Where the Boys Are (1984)

I used to watch this movie on VHS at my friend's house after school, in the late eighties. I wish I could find the movie now because I'd definitely buy it. It's a crude beach flick, meant to make you cringe and giggle, and it does it well. The performances are earnest, if not actually good, and you end up actually liking the group of ditzes. The music and the party scenes are enjoyable, in a trashy way, and I love that the rich, upper class characters like Barbara and Camden are so out of place in all the spring break wildness. I mean, who visits their uptight family friends on Spring Break? The plot to this movie is irrelevant, because its fun lies in its brainlessness. Enjoy the half-naked coeds and cheap jokes, because sometimes, that's a beautiful thing.

This is a really tacky 80's movie. Crass, crude humor that is not really dirty or shocking enough to be funny. This movie was made 40 year olds, acted by late 20's to late 30 year olds, made for horny teenagers and I bet even they were unsatisfied. The original 1960 version was a light piece of fluff that was beautifully filmed and had an innocence to it. There is nothing innocent about this! Lorna Luft entering a "Hot bod" contest? Okay, she is no slouch but she is not Carmen Electra! All this movie needed to push it over the edge was a cameo by producer Allan Carr playing a lesbian gym teacher on vacation. If you want to see some really bad 80's perms and fashions then by all means knock yourself out and watch. It does have some bad movie appeal.

I saw the original in 1960 and it was a piece of fluff even for back then. What I can't understand is who would want to remake a bad movie, except, perhaps, if your goal was to end the collective careers of everyone in the cast. All the actors were a little long in the tooth for the roles they played. Lisa Hartman Black looked like she may have been a professor at Heidi Fleiss University but a 21 - 22 year old co-ed? I don't think so. This movie was so awful, I felt embarrassed for the actors. Come to think of it, it did effectively serve as a career-ender for several of them. On the whole, I think it's only marginally better than the "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes," which is generally believed to be THE worst movie of all time.

If you're into Spring Break flicks about Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. in the 1980's you'll probably enjoy this silly romp. These actors are all a little too "over-the-hill" to play college students! Keep an eye on Lorna Luft (she's Judy Garland's daughter & Liza Minelli's half sister) she spends a a lot of time mugging for the camera. She tries very hard to make you believe she's a college kid, but looks more like a 30-something housewife who belongs in a station wagon, not a convertible. An attempt to give her a younger appearance with pigtails (in a beach scene) only makes her look retarded, not youthful. Unintentional laughter will take hold of you when Luft's character, Carole Singer, enters a "Hot Bod"(?!) contest & wins second place!!! The soundtrack is good, with the standout tunes "Seven Day Heaven" by Shandi, & Lisa Hartman's remake of the Connie Francis classic "Where The Boys Are".