Back To The Beach (1987)

It’s hard to imagine who Lyndall Hobbs thought would love her parody of early sixties beach movies like How To Stuff A Wild Bikini (1965) and Beach Blanket Bingo (1965) – kids who were too young to have seen the originals or ancient dodos who remembered the old films with fondness.

Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello (who were also the executive producers) are together again as Ohio parents who return to the scene – you know where it’s at; Malibu.

The oldsters’ offspring are as tamely rebellious as they themselves were in days of yore. Their daughter has moved to Malibu and shacked up with a beach bum, and their young teenage son, Bobby (Demian Slade) is a punk who wears leather, flicks his switchblade and mercilessly attacks the inane banality of his parents.

There is a confrontation between the clean-cut surfers and the punk surfers; there’s a surfing competition (used-car salesman Frankie comes out of retirement to win it); Annette sings Jamaica Ska with Fishbone; Frankie sings a few rock songs, and so does Connie Stevens.

Kookie Byrnes, Don Adams and the cast of Leave It To Beaver walk on, and the audience gasps. Pee-Wee Herman does Surfing Bird, oh man.

At least Bobby Darin wasn’t around to see this.

Annette
Annette Funicello
Frankie
Frankie Avalon
Connie
Connie Stevens
Sandi
Lori Loughlin
Michael
Tommy Hinkley
Bobby
Demian Slade
Troy
John Calvin
Zed
Joe Holland
Mountain
David Bowe
Robin
Laura Urstein
Bridgette
Linda Carol
Fleishman
Hartley Silver
Webby
Todd Bryant
Ernie
Floyd Foster Jr.
Odie
Emil McKown
Fishbone
Angelo Moore
Kendall Jones
John Norwood Fisher
Walter A. Kibby II
Christopher Dowd
Phillip “Fish” Fisher
Rodney Bingenheimer
Himself
Dick Dale
Himself
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Himself
Harbor Master
Don Adams
Valet
Edd Byrnes
Bartender
Bob Denver
Bartender’s Buddy
Alan Hale Jr
Pee-Wee Herman
Paul Reubens

Director
Lyndall Hobbs