If I’m being honest, I had a better time watching this than the stodgy original Cinderella
Category: Capsule
It was a promising idea to “reboot” the beach party films with Annette and Frankie in mid-life crisis, and a new set of younger surfers ready to take the helm. Swap in 80s kitsch for the old 60s kitsch. They just forgot to make it good.
There’s a zesty silliness to the 3rd Beach Party film that makes it a lot more fun than the 2nd (Muscle Beach Party), and certainly frothier than the 1st (Beach Party), even if I miss the latter’s sweaty tactility of its beach and party scenes.
I can see why this fourth (fifth if you count the Pajama Party spinoff) is considered the best of the series, though I still tip my hat to the original Beach Party.
Like the first Beach Party, this movie is fun when it’s about partying and surfing, less so when it leans on its story, which grows very thin by the end of the film.
I kept wanting this to go full Linklater and just show us the kids partying and surfing with no pretext, because those are the best bits.
Even with the framing story, this feels like some inessential shorts of familiar characters in stock sitcom plots stitched together.
What’s amazing about this movie is that every time you hit 2-3 minutes where you think you know where it is, it throws a curveball at you.
Here’s a quick rundown of the three films in this anthology:
Water and ham