Psycho Beach Party
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| Psycho Beach Party | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Robert Lee King |
| Produced by | Virginia Biddle Jon Gerrans Marcus Hu Victor Syrmis |
| Written by | Charles Busch |
| Starring | Lauren Ambrose Thomas Gibson Nicholas Brendon Matt Keeslar |
| Music by | Ben Vaughn |
| Distributed by | Strand |
| Release date(s) | 23 January 2000 (Sundance Film Festival) |
| Running time | 95 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1.5 million |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Psycho Beach Party is a 2000 film based on the off-Broadway play of the same name, directed by Robert Lee King. Charles Busch wrote both the original play and the screenplay. As the title suggests, Psycho Beach Party, set in 1962 Malibu Beach, is a parody of 1950s and 1960s beach movies. Besides the obvious references to Gidget and similar early 60s beach movies, the movie also borrows from Alfred Hitchcock movies like Marnie.
[edit] Plot
Florence Forrest (Lauren Ambrose), a Gidget-like character, experiences inexplicable blackouts, and fears that she might be the one responsible for a series of mysterious deaths in her beach-side town. The deaths are investigated by Captain Monica Stark (Charles Busch), who also suspects Chicklet's mother (Beth Broderick), Chicklet's best friend Bernadine (Danni Wheeler), surfing guru The Great Kanaka (Thomas Gibson) and B-movie actress Bettina Barnes (Kimberley Davies). Florence is determined to learn to surf, and earns the nickname "Chicklet" from the surfer guys, while developing multiple personalities.
Other characters include university drop-out (and Chicklet's love interest) Starcat (Nicholas Brendon), Swedish exchange student Lars (Matt Keeslar), surfers YoYo (Nick Cornish) and Provoloney (Andrew Levitas), Starcat's girlfriend Marvel Ann (Amy Adams) and the class bitch Rhonda (Kathleen Robertson).
[edit] Production
The play was originally entitled Gidget Goes Psychotic, but the title was changed due to concerns about copyright. In the original 1987 production, Charles Busch played the role of Chicklet. Deciding that he might not be believable in the role of a sixteen year old girl ("while I can still manage, with the aid of a sympathetic cameraman, to play a sophisticated 25, 16 would be a stretch"), he added the character of Monica Stark to the movie.
[edit] External links
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