A blast from the past, the movie Back to the Beach made in 1987 brings back some fond memories and some good natured fun. The film also should make a hit with those growing up with Connie Stevens, Annette Funicello (Disney’s Mouseketeers) and Frankie Avalon who were icons back in the day. Most of the dialogue in the film hints on the three stars previous films together while playing out this music filled movie with a lot of silly comedy.
In this return to the past we find Annette and Frankie married and have a 16-year-old son Bobby (Demian Slade) and a 20-year-old absentee daughter Sandi (Lori Loughlin). In between trying to keep up with their 1980’s son, Frankie, a former famous surfer, has been running a used car lot to make a living. Annette has been a home mom feeding her son a lot of peanut butter sandwiches for lunch and it’s a running gag throughout the story.
Bored with her home life, Annette wants to go to Hawaii for vacation so the three set out with a planned stop-over in Los Angeles where her daughter is living. When they get to LA they discover that Sandi has been living a beach life with her boyfriend Michael (Tom Hinkley). When her father finds out, the sparks start to fly and a whole new story of surfing, beach blankets and rock n’ roll plays out.
The film was the last one with Avalon and Funicello together. It was purposely made to let fans know what the two characters (and stars) had been doing since Beach Party (1963), Muscle Beach Party (1964), Pajama Party (1964), Bikini Beach (1964), and Beach Blanket Bingo (1965). While you could call this a sequel for a try for big dollars at the box office, it turned out to be 86th that year as a revenue producer making $13 million. Not bad for the 1980’s as it beat out big productions like Heartbreak Ridge, Children of a Lesser God, Overboard, The Mosquito Coast, and Brighton Beach Memoirs, of the 200 movies that were released that year.
The musical comedy has a lot of familiar faces for those who have grown up in the early eras including Stevie Ray Vaughan (Musician/Singer), Don Adams (“Get Smart”), Bob Denver (“Gilligan’s Island”), Alan Hale Jr. (“Gilligan’s Island”), Jerry Mathers (Leave it to Beaver), Tony Dow (Leave it to Beaver), Barbara Billingsley (“Leave it to Beaver”), Ed “Kookie” Byrnes (“Sunset Strip”), and Paul Rubens (Pee-Wee Herman).
EXTRA:
“Filmmaker Focus” with Director Lyndall Hobbs
This 35th anniversary of Back to the Beach has been completely remastered and plays nicely on large TV screens. Colors are vibrant and the 5.1 DTS high definition sound is perfect for the songs of the 60’s with a few 80’s thrown in for effect. Now on Blu-ray, the film has been rated PG by the MPAA for some language.
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Connie Stevens, Dick Dale, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Don Adams, Bob Denver, Tommy Hinkley, Jerry Mathers (Leave it to Beaver), Tony Dow (Leave it to Beaver), Barbara Billingsley, Edd “Kookie” Byrnes, Fishbone and Pee-Wee Herman.
Directed by: Lyndall Hobbs
Genre: Musical, Comedy, Romance
MPAA Rating: PG
Running Time: 1 hr. 32 min.
Video Release Date: August 9, 2022
Language: English
Reviewed Format: Remastered Blu-ray
Audio: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Video: Ratio 1.78:1
Subtitles: English SDH, French
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment
Released on: Blu-ray
Legal Notice all photos and art: ©2022 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.
