Psycho Beach Party
One of my favorite film genres from the 1960′s is the surf genre. You know, those old Frankie and Annette movies, or even Gidget. There was such an air of innocence and naivete in those films. They were just fun movies that never took themselves too seriously.
Enter Psycho Beach Party, which turns the genre on its innocent ear. What we have here is a mash up of both the Frankie/Annette and Gidget movies, but mixed in with biting satire, a bit of horror, and loads of camp value. In a word: GENIUS.
The story focuses on our leading gal, Florence ‘Chicklet’ Forres, (Lauren Ambrose), and her obsession with learning how to surf. She goes in search of the Big Tanaka, a cool as ice surfing legend, in hopes that he will teach her, since the local surf gang isn’t interested in teaching a girl how to surf. Along the way, her and her friends befriend a B movie star, catch some gnarly waves, and have a dance off. Oh, and she’s also suspected of being a serial murderer by the police.
Captain Monica Stark is on the case.
Captain Monica Stark is on the case.
You see, Chicklet has a problem of which she is unaware: multiple personalities that emerge at the most inopportune times, usually just before a murder happens, it would seem, and the big problem is that she never remembers. That, coupled with her growing crush on Starcat, (Nicholas Brendan), the big man on the beach, and well..what’s a girl to do?
This movie has one liners in spades, a lot of them delivered so subtly and deadpan that you may not even realize one was spoken. In other words, it holds up to multiple viewings. Not only so you can truly appreciate all the jokes, but also so you can maybe catch some you might have missed. Plus, in that age old Rocky Horror tradition, it’s also fun to recite your favorite lines along with the characters.
Starcat and Chicklet have a spat.
Starcat and Chicklet have a spat.
The cast list is as impressive as the comedy. Lauren Ambrose, Thomas Gibson, Nicholas Brendan, Amy Adams, Beth Broderick, and the writer/creator of the movie, Charles Busch, in an epic role as Captain Monica Stark. Every single person does their job well and embraces their characters with gusto.
This movie is actually revised from an original stage show. I really would have loved to have seen that, but will happily settle for the film version. It was adapted from the stage to screen by the original writer, the aforementioned Charles Busch, so you know that it was adapted properly, not just some rewrite by some random writer who has no affection for the characters or story.
Dead man's point of view.
Dead man's point of view.
If you’re in the mood for a very unusual comedy, I can’t recommend this highly enough. It’s truly one of the better comedic satires that I’ve ever seen, with witty dialog, snappy writing, and perfect delivery of all the material by the entire cast.
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