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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Where the Boys Are '84" )

 

directed by Hy Averback
USA 1984

It's spring break 1984 and four Penmore College girls are hitting Ft. Lauderdale. Carol (Lorna Luft, 54) has pissed off her boyfriend Chip (Howard McGillin) by choosing a trip with the girls over their planned Vermont ski trip, prim Sandra (Wendy Schaal, CREATURE) is just stopping over on her way to Aruba, music major Jenny (Lisa Hartman, DEADLY BLESSING) wants to meet Sandra's successful composer cousin Camden Roxbury III (Daniel McDonald, FALCON AND THE SNOWMAN), and hot-to-trot Laurie (Lynn-Holly Johnson, FOR YOUR EYES ONLY) is out to conquer her very own Conan the Barbarian. Along the way, they pick up Scott (Russell Todd, FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2) who is on his way to Ft. Lauderdale to meet up with his band, and he takes a special liking to Jenny. The girls arrive in the throng of spring break revelers (including a couple from Texas S&M) and check into a sketchy hotel. Laurie and Sandra get drunk and jailed and ballet dancer Carole must compete in the "Hot Bods" dance competition to win bail money for the two (of course, Chip has come to Florida to spy on her and arrives just in time to see her gyrating with a buff member of Scott's band). With just enough money to bail out one of the girls, they flip a coin and Laurie gets released and meets her Conan (Frank Zagarino, BARBARIAN QUEEN) who makes an appointment with her for sex. Officer Ernie (Asher Brauner, AMERICAN EAGLE) takes pity on Sandra and releases her (then he asks her out for coffee). Sandra falls for him quickly, even though he's married and has a kid. Scott is irked when Camden invites Jenny to a fancy party thrown by his society matron mother Barbara (Louise Sorel, TV's DAYS OF OUR LIVES), so Scott crashes the party (along with several hundred other spring break-ers). When Chip sees Carole kissing Scott's bandmate Tony (Christopher McDonald, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM), he takes up with Barbara's cougar friend Maggie (Alana Stewart, NIGHT CALL NURSES). Things get heated between Scott and Camden over Jenny, and she must choose between dull-yet-cultured Camden or exciting-yet-undisciplined Scott. Things have certainly changed in Ft. Lauderdale since Dolores Hart (COME FLY WITH ME), Yvette Mimieux (THE TIME MACHINE), Paula Prentiss (WHAT'S NEW PUSSYCAT), and Connie Francis (LOOKING FOR LOVE) hit the beach with the likes of George Hamilton (TWO WEEKS IN ANOTHER TOWN) and Jim Hutton (the original DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK) in Henry Levin's (JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH) 1960 adaptation of Glendon Swarthout's novel. There's string and leopard bikinis, yellow ice, blow-up dolls, Sylvester Levay (MANNEQUIN) synth music, and The Rockats, but apart from some mostly suggestive bits of raunch, WHERE THE BOYS ARE '84 is still an old fashioned beach movie. The soapy drama is more than a little contrived, but the four female protagonists are all likable - Schaal and Luft are consistently funny - and played by actresses who were simultaneously fresh faces and seasoned performers. Hartman sings the theme song, Todd is dubbed by Little River Band's Peter Beckett for his song during the finale, and musician Jude Cole plays one of Scott's bandmates and sings the main title song.

Eric Cotenas

Poster

Theatrical Release: 6 April 1984 (USA)

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DVD Review: Scorpion Releasing - Region 0 - NTSC

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for the Review!

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Distribution

Scorpion Releasing

Region 0 - NTSC

Runtime 1:34:24
Video

1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 6.95 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate

Audio English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
Subtitles none
Features Release Information:
Studio: Scorpion Releasing

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1

Edition Details:
• Interview with star Wendy Schaal (16:9; 32:24)
• Interview with star Russell Todd (4:3; 22:07)
• Theatrical Trailer (4:3; 2:15)
• Trailers for CHEERLEADERS WILD WEEKEND, SKATEBOARD, and FOLLOW ME

DVD Release Date: 23 August 2011
Amaray

Chapters 13

 

Comments

Like other Scorpion titles licensed from Rank, WHERE THE BOYS ARE '84 is coded for Region 1 playback only. The 1.78:1 progressive, anamorphic presentation has poor detail and has been over-sharpened (this seems to be an issue with the Rank masters as SWEET WILLIAM and SILVER DREAM RACER look similarly poor).

The Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio, on the other hand, is strong. The early eighties mix mainly serves the music score and song selection, but the dialogue is always clear. Wendy Schaal is featured in a half-hour interview in which she fondly remembers her fellow cast members, the party-like shoot, and extravagant producer Allan Carr. She spends the last ten minutes or so talking about her other roles (including, most recently, the voice of the mother on the Fox animated sitcom AMERICAN DAD). Todd appears in a twenty-minute interview in which he also recounts some interesting details of the shoot (his singing voice is dubbed by Peter Beckett of "Little River Band" during the climactic music number). The film's trailer rounds out the extras.

  - Eric Cotenas

 


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DVD Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

 

 

Distribution

Scorpion Releasing

Region 0 - NTSC

 




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