Simply Perfect

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

This movie is first and foremost a somewhat dippy teen film that you might enjoy for the antics of Spring Break 50+ years ago (and oh how times have changed!). The movie seems surprisingly daring in the beginning when a young woman references the Kinsey report and alludes to premarital sex being natural, but eventually you'll realize the movie is conservative, still more in the 50's than it is in the 60's. It's watered down and feels sanitized, and it was tough to see the college women on Spring Break ridiculously desperate for men, actually believing they're going to find guys who will propose to them on the trip (huh??), and one simply wanting to become a 'baby factory'. In the end, its main theme is the age old clash between men who want sex, and women who want commitment. I suppose that's to be expected from a movie called "Where The Boys Are", and reflective of the times. The most poignant and serious moments come from the character played by Yvette Mimieux, who has been having sex with a guy, thinking he loves her. When she arranges to meet him in a motel, she finds he's sent one of his friends instead, after telling her she's easy – and gets raped. By my count, she tells him "no" 9 times as he advances, all smiles, about to force himself on her. None of it is shown, we just see her despondently walking into traffic, a scene which is ridiculously overplayed. Unfortunately (and outrageously) the moral has nothing to do with the guys who took advantage of her and devastated her – neither of them are seen again, presumably happily traveling north having "gotten some" – it's her ruing meeting a guy in the future who'll find out she's no longer a virgin because of her Spring Break escapades. Sigh, and grrr. And, with the Code being in effect, where evil was not allowed to win – it's clear, that this was not considered rape and not considered evil. What a horrible, horrible message buried within this silly movie. And how opposite it is to the initial premise that women should not have to "wait until marriage". If you can watch it just for the goofiness – like guys picking up and moving a car, and characters jumping in to a giant tank of water in a nightclub and making silly faces – you will probably enjoy it. You have a poor man's Marilyn Monroe (Barbara Nichols), poor man's jazz (Frank Gorshin of Riddler fame, sporting Coke bottle glasses), and a dapper George Hamilton in a black polo shirt on the beach. You have very well dressed guys and girls on the beach and on dates. You have Connie Frances making her debut and singing. I have to say, it held my interest, but I can't help but feel it could have been so much better if it had been more serious in one of its directions instead of lukewarm in all, and been a little more ahead of its time. It's certainly retrograde by today's standards.

This movie begins with 4 female college students who live in the Midwest and decide to drive to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for Spring Break. Although all of them are looking for a little fun and romance their attitudes quickly evolve into wanting something more fulfilling. While their individual reactions to these feelings are somewhat tempered by social norms, each of them approach their dilemma in a different manner. For example, "Melanie Tolman" (Yvette Mimieux) happens to be quite beautiful but she is also very immature and naive. As a result she throws herself at a guy on the mistaken assumption that he loves her when in reality all he wants is sex and promptly discards her afterward. Her naiveté is further exploited a little while later. Unfortunately, she isn't the only person who has to struggle with her emotions as her friends "Tuggle Carpenter" (Paula Prentiss) and "Merritt Andrews" (Dolores Hart) also encounter pressure from their boyfriends which causes internal strife within them as well. At any rate, although this film certainly has its share of comedy, as a comedy as the situations become more serious it gradually morphs into a moralistic drama. Even so, I liked the singing of Connie Francis (as "Angie") and I thought the scene where "Basil" (Frank Gorshin) fell into the fish bowl was quite hilarious. All in all I rate this movie as slightly above average.

Fun times at the beach and romantic adventures are what four Midwestern college girls hope for when they journey to Florida for a week of Spring Break. Naturally, they meet boys, or rather young men, in this ensemble story, as well as a musician, played by Frank Gorshin, whose band plays "didactic jazz", an element that helps slightly to enhance the story's thematic depth.There's a lot of banter among the characters about shared problems and dreams. Each of the four young women has a unique personality. The two main "boys" are played by George Hamilton and Jim Hutton, both in their twenties when cast. Trouble is, they look much older. Visually, "Where The Boys Are" looks more like "where the men are".Miscasting isn't the only problem. Given that the destination is the Florida beach, the plot spends very little time at the beach, and none at the ocean. Most scenes take place indoors, obviously built sets, in some movie studio. Another problem is the dialogue. It lacks subtext, which renders the story somewhat shallow. The story needs more depth and darkness, more of an edge. It gets that toward the end, but it's too little, too late.As a result, the film is mostly light entertainment. Barbara Nichols is a hoot as Lola, whose screechy voice adds to the comedy. Whatever serious message can be squeezed out of this film pertains to the expectations and roles of women in the 1950s, and in that sense, the film does show how social attitudes toward women have changed in the last fifty years."Where The Boys Are" is a quasi-musical. I enjoyed Connie Francis warbling the title song. And Frank Gorshin's jazz is a delight. But I could have wished for more period piece music, less time spent indoors, and less chitchat among the characters.

One very hot and widely discussed film when it first came out in late 1960.....sex, sex and more sex was the theme throughout most of the film and by a 1960 standard it was pushing the limit. Teens however went to see it in droves. I was in high school at the time (soph) and I could probably have taken 40 different girls to see that film when it first came out...everyone was talking about it as the top date movie. One top notch cast of guys and gals taking up the sun and rays of Ft. Lauderdale Florida with hormones and suds flowing. The gals, Connie Francis, Delores Hart, Paula Prentiss and Yvette Mimieux got their careers started and advanced with their appearance in this film, although Hart had appeared in a couple of Elvis films before WTBA. This film is comedy supreme. Just taking a look at the girl's hotel room filled with students they didn't even know, sleeping there at random was a stitch. You've got to love the scene with Hart and Francis in a diner ordering two cups of hot water to mix ketchup in!!! Then there are the guys swooning and staring at the gals all over the place. In summary the four gals were all looking for romance in the right and wrong places throughout the movie with a little love, jealousy and heartbreak thrown in. Their boyfriends, George Hamilton, Frank Gorshin, Jim Hutton and a couple of unknowns add to the zaniness with their shenanigans. Check out the scene at the night club when everyone jumps into Lola's swimming pool and the nightclub manager goes bananas trying to throw them out of the club. In the end alls well that ends well and four new romances are kindled with the gals and their boyfriends as they head back to that mythical college in the midwest somewhere. As far as the sexual mores of the time "A Summer Place" with Troy Donahue and Sandra Dee was probably much more sexual in content that WTBA. Also "Imitation of Life" with Lana Turner a year before put sex over the top. Still this is a great film to see even 45 years later as dated and hokey as it may seem.