Back to the Beach

8/7/19871h 32m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ All killer...no filler!! ~

Overview:

Cowabunga! The surfing '60s ride into the new wave as Frankie and Annette star in this hip update of their old-time, good-time beach movies. With special appearances by Bob Denver, Tony Dow, Pee-Wee Herman, Jerry Mathers and other familiar faces. Frankie and Annette grow up and have kids in the midwest. They return to LA to visit their daughter who is shacked up with her boyfriend and tries to hide the fact. They begin to have marriage problems when Frankie runs into Connie, who has erected a shrine to him in her night club. Their punk son has joined up with the local surf toughs, and things all come to a head when the toughs challenge the good guys to a surfing duel

Director:

Lyndall Hobbs

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

spoof
woman director

Cast

Frankie Avalon

~ as ~

Annette's Husband

Annette Funicello

~ as ~

Annette

Lori Loughlin

~ as ~

Sandi

Tommy Hinkley

~ as ~

Michael

Demian Slade

~ as ~

Bobby

Joe Holland

~ as ~

Zed

John Calvin

~ as ~

Troy

David Bowe

~ as ~

Mountain

Laura Lanoil

~ as ~

Robin

Connie Stevens

~ as ~

Connie

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

Wuchak
Written 1 year(s) ago
5
Revisiting those zany beach party flicks from the mid-60s

Frankie & Annette are now married and living in Ohio. Frankie’s a workaholic business owner and neglecting Annette, so they decide to fly out to SoCal to visit their daughter and old haunts on their way to Hawaii.

“Back to the Beach” (1987) pays homage to those dozen AIP ‘beach party films’ that were released from 1963-1968, half of them starring Frankie Avalon and/or Annette Funicello. The movie is amusingly hammy, poking fun at those madcap 60’s flicks. Connie Stevens is on hand, looking great at 48, along with several cameos of familiar faces, like Bob Denver from Gilligan’s Island.

Siskel & Ebert praised the movie on their show (the episode is available on Youtube). And, sure, it’s entertaining to a point, but I was disappointed. It’s just no where near as great as they made it out to be. Still, if you’re in the mood for an innocuous musical with a goofy beach milieu, give it a watch.

The flick runs 1 hour, 32 minutes, and was shot in Malibu and Santa Cruz.

GRADE: C+