The gang arrive at the beach once more, singing quite a catchy song, then it’s business as usual with Dee Dee refusing to sleep with Frankie before they get married. Then the fun and games are ruined by two factors (a) Keenan Wynn wants to build an old folks home near the beach, then (b) a visiting British music star, the Potato Bug, makes all the girls go ga-ga. This throws in everything but the kitchen sink – there’s a man in a monkey suit (who goes surfing – which is kind of funny), different kinds of surfing (including surfers being dragged behind a boat), drag racing, the Watusi dances, a teenage werewolf who hangs out in a pool hall. (Muscle Beach Party had musclemen, Beach Blanket Bingo had skydiving, How to Stuff a Wild Bikini had motorcycles).It re-hashes the plot of the first film in the series, with a fuddy duddy man (Wynn) who is anti the kids arguing with a woman (Martha Hyer) who is for them, then Eric Von Zipper turns on the old man when he becomes pro-kid; also Frankie and Annette break up and get back together and Annette dallies with another person (English pop star the Potato Bug). This one seems to be set after college – Annette is nagging Frankie to settle down now he’s finished school.
Donna Loren, a pretty girl who fills out a bikini pretty well, is given a song – which is surprising since Funicello is there, but I suppose Loren is a much better singer than Funicello (who gets two songs). Don Rickles replaces Morey Amsterdam as the manager of the local hang out, and there is another cameo from an AIP star at the end (Boris Karloff). Frankie Avalon has fun playing Potato Bug, who is reminiscent of Austin Powers (though you can tell a stand in plays the role in a few scenes). There is a real feeling of camaraderie within the various groups of characters – Harvey Lembeck’s bikers and the beach kids – which comes from I guess being in a third film together.
This has maybe the best music in the series – the songs are consistently strong, from the title track to the Pyramids (a bunch of bald guitarists – including a black guy), Little Stevie Wonder and the outstanding “I Gotcha Where I Want You”). Even the mock Brit pop songs sung by Potato Bug are catchy. (Apparently the script was originally written for a group and they had their eye on the Beatles but they then appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and priced themselves ouf the market, forcing a script re-write.) This became the most popular of the series yet, earning $4.5 million (Beach Party pulled in $2.3 million).
Despite all the big close ups of bikini clad female arses, there are some scenes that you could argue involve female empowerment – Potato Bug’s woman (Danielle Aubrey) kicks Deadhead in the face, Candy Johnson propels men by shaking her body, and all the girls take place in the final brawl at the end (including Annette). Also repeated reference is made to one of the girls, Animal, being a bit of a man eater. Watch the scene where they introduce South Dakota Slim (Timothy Carey) – the gag being a play on the Hustler’s Minnesota Fats – the character stands with his back to the camera for around 15 seconds with the name on the back of his jacket JUST SO WE GET THE JOKE. But the whole movie very bright and fun and it makes you feel good.
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