Back To The Beach

Usually when a spoof or parody is done right there seems to be a lot of love for the subject that is being made fun of. Most spoofs today seem to have a hate of the subject, or the filmmakers know nothing of their source material, other than maybe seeing a trailer. When done right, a spoof can also be a homage of sorts to their source. A great example of this is 1987's Back To The Beach.

Part tribute but mostly a spoof of the goofy beach movies of the 60's like Beach Blanket Bingo and Bikini Beach. Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello return to the roles that made them famous with tongues firmly placed in cheek. The young, teenage surfers they immortalized in the 60's are now grown up, married, and living in Ohio. Frankie is a stressed out owner of a car lot. The always perky Annette hides her feelings by shopping. Their punk, teenage son Bobby, Demian Slade, is a criminal in the making. Feeling burnt out, they decide to take a vacation to Hawaii and decide to stop in California along the way to visit their college aged daughter Sandi, Lori Laughlin. Much to their dismay, they find that Sandi is living with her surfer boyfriend Michael, Tommy Hinkley.

This causes a rift with Frankie and Annette. Frankie reconnects with his old flame Connie, Connie Stevens, making Annette jealous. She decides that two can play this game and starts flirting with a sleazy beach hunk, John Calvin. Will Frankie and Annette be able to rekindle their flame before the big surf off?

I know that they are incredibly cheesy, but I love the old beach movies. Luckily the stars and the makers of this know how cheesy they were to. Avalon and Funicello are more than game to make fun of themselves, and seem to be having a blast doing so. Slade, the paperboy from Better Off Dead, is hysterical as Bobby. Plus there are a ton of cameos from classic stars like Don Adams, Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Dick Dale, Barbera Billingsly, Tony Dow, Jerry Mathers, and Edd Byrnes. Plus they added more modern cameos to attract the 80's crowd like Stevie Ray Vaughn, Fishbone, and Pee Wee Herman.

This movie is a blast, especially for those who loved those old beach films.

It's on dvd.