Ski Party

I watch old movies to see eras I never lived in, and even though I never lived during then, I think this movie gives a nice glimpse of the 1960s era. I'm obviously not an authority on this, but this movie seems like it would've fit the definition of "teen movie" during that era. The movie does feature guys dressing as girls, so it's a bit odd, but they didn't have CG graphics back then, so they had to have odd stories occasionally. That's kind of how we ended up with half the crazy stuff we have today anyway -- crazy stories passed down, probably told first as entertainment (monsters, ghosts, War of the Worlds, etc.). Prime Video has a 1080p version of the movie, which is another reason I rate this pretty high (good quality old movies are just hard to come by).

The cool kids head for the mountains and instead of Bikinis the girls have on sweaters. The fires are in a lodge fireplace instead of on the beach The guys try to impress the girls only this time they are rubbing wax underneath skis instead of on top of surf boards. The only worthwhile parts of this movie are the scenes with James Brown and Lesley Gore. Robert Q Lewis is comical for a while as a nervous wreck of a man but then it gets old. The folks who gave us such future winners with a skiing theme such as Hot Dog and Ski School must have taken their lead from this gem. The ski scenes from Dumb and Dumber were probably hatched from this as well.

"Ski Party" is a funny, good natured movie. It great looks great with very good location photography. The cast is very strong with an added bonus of the dreamy duo of Deborah Walley and Yvonne Craig. "Ski Party" is a lot of fun. It's a perfect movie to watch on a quiet Sunday morning. Honorable mention: a terrific appearance by James Brown.

It doesn't take a ski accident to come up lame with this one. It is questionable SKI PARTY even has one leg to lean on. A cheap WHERE THE BOYS ARE(1960). Boys wanting to meet girls; snow bunnies looking for the "right" guy. If you can party on the beach; why not a ski slope? Terrible script overshadowed by the assembly of "over acting". Frankie Avalon isn't even able to make this movie credible. Also in the cast are:Deborah Walley, Dwayne Hickman and Yvonne Craig. But there is something redeeming...singing appearances by Lesley Gore and James Brown.

Frankie Avalon and Dwayne Hickman are three-letter men at college, but the girls won't give them a tumble, but not because they are old enough to be professors, but because of the exigencies of the plot. So they go on a ski vacation and decide the best way to get close to the girls is to steal a couple of wigs and pretend to be girls half the time. There's some decent mechanical jokes in this script, including breaking of the fourth wall and references to SOME LIKE IT HOT. Still, the number of tight close-ups on the rears of frugging girls in bikinis make it apparent what the film makers thought their audiences were interested in seeing. Robert Q. Lewis offers the attraction for older people who want an excuse to see this movie, and Yvonne Craig and Deborah Wally provide the rest.

Annette Funicello has a brief cameo as a professor, and Dwayne Hickman was added to the beach gang in a futile attempt to keep the series fresh. Really lame take off of "Some Like It Hot". Aron Kincaid plays his usual big-man-on-campus pretty blond boy routine. There are only two reasons to watch this movie. Leslie Gore singing on the bus on the way to the ski resort, and James Brown doing a split in the snow the end of "I Feel Good".

The "Beach Party" series taking one of its last gasps: Frankie Avalon and sniggering Dwayne Hickman hit the ski slopes and get stuck doing Tony Curtis & Jack Lemmon routines from "Some Like It Hot", and the comparison isn't favorable. Avalon is actually game, but Hickman has no screen presence and the comic hijinks are mostly juvenile. The script isn't as clever as the ones for the "Beach" flicks, and everyone just seems piqued. Avalon's main squeeze is no longer Annette Funicello, who has an unbilled cameo as a college professor (her two brief scenes are beauties). James Brown and Lesley Gore are both terrific in musical support, Deborah Walley and Yvonne Craig are pretty ski-bunnies, but this fractured gang is obviously a lackluster substitute. A.I.P. continued the following year not with "Cruise Party"--as advertised--but "Ghost In The Invisible Bikini". *1/2 from ****