Monday, January 20, 2014

Pyjama Party (1965)


No, I'm not going to spell it 'pajama', America, it's 'pyjama'. Also, aluminium, not aluminum, and Herbs, with an AICH. The H is not silent!

Err, getting that out of the way, onto beach party flick Pyjama Party...

This movie is an entry in the Beach Party series, in the respect that it isn't. It isn't, but is made by the same people, has hot women in bikinis, and stars some familiar actors, albeit in different roles, although it does have the Rat Pack from all the other films.

I was really looking forwards to this after how much I enjoyed How to Stuff a Wild Bikini, but it was apparent very soon that this movie sucked. I debated turning it off only ten minutes in until a gang of certain characters showed up...

Despite the awesomeness that is Elsa Lanchester and Buster Keaton, I had zero interest in the film until Eric von Zipper and his Rat Pack showed up! But that made things worse, because that meant I had to sit through a movie I wouldn't like just for a select bunch of funny characters I do like. But I didn't. I switched the movie off. Sorry Alberta. I'm sure you were awesome.

When I saw that aliens were in this movie, I was surprised, although I've no idea why, since other entries in this series involve magic, and ghosts, as well as a tangentially connected movie with Vincent Price's girl bomb and bikini machine creating mad scientist Dr. Goldfoot. But still, the aliens really come out of left field.

The movie has a few guest stars, like an unfunny and annoying song that unfortunately stars Dorothy Lamour-Unfortunate because I like good ol' Dotty Lamour. And said musical number also has a cameo from a young Terri Garr and Toni Basil. Did any of you just have the same thought as I did? "Toni Basil? Singer of Hey, Mickey? Wasn't she in diapers in 1965?!". And the answer is yes, that Toni Basil, and no, she was born in 1943! Hey, Mickey is such a teen girl song, and even in the video clip, Basil is decked out in cheerleader garb, and she was forty?! And she's seventy now?! God, I feel old!

I ducked out about twenty minutes into this flick. I figure at a point I'll buy the Beach Party box-set, and when I get to Pyjama Party, I'll just fast-forward through all scenes that don't include the Rat Pack (maybe I'll watch the Elsa Lanchester scenes, but only maybe, because her character is linked heavily with the annoying dull plot I don't like).

Now, how about I close us out with some tunes from another sort-of-but-not Beach Party flick, Ski Party!...

Yeah, I'll just as quickly listen to a Leslie Gore song as I would heavy metal or hard rock, and I know the lyrics to Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows just as verbatim as the lyrics to Alice Cooper's Bed of Nails. I definitely have a taste for varied types of music, that's for sure!

4 comments:

  1. Pyjama? I've heard some of our subtle language differences, but that one's new to me. I was about to tell you that you have the right idea watching these beach party movies to warm up, and then I remembered that you're not in a deep freeze. I should be watching these movies as some kind of winter strategy!

    That Ski Party movie should work better for you temperature-wise. I'm not familiar with Ski Party, but then I'm not familiar with a lot of this! I do know the "Sunshine Lollipops" song. That one will be in my head for a while now that I watched the video. Yeah, you're all over the map! From slashing Horror to light and happy dance numbers. :)

    Oh yeah, Vincent Price's Dr. Goldfoot... not one of his better roles! I love Vincent Price, but sometimes I think he'd sign on to any movie.

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  2. Haha! At least the bikini babes onscreen are making sure I don't get swept away into feeling the beach heat! And yeah, here's hoping once the TV's done with airing these beach entries, it'll air Ski Party, so I can feel nice and chilly

    Yeah, it's fun being varied. At one point, I was going to review kid/teen movie Flipped right before Porno Holocaust, but I didn't, in case some kids might go looking for a review of Flipped, and end up looking in the sidebar, following the link, and finding out some stuff their parents don't want them to know for a while. haha!

    I've never seen the Dr. Goldfoot movies. I don't know now if I'm scared to watch them, or more incensed than ever.

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  3. I had to google Flipped because that wasn't ringing any bells. Even after looking it up, I have no memory of it! Porno Holocaust? I'm afraid to google that one! From what I saw of Flipped, those sound like two veeeery different movies.

    "Dr. Goldfoot movies"? You mean there was more than one of those stinkers? I hope not. DO NOT WATCH however many were made. What I saw was the absolute worst thing Vincent Price has ever been in and that's saying something! It's one of those movies that's trying way too hard to be funny and it's not at all funny. It's not even funny in a so-bad-it's-funny way. The theme song is strangely catchy, though:

    Dr. Goldfoot Song

    Oh wow. I had no idea that The Supremes sang the theme song! No wonder the song is the only good thing about the movie. It will get stuck in your head. I owe you for getting "Sunshine, Lollipops" in my head all day. :)

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  4. Don't worry, my punishment has already been served-I've had Sunshine, Lollipops stuck in MY head all day.

    Yeah, and the second was made by Mario Bava!

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