This amiable, if vastly inferior take on Some Like it Hot (1959) from American International is set in a ski resort where college chums Frankie Avalon and Dwayne Hickman do what any red-blooded American males would do on discovering their girlfriends fancy another man – dress up in drag and pretend to be English girls.
Predictably, the cross-dressed college students then become the focus of male interest. Deborah Walley and Yvonne “Batgirl” Craig play the objects of their desire.
All goes well until the local Casanova, Freddie (Aron Kincaid), falls in love with Nora/Craig and Todd/Jane becomes involved with buxom Swedish ski instructor, Nita, played by Bobbi Shaw.
Donald Pevney (Robert Q Lewis) is the resort’s wacky social coordinator and psychological wreck.
Ski Party takes all the madcap crew – bikini beauties and all – from the Beach Party movies and transfers them to a ski lodge in the northern US. While the locale may have changed, the actors and the scripts stay the same.
With his Famous Flames, James Brown gets to perform his classic I Got You (I Feel Good), which is probably the best thing in the movie. The Hondells and Lesley Gore are pretty good too.
Location shooting took place in the snow in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Todd Armstrong/Jane
Frankie Avalon
Craig Gamble/Nora
Dwayne Hickman
Linda Hughes
Deborah Walley
Barbara Norris
Yvonne Craig
Donald Pevney
Robert Q Lewis
Nita
Bobbi Shaw
Freddie Carter
Aron Kincaid
Gene
Steve Rogers
Lesley Gore
Lesley Gore
James Brown
James Brown
Annette Funicello
Annette Funicello
The Hondells
Themselves
Director
Alan Rafkin