Main Cast: Phoebe Cates, Scott Coffey, Bridget Fonda, Annabeth Gish, Page Hannah
Release Year: 1988
Country: UK
Run Time: 96 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Shag is a beach flick set in 1963. The years have passed, but the old Where the Boys Are formula holds firm: Four attractive young lasses head for the surf and sand of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, looking for guys. Phoebe Cates is about to be married, so her three pals seek out a final affair d'amour on her behalf before she is lost to the world forever. The cast is fascinating for its family ties: Bridget Fonda is the daughter of Peter Fonda, Page Hannah the sister of Darryl Hannah, and Tyrone Power III is the son of you-know-who. Filmed in 1988, Shag was released that year in Europe, then offered to American audiences one year later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Most nostalgia exercises carry an implicit aura of camp, but this beach-movie revival is as straightforward as it is gratifyingly sweet. The fresh-faced young cast -- especially frisky adventurer Bridget Fonda and repressed deb Phoebe Cates -- embody the hot-blooded youth of an earlier era with considerable panache. Meanwhile, director Zelda Barron keeps everyone marching at a brisk comedic pace. Script by committee isn't always a recipe for success, but the three-way collaboration on Shag yields a workable plot and plenty of laughs -- coupled with the faintest tinge of feminist hindsight and grown-up perspective. By the time Hairspray rolled around, gross-out satirist John Waters had become nothing but a slightly subversive family entertainer. Shag, Hairspray's contemporary both in release date and setting, seems almost as subversive in its unashamedly feel-good vision of the past. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Robert Rusler - Buzz Ravenel; Tyrone Power, Jr. - Harley Ralston; Jeff Yagher - Jimmy Valentine; Jay Baker - Big Bob; Bonnie Cook - Mrs. Carmichael; Donald Craig - Senator Clatterbuck; Shirley Ann Field - Mrs. Clatterbuck; Leonid Filatov; Carrie Hamilton - Nadine; Pearl Jones - Elvira; Paul Lieber - Manager; Joe Seely - Creep; Vladimir Ilyin; Leilani Sarelle - Suette; Jane Aiken - Ettie Stroos; Janelle Cochrane - Mrs. McBride; Garry Goins - "Big Dan and the Sand Dollars" Band; Robert Jacobs - Jack Stroos; Jim Kelly, Jr. - Big Dan and the Sand Dollars Member; Andrei Kharitonov; Lise Lang - Car Hop; John Lewis, Jr. - Big Dan and the Sand Dollars Member; Joey A. McGroarty - Reverend Buller; Walker Owens - Young Man; Elliott Phillips - Turkey Sandwich; Douglas Smith - Big Dan and the Sand Dollars Member; Ezra Sutton - Gator Boy; Barry Thigpen - MC; Linda Weatherly Wellman - Bathing Beauty; Lawrence Whitaker - "Big Dan and the Sand Dollars" Band; Yelena Yakovleva; William Roberts - Dying Cockroach
Credit
Jon Hutman - Art Director, Kerry Boyle - Associate Producer, Christopher O'Donnell - Boom Operator, Elisabeth Leustig - Casting, Kenny Ortega - Choreography, Julia Chasman - Co-producer, Mary Vogt - Costume Designer, Andrew Macdonald - First Assistant Director, Kato Wittich - First Assistant Director, Zelda Barron - Director, Laurence Méry-Clark - Editor, John Daly - Executive Producer, Derek Gibson - Executive Producer, Nik Powell - Executive Producer, Alicia Alexander - Location Manager, Gemma Craven - Musical Direction/Supervision, Ray Williams - Musical Direction/Supervision, Kerry Rock - Musical Direction/Supervision, Tim Hollier - Musical Direction/Supervision, Alan Caso - Camera Operator, Buddy Cone - Production Designer, Peter MacDonald - Cinematographer, Caroline Baron - Production Manager, Jeffrey Silver - Producer, Stephen Woolley - Producer, Kara Lindstrom - Set Designer, Ed Novick - Sound Mixer, Paul Carr - Sound Mixer, Peter Krook - Sound Editor, Lanier Laney - Screen Story, Terry Sweeney - Screen Story, Lanier Laney - Screenwriter, Terry Sweeney - Screenwriter, Robin Swicord - Screenwriter, Christopher S. Capp - Production Assistant, Jeff Moore - Second Unit Camera, Alan Bell - Sound Effects Editor, Jane Ciampa Williams - Unit Publicist, Seymour Stein - Executive Music Producer, Marco Mazzei - First Assistant Camera, Chip Hackler - First Assistant Camera, Joe D'Alessandro - First Assistant Camera, F. Herb Harton - First Assistant Camera, Danny Eccleston - Gaffer, Logan R. Berkshire - Grip, Rufus Granger, Jr. - Grip, Bobby Huber - Key Grip, Peter Krook - Music Editor, Andy Paley - Music Producer, Tammy Ader - Production Coordinator, Dave M. Garris - Properties, Charles Stewart - Properties Master, Carmen Soriano - Script Supervisor, Chris Edmonds - Second Assistant Director, Suzanne Tenner - Still Photographer, Barney Cabral - Supervising Sound Editor, Laura Connolly - Assistant Hair, Jamil Ina - Assistant Hair, C. Harper Hellams - Assistant Location Manager, Sarah Cherry - Assistant Makeup, Susan Kaplan - Assistant Production Coordinator, Linda Kiffe - Assistant Properties, Alec Jeakins - Assistant Sound Editor, Steve Spallone - Best Boy Electric, Scott R. Davis - Best Boy Grip, Frank Godwin - Camera Loader, Anne Kubik - Casting Assistant, Jim Hill - Construction Coordinator, Kendall Errair - Costumes Supervisor, Joyce Anne Gilstrap - Costumes Supervisor, Roger Wilson - Dialogue Editor, Gene Poole - Dolly Grip, Rusty Edmonson - Electrician, Robert Garcia - Electrician, Christopher Hall - Electrician, Michael Garland - First Assistant Accountant, Olivia Nagel - First Assistant Accountant, John Downer - First Assistant Editor, Jeanne Van Phue - Key Hairstylist, Kathy Shorkey-Doak - Key Make-up, John D. Kretschmer - Leadman, Paul Oliver - Lead Scenic Artist, Anthony McClelland - Second Assistant Editor, Charles Carroll - Second Second Assistant Director, John Bromell - Set Dresser, Polar Bear Shaw - Set Dresser, Vernon Harrell - Set Dresser, Kris Krengel - Set Production Assistant, Marta Evry - Set Production Assistant, Christine Soloperto - Set Production Assistant, Holly Heniford - Set Production Assistant, Jeannette Scheibe - Set Production Assistant, Ronnie Servicky - Set Production Assistant, Anthony "Bubba" Forester - Transportation Coordinator, Lise Lang - Assistant Choreographer, Trevor Bond - Title Design
The film is a lighthearted story of four teenage girlfriends of various temperaments who escape their parents for a few days in 1963 for adventure in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina where they meet boys. The trip is spurred by the upcoming marriage of one of the girls, Carson. Their story chronicles their last good-bye to girlhood, and entree into womanhood. Filmed primarily in Wilmington, North Carolina and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with a scene filmed at the late Skyview Drive-In located in Florence, South Carolina.
Though it was not a big hit when initially released, in recent years it has become something of a cult film to fans of beach music and the Carolina Shag.
Cast
Phoebe Cates as Carson McBride, the beautiful socialite who is set to marry a tobacco executive's son
Bridget Fonda as Melaina Buller, the promiscuous preacher's daughter with bigger dreams
Annabeth Gish as Caroline "Pudge" Carmichael, the formerly overweight, hometown cutie
Page Hannah as Luanne Clatterback, the uptight senator's daughter
Robert Rusler as Buzz Ravenel, the townie boy whose come-ons snare Carson
Scott Coffey as Chip Gaillard, a future service member and excellent shagger
Tyrone Power, Jr. as Harley Ralston, a tobacco executive's son- as straight-laced as they come
Jeff Yagher as Jimmy Valentine, a semi-famous Frankie Avalon wanna-be
Carrie Hamilton as Nadine, a white-trash townie who is jealous of the girls
