How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965)

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

You would have had to have grown up with these incredibility corny movies to find them even mildly interesting. I did. But the one take-away was when the native girl says to Frankie " here on the island, we have a saying 'if you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with". Now, did I hear that correctly? Sure enough, next scene, 'Cassandra" says the exact same line at the beach party. Now did Stephen Stills really get this line from Billy Preston for his first solo hit single? "Love the One You're With" Or did he watch this movie five years earlier and forget where he first heard this line?

Like Jackie19, it's nearly my least favorite of the beach movies, but luckily, that isn't much of an insult. Along with all the regular actors, there are the great guest actors. Buster Keaton's witch doctor (along with Bobbi Shaw's native girl) may not be the most enlightened image of a Polynesian, but he manages to be very funny in the part. (I'm sure plenty of people see these movies as a big, embarrassing step down for people like him, but I see no good reason why.) And of course, Irene Tsu as the girl who tries to tempt Frankie. Then, there's Len Lesser, who's just about as great a comical villain in this one as Timothy Carey is in Beach Blanket Bingo. And of course, Mickey Rooney. Someone mentioned the "touching her boob" bit that he gets away with, but one of his scenes also has a fairly funny gay joke. Rooney asks one of the surfers (someone in that scene alone) if he's seen the exciting girl that so much of the film is about, the one that all the boys are crazy about, and the character says in a lisping voice, "Certainly not!"

I was very sad because after seeing the ending of Beach Blanket Bingo for so many years where it lists this film as an upcoming sequel I had High hopes for it! It started sucking right when John Ashley starting singing "Healthy Girl". What the hell John Ashley is not supposed to be singing!!. (Healthy Girl is actually one of the better cast songs in this film.) This film stopped sucking for 3 minutes while The Kingsmen sang "Give Her Loving" and then afterwards pretty much started sucking right up again. What ever gave the people who made this film the idea that Harvey Lembeck and Micky Rooney should sing a bunch of tunes? God Awful! I do like Dwane Hickman but I think he did a much better and funnier performance in Ski Party. I'd like to know who came up with the idea (and why) to add musical style numbers. Awful, awful, awful! Annette really stinks in this movie and she really aged quick from Beach Party (where she was super sexy, innocent, young, and hot!) to this movie where she looks like a mother of a 5 year old who bakes cookies and shops at Kmart.OK so that's the bad now I'd like to talk about the good. The good Erik Von Zipper when he's not singing. The very hot Casandra, who needs Annette when you have Casandra! The Beach girls singing "How About me" because they are so yummy looking. The kingsmen of course is always good. And maybe The race at the end because it's goofy.Over the years I have how ever grown to somewhat like this movie and I'll watch I'll sit through it now and then. I mean it's the worst AIP beach party movie but it still beats watching Murder She Wrote, plus Casandra is Hot. Maybe if Bone Head would of had more parts in this film it would of been better.

Fairly desperate "Beach Party" entry (the sixth in the series!) has Annette Funicello contemplating a new boyfriend while Frankie Avalon is overseas. Enter...Dwayne Hickman? Frankie actually has a rather large cameo role for not receiving a livelier billing, and there's a cute ending, but these kids are starting to look more mature and their hijinks are starting to get musty. Annette sings two solo numbers and a duet, and she's perky and attractive despite being covered up to conceal her real-life pregnancy. The rest is mediocre, particularly leading man Hickman (eternally bland) and supporting player Mickey Rooney (game but charmless). ** from ****