from a clumsy schmuck like Eric Von Zipper and keeping your surfboard waxed, you have no problems and nothing to worry about. Yes, I'm here to tell the world that I do enjoy these films. It's an escapist fantasy like any other. Some folks may prefer Middle Earth, Tatooine or even Detroit. I like my Swingin' California Beach.