Customer Reviews

Psycho Beach Party

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First of all, anyone who comes up with the movie title "Sex Kittens Go Bossa Nova" deserves some sort of award or national holiday in their honor for that alone. I was sold on this movie way before the incredibly cool opening credits rolled. Actually, I was sold when we saw the trailer for it in the theater, and almost instantly said, "we're there".

There's about a dozen different elements to this fun flick that would have made me see it if only one of them had been present. First, I've seen almost every 60's Beach Party movie (though I'm sure Charles Busch has most people beat on the number of times they were watched) and this is not only a hilarious parody, but the 60's detail down to the costumes, sets, make-up, and hair is so dead-on I wouldn't have been surprised to see Donna Loren or Deborah Walley show up. Check out the cover and poster art if you want to see how perfect it is. The soundtrack is really, really great, some of the best surf music that wasn't actually recorded in the 1960's I've ever heard. The plot is actually really clever, with one of the best twist-upon-twist endings I've ever seen. The opening credits and closing credits are great, and I'm sure any guys who didn't really want to see the movie but were dragged by their girlfriends will dig the hot Ann-Margret crossed with a Bada-Bing! girl go-go dancer.

I first heard about this movie when I read about it in Fangoria, of all places. I was interested by what I read but thought, "they better not screw this up". Once I saw about 30 seconds of the trailer- which by the way is featured on both the VHS and DVD versions, along with a music video- I realized they knew exactly what they were doing. The movie actually has more of an actual plot than many of the 60's beach movies did (not that either really needed one). The plot centers on a series of Blood-Feast type murders in Malibu. In their search for the killer, the female police detective (Charles Busch, who is probably the funniest of anyone in the movie) focuses on Florence (Lauren Ambrose, almost as funny), who suffers from a very entertaining form of multiple personality disorder but doesn't know it yet. There's a huge number of great supporting characters, such as her love interests Starcat and surf God Kanaka. Bettina Barnes, a B-movie actress on the lam from Hollywood who is renting a haunted house on the beach, shows up to add extra glamour. Also especially funny-especially if you thought parts of those old beach movies got kind of homoerotic-are young beach studs Yo-Yo and Provoloney (next to John Waters, this movie has to have come up with the greatest names for characters of all time) who are suspiciously more interested in wrestling each other than checking out the chicks in bikinis.

If this weren't enough, Busch also makes almost every single line include some sort of campy and hilarious 60's lingo. If you've read or seen the play the movie was based on, you know exactly what I mean. The young cast, which could have ruined the movie if they winked at the camera even once, are talented enough to take lines like, "Is this a beach shack or the Malibu branch of the CIA?" and "They look like beatniks...should I unpack my bongos?" and make them sound fresh and funny. Considering most of them probably weren't born until a decade or so after these type of movies came out (yikes), this is pretty impressive. Ambrose is perfect as Florence "Chicklet" Forrest/Ann Bowman, and if Busch (who played the part onstage) had to tutor her at all on how to play it, she picked it up pretty well. Busch has less scenes, but almost steals the movie- he's probably the funniest (and best) drag performer I've seen in a movie since Divine left us to go make heaven flashy. His facial expressions alone made me laugh so hard when I saw it in the theater that I was worried the usher might come over. Fortunately everyone else was laughing just as hard. There's plenty of shockingly raunchy jokes, but somehow the whole movie still seems as innocent and good-natured as if it were rated G. Ok, maybe not G, but you get the idea. Everyone involved in the making of the film obviously loved what they were doing -not only this movie, but also the subject matter that inspired it.

A completely fun, clever but brainless, campy movie with an awesome cast, screenplay, wardrobe and soundtrack, perfect from the font used in the opening credits down to the last tiki torches. It's pretty hard for me to think of anyone who this movie wouldn't at least bring a smile to. You don't even need to have seen a Beach Party movie to have a good time-it's not all in-jokey (though those who grew up on those movies will probably notice and appreciate some smaller details more). Even if you have no idea who Annette and Frankie are, as long as have a sense of humor, you should still enjoy it. If you liked Hairspray...well, now that I think of it, most fans of Hairspray probably have already seen the movie. If you liked that movie, if you want to forget about your problems for 90 minutes and have a good time, if you're into surf or just surf music, or 60's movies, or if your favorite cocktail comes in a coconut shell or tiki mug, drop everything and rent this movie now if you haven't seen it yet. You'll have a blast. Dig it?

When "Psycho Beach Party" debuted off Broadway in 1987, half the fun was watching sometime drag actor Charles Busch play the part of a psycho surfer girl as if he was Joan Crawford, Annette Funicello and Sandra Dee all rolled into one. That plus the actor/playwright's keen and perverse observations of beatniks, alternate sexual lifestyles and Hollwood B-movies kept you howling madly for nearly two hours. On film, most of the original story remains intact. It's fun but the off-Broadway show was better. Florence/Chicklet, the mad surfer beach girl, still suffers from multiple split personalities. Bettina, the queen of the B-horror movies, longs for something greater. And surfer hunks Yo-Yo and Provoloney finally admit their undying love for one another. The biggest difference between the play and the movie is that Busch no longer plays Florence/Chicklett. The part is played by Lauren Ambrose, a dead ringer for "Gidget." Busch does show up as Captain Mona Stark, a police investigator who thinks somethings afoot on the Malibu beaches, which it is. It's a pretty campy turn, but it's fun nonetheless. Director Robert Lee King superbly captures the look, feel and sound of the 1960's while borrowing heavily from all those dopey "Beach Party" movies, "Gidget," "Marnie," "Mildred Pierce" and "Scream." Add to the mix: funky surf music, picture perfect '60s costuming, settings, lingo, cars and actors riding the surf in typical low budget fashion backed by outdoor footage of some pretty incredible waves.

I like this movie, but...$31.99 !? Give me a break!

This is a good one for when you are in one of THOSE moods. The plot is cheesy serial killer whodunnit mixed with b-movie melodrama and the results are really funny. Lauren Ambrose is a riot as the outsider beachy Gidget character - with multiple personalities no less. The voices she does combined with the over-the-top dialogue make her "crazy" scenes those stop-and-go-back moments becaue you don't want to miss a line. Charles Busch is a hoot as the "female" detective with a past and the other supporting actors/characters round out the insanity. Good, silly fun. Enjoy!

Surf's up all you hep cats and hep kitties! Psycho Beach Party is a crazy movie that parodies and celebrates those kitschy beach party movies of the'60s and sci-fi films of the'50s.

Like John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China before it, Psycho Beach Party is a clever satire of genre films because it faithfully presents all the important characteristics of the beach party movie, the psychological thriller and the slasher film and then turns them on their head.

One of the movie's strengths is the wonderful casting against type. Nicholas Brendon, known for playing the geeky Xander on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is cast as a confident surfer with issues. Thomas Gibson, whose claim to fame was playing a straight-laced office worker on the popular T.V. series, Dharma and Greg, is the Great Kanaka, the suave king of the local surfers.

The extras are slim at best, however, the engaging audio commentary by director Robert Lee King and screenwriter Charles Busch is excellent. They talk about the constraints they faced with a tight shooting schedule and a low budget.

The DVD also features a music video for the song Los Straitjackets performs during the climatic luau in the movie. The video features footage of the band with the go-go dancer from the opening and closing credits cut together with clips from the movie. Finally, there is the theatrical trailer for the movie.

Psycho Beach Party is a fun movie that features an diverse cast, a killer soundtrack of contemporary surf music (from the likes of Man or Astro-Man and The Hillbilly Soul Surfers) and some truly memorable dialogue. This is a movie that slipped through the cracks of theatrical distribution only to find new life on Cable T.V. and video.

When I first saw the title I was thinking it was one of those 60's beach movies..But then I saw actors and actresses that are current, so I tuned in and I must say I am greatful I did.
Psycho beach party is a funny and witty movie. That makes fun of the beach movies of the 60's ( It's about time).It's a Psycho/Manic-mixture of 50's Suspense and "DUH" 60's beach movies,and 70's Halloween/friday the 13thish slasher flixs
My favorite actress Lauren Ambrose ( HBO series Six feet Under) is Florence (Chicklet) Forrest who really wants to be a surfer chick and be part of the Malibu beach crowd and also win the heart of StarCat, Plus also fight some inner demons and problems which is due to the fact her personality is spilt like a sliced pizza. Her personalities are wacky as she is, but as diffrent as night and day, there is Anne Bowman a sexy and forward & dominate personality that see's herself as the dominatrax empress of the planet earth. So don't mess with Anne Bowman and don't try to escape her power. Than there is Tylene Carmicheal Carmel who is a tough chick that works the check out at the safeway who has a blade who will cut you , so don't mess with this personality of chicklet's. Lauren Ambrose is a great actress who makes each one of her diffrent personalities sound and act so diffrent from each other that makes you wonder how this actress can do it. She makes being a perky and Zany surfer chick with multi-personality issues seem easy and fun.
Nicholas Brendon who's claim to fame is Buffy the vampire slayer's Xander. In Buffy he plays the Not popular-dense comedy one liner, but in psycho beach party he plays StarCat...who is the great Kanaka's handsome right hand man and the coolest and hottest surfer in Malibu, StarCat is smart and has a background in Psycho Analytic theory , the perfect golden boy of the Malibu beach crowd. But he is still a goof ball with deep rooted complex anxiety and feelings, who doesn't see the cool in chicklet. Plus doesn't know if he can trust Chicklet due to the fact she may be the slasher of malibu beach.
Then there is Thomas Gibson who is the Greg in Dharma & Greg..here he plays the king of the beach Kanaka, the smooth surfer who has a shack on the beach who more than anything lives for mother wave. But with a unknown fetish of being dominated until chicket uncovers the slave boy side of him. Who also had a thing with Captain Monica Stark, who just wants to live for the moment and then surf the waves.
All the actors and actresses are funny and superb.
Psycho Beach Party is so funny and wacky I can't wait till this movie is on vhs so I can watch this movie any time I want to. This movie is a cool and clever & stylish movie. You don't know who's the slasher, it has hilarious comedy lines and moments this movie is sure to be a classic.. I give it two thumbs up & *****5 Stars..I highly advise anyone who likes movie spoofs and just wants to laugh to go out and buy or rent this movie. It Rocks!!!

The fantastic Lauren Ambrose (Cant's Hardly Wait, Tv's Six Feet Under) plays Chicklet, a sweet and loveable teenaged girl with some issues. She has multiple personalities but the main one is Ann Bowman. Chicklet Burke goes to The Great Kanaka, played by a groovy Thomas Gibson (Tv's Dharma and Greg, Eyes Wide Shut) and he teaches her how to surf, but his guy buddies dont want her scrapping their fins. A killer is on the lose bumping of people with problems (one tesitcle, hair lip, psoraosis, etc) close to Chicklet and with her multiple personality it might be her or is it? Clever and very very hilarious and fun comedy with a mix of Beach Blanket Bingoesgue feel to it and old murder mysteries. Ambrose is the whole show steering her perfect peformance full throttle Also starring a pitch perfect cast including a gitty Nicholas Brendon (Tv's Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Celeste In The City), Amy Adams (Tv's Buffy The Vamprie Slayer, Catch Me If You Can), Andrew Levitas, Nick Cornish, Buddy Quaid, Nathan Bexton (The In Crowd), Beth Broderick (Tv's Sabrina The Teenaged Witch), Kathleen Robertson (Scary Movie 2), Matt Keeslar (The Last Days Of Disco, Scream 3), Dani Wheeler, Kimberley Davies, David Chokachi (Tv's Baywatch), Channon Roe (Boogie Nights, Tv's Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and Charles Busch (Hbo's OZ, Die Mommie Die!) who plays the lead detective. Fun from the word go. A real guilty pleasure.

The Beach Blanket movies, the 50's 60's horror flicks, with a dash of Russ Meyers, adds up to one hilarious scene after another. Every campy situation is covered, the characters are a compliation of Gidget, Eve Arden, Annette and the whole gang with a wicked, funny twist. The drag Busch fits the role of the whole "Psycho Gang!" Sure to be a cult classic ala John Waters genre. If you want to to "Take a Walk on the Wild Side, " put on those Hawaiian shirts, leopard capri pants, stiletto heels, rat and tease that hair, or slick it back and hold on for a campy, rollicking fun spoof on the B movies! Trash! Pure Campy Trash! You'll love it!

I unfortunately missed this movie when it first came out as mainstream reviewers were not that impressed. Even the less mainstream "The Village Voice" did not think much of it. I am glad that I finally caught it on DVD as they were dead wrong. While some disliked the tongue in cheek humor and thought it lacked cleverness, I had a really good time watching this romp which is a campy fusion of teenaged surfer flicks and slasher sagas. There are many other homages, but it's like the TV show "The Simpsons", as we are not going to get all that is thrown our way, but there is more than enough the recommend this whacked out parody.

Impossibly perky Florence (played brilliantly by a pre "Six Feet Under" Lauren Ambrose) doesn't quite fit in high school in her seaside Southern California town. Of course who feel like they do, but when she meets and gets the implicit approval of Kanaka (played perfectly by Thomas Gibson) she starts moving up the food chain of a band of "ultra-hip" surfer dudes. These guys area a riot and embody the homoerotic tension that exists in all-male domains and well are serving as a great parody of Danny's friends from the movie "Grease". Of course that is also a parody in many respects. The surf sequences pay their respect to those cheesy Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello movies.

I won't reveal too much as I hate when reviewers give too much away, but Florence becomes "Chicklet," (or shall we say Gidget) as she tries her gosh-darnedest to be the sole girl riding the waves with the male group. While adopting her surfer alter ego, Florence soon discovers that other less pleasant personalities emerge when confronted with the sight of polka dots. One called Anne Bowman is a tough, "experienced" older lady, while the other, Tylene, is a stereotypical sassy black woman. Ambrose is a crack up in all of these scenes and those who love the Anne Bowman persona are a hoot. Blacking out whenever these other personalities take over, Florence becomes increasingly worried that she is responsible for a series of grizzly murders of people that have one thing in common..... Of course, she is far from the only suspicious character in her ocean side.

This movie, which was adapted from Charles Busch's hit play, has Mr. Busch playing a hilarious yet not over the top Eve Arden-like police investigator is trying to figure out who's killing who. The physical resemblance to Eve Arden is almost scary as is a scene which reveals a little about her past with one of the main characters. Just keep in mind that Mr. Busch is a man when you see the extended encounter.

Besides the usual cast of characters and great ear for 1960's teen-talk, Mr. Busch throws in original touches such as an excessively polite, bespectacled exchange student from Sweden, a psychology major from Northwestern who dispenses nuggets of Freudian psychology, and a physically challenged character with a mouth on her that made me laugh every single time that she was onscreen. The costumes are a hoot (just the swimsuits are worth the price of admission), the décor is flawless and while this is without a doubt a spoof of several movie genres, it does it in a loving and respectful fashion.

I am not suggesting in any way that this movie is for everyone or is Oscar-worthy, but my barometer for any movie is did I enjoy or was I touched by what I saw. I certainly enjoyed the movie and it's paced so well that it ends just a little before you'd like it to, but as they say, leave 'em wanting more.

Lauren Ambrose plays the Psychotic Chicklett in this Back To The Beach homage that seems to want to be a funky Slasher flick meets Annette Funicello in a head-on Collision. There's one neat head decapitation scene, but it's a mostly blood-free affair that achieves what it sets out to achieve. The humor is laid back. There's no fear of busting a gut in here, but it's fun like a Hawaiian pool party being thrown by the parents of the girl you've had a crush on since the 4th grade. A little painful in parts, but that kiss behind the swingset while the parents swap keys more than makes up for it.

The performances are key, especially Tom (Darma & Greg) Gibson's role as Kanaka, The Big Woo of Surf Hobos who has a mean crush on young Chicklet's Serial Killer alter-ego Florence Forrest. Nick Brendon (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) also does a nice turn as one of the Boys Chicklet has hooked up with for some big wave lessons. It's Kitsch, but it's cool. And if you want to impress your friends when they come over for a movie, show them this gem. They wont be disappointed. It plays better on TV then at the Theater.

Added Bonus: The Los Straight Jackets turn in a nice live performance during the Beach Party Finale. If you haven't seen these guys in action, don't miss this chance.