Psycho Beach Party

Plot

Robert Lee King directs this wacky, campy fusion of teenaged surfer flicks and slasher sagas. Impossibly perky Florence (Lauren Ambrose) doesn't quite fit in at her thoroughly square high school in her seaside Southern California town -- that is, until she happens upon a band of ultra-hip surfer dudes. Renaming herself "Chicklet," she tries her gosh-darnedest to be the sole girl riding the waves with the group led by suave Kanaka (Thomas Gibson). While adopting her surfer alter ego, Florence soon discovers that other less pleasant personalities emerge when confronted with the sight of polka dots. One called Anne Bowman is a tough, "experienced" older lady, while the other, Tylene, is a stereotypical sassy black woman. Blacking out whenever these other personalities take over, Florence becomes increasingly worried that she is responsible for a series of grizzly murders. Of course, she is far from the only suspicious character in her oceanside community -- there's B-movie star Bettina Barnes (Kimberly Davies), Swedish exchange student Lars (Matt Keeslar), and Florence's own unnervingly-perfect mom (Beth Broderick). This film was adapted from a popular off-Broadway play written by Charles Busch. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Review

Even by playwright Charles Busch's own admission, this parody of films as diverse as Marnie, Gidget, and Halloween was a pretty lightweight piece when it premiered in New York in the mid-'80s. Beefing up the plot and adding a fun new character for himself, however, drag auteur Busch and first-time feature director Robert Lee King turned the film version of Psycho Beach Party into a fun little luau. A who's who of young alt-Hollywood -- from Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Nicholas Brendon to Gregg Araki vets Nathan Bexton and Kathleen Robertson -- get to paraphrase the teensploitation epics of years past with a knowing wink, while future Six Feet Under star Lauren Ambrose shows her considerable range in a performance that veers from goofy melodrama to all-out slapstick and includes no less than three separate characters. (Grown-ups Busch and Beth Broderick get some laughs, too, but sometimes come off like defanged John Waters heroines.) The over-the-top but humorous homoeroticism, broad caricatures, and frequently profane sight gags and puns may not endear the film to all audiences. But for those who appreciate its dated East Village attitude and its frequently spot-on pop culture spoofs, Psycho Beach Party is a quirky, deliberately low-rent ball of laughs. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

Cast

• Lauren Ambrose - Florence/Chicklet
• Thomas Gibson - Kanaka
• Kimberley Davies - Bettina/Diane
• Matt Keeslar - Lars

Charles Busch - Capt. Monica Stark; Beth Broderick - Mom; Amy Adams - Marvel Ann; Kathleen Robertson - Rhonda; Nathan Bexton - T.J.; Buddy Quaid - Junior; Jenica Bergere - Cookie

Credit

Alberto Gonzalez-Reyna - Art Director, Brad Bryan - Boom Operator, Laura Schiff - Casting, Reggie Lee - Choreography, Michael Shea - First Assistant Director, Robert Lee King - Director, Suzanne Hines - Editor, John Hall - Executive Producer, Diane Cornell - Line Producer, Ben Vaughn - Composer (Music Score), David Tobocman - Composer (Music Score), Howard Paar - Musical Direction/Supervision, Wendi Lynn Allison - Makeup, Franco-Giacomo Carbone - Production Designer, Arturo Smith - Cinematographer, Jon Gerrans - Producer, Marcus Hu - Producer, Virginia Biddle - Producer, Victor Syrmis - Producer, Ann Shea - Set Designer, Tim Walston - Sound/Sound Designer, Charles Busch - Screenwriter, Dawn Fleischman - First Assistant Camera, Douglas Salkin - Post Production Supervisor, Liesl Beneke - Production Coordinator, Peter Clines - Properties Master, Lance Brown - Re-Recording Mixer, Marc Fishman - Re-Recording Mixer, Wendy Dallas - Script Supervisor, Jay Nierenberg - Supervising Sound Editor, Camille Jumelle - Costume/Wardrobe, Martin Weeks - Assistant Properties, Alan Estridge - Storyboard Artist, Danvers Walker - Visual Effects, Jeff Melnick - Co-Executive Producer

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