Psycho Beach Party

Psycho Beach Party
by Robert Lee King

List Price: $19.99
Our Price: $10.53
You Save: $9.46 (47%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $7.98 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details

DVD details

DVD Reviews of Psycho Beach Party

DVD Review: A riot of a movie that is much better than it should be
Summary: 4 Stars

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.

Description of Psycho Beach Party