SoTrumpBelieve Must See Movie...

FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Michael_Elliott Ski Party (1965)* (out of 4) College buddies Todd (Frankie Avalon) and Craig (Dwayne Hickman) are constantly wondering how one of their classmates is constantly able to bring in the ladies. They decide to follow him to a ski resort where they hope to learn but instead they both end up in drag.SKI PARTY is, apparently, connected to the BEACH PARTY series but I personally find that to be somewhat of a stretch. Either way, this is a really awful movie on many levels and it has only a few things that keeps it from being a complete disaster. The highlight of the film is a sequence where James Brown shows up to sing "I Feel Fine" and it's like a shot of energy because up until then the movie was a real drag. There are also a couple fine jokes but that's about it.The rest of the movie is a complete mess that seems to have been thrown together using leftover jokes from previous movies. The entire premise is a rip-off of SOME LIKE IT HOT but it just doesn't work. Avalon and Hickman contain no chemistry together and their comic timing is just awful. Neither Deborah Walley or Yvonne Craig bring much to the picture and the supporting players are just as bland.The entire movie has a very cheap feel to it but the biggest problem is that it's just never funny. The movie is a complete bore from start to finish and should be avoided.

jadedalex To begin with, I understand that I am not sitting down to watch great cinema, such as 'Citizen Kane'. On the other hand, I am quite struck by the silliness of all of the beach movies, and you can throw this into the mix, along with all of those incredibly inane Elvis movies.On the plus side, you have the hopelessly cute Deborah Walley, the very hot Yvonne 'Batgirl' Craig. Also an asset is seeing Lesley Gore and the Godfather of Soul, James Brown. Although, I must confess, it's a bit unsettling having James Brown break into your ski home around all of those nice white boys and girls. At least the crackers seem to enjoy James' soul music.On the negative side, we are treated to Frankie Avalon and Dwayne Hickman in drag. And, like most teenage comedies of its time, it's not funny.I suppose if you were raised in sunny California, this might elicit some 'memories'. But all of these teenage romps, along with just about any Elvis movie you can name, has no basis in reality for most people.Even the Beatles went Hollywood, with the preposterous 'Help!' 'Help!' of course features a wonderful Lennon-McCartney movie score, but the preposterous plot is as silly as Elvis playing a race car driver. It doesn't 'help' that the Fab Four's first film proved that you could make a quality, amusing film about pop music stars without insulting the viewers' intelligence.The only true joy to be derived from most of the teenage movies of this period are the musical acts that are featured in so many of them. It would have been nice to have cut Ms. Walley's and Mr. Avalon's music segues and include more James Brown and Lesley Gore.I like a lot of bad movies. Some of them are really enjoyable. 'Ski Party' is not.

JoeKarlosi A friend of mine came over last night and we were both feeling kind of run down after the holidays, so we wanted something "light". He brought three "Frankie and Annette" films over (this, plus MUSCLE BEACH PARTY and BIKINI BEACH) and I figured they had to be fun, and with some cute chicks and all.... but oh, brother! Since it's winter we decided to watch this first, even though it comes later in this series, and Annette Funicello isn't in it except for a really quick cameo where she plays a teacher at the beginning. The thing plays like another version of SOME LIKE IT HOT, with Frankie Avalon and Dwayne Hickman as two buddies who go on a skiing trip and wind up dressing in drag while they try to make time with Yvonne Craig and Deborah Walley. Hell, they even mention SOME LIKE IT HOT in the movie! This film doesn't have much to recommend in it, and I figured going in that it had to be the least of the three movies we'd watch... but who knew it would turn out to be the "best"? At least this film had a story, even if it's clichéd. My favorite moment involved Lesley Gore popping up on the bus trip to sing her big hit "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows", and then later on getting to enjoy James Brown belt out "I Got You (I Feel Good)". These two musical performances were the shining light. ** out of ****

Skragg Like so many "beach movies," and variations of them, I first saw this one when it was pretty CLOSE to new. It's easy to jump on it for being a "Some Like It Hot" rip-off, forgetting that the men-disguised-as-women joke has probably been going on FOREVER. Even though it's considered the masterpiece, SLIH didn't INVENT the idea. (And, this movie even acknowledges that one in one little line.) This one has some genuinely clever moments (though I wouldn't care that much if it DIDN'T). There's the carefully set-up joke that ends in front of the gas station with the line " 17 cents worth of regular" (you have to see the whole thing for yourself). And the moment where Dwayne Hickman "breaks the fourth wall" in a pretty original way - "Look, nothing's going to happen for a few minutes. Why don't you go get a coke or something?" And of course the cameos (which you usually expect from these movies) - Annette Funicello herself as Frankie and Dwayne's professor (!), and Dick Miller.