Category: Reviews

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After the disastrous release of Big Gus, What’s the Fuss?, Lloyd Kaufman was in a tight jam. With his business partner Michael Herz, Lloyd founded Troma Entertainment in 1974, where they could produce their movies. Around this time, Kaufman directed a series of adult films under the pseudonyms H.V. Spyder, Louis Su, and David Stitt. In the 70s, the industry took celluloid sex seriously, and mixing sex with other genres was unheard of. With this in mind, Kaufman and Herz thought it would be a good idea to make a sex comedy film. The Women’s Liberation Movement was in full swing, so Kaufman and Herz decided to incorporate that into their movie. Lloyd’s brother Charles worked with screenwriter Haim Pekelis to churn out a 75-page script while Lloyd accumulated a $300,000 budget. While the film premiered in New York in 1979, Squeeze Play wouldn’t be released nationwide until 1980.

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Synopsis

Wes (Jim Harris) is captain of the local men’s softball team, The Beavers, and is the talk of the town. However, his fiance, Samantha (Jennifer Hetrick), isn’t happy about how he spends more time with the guys than her. She wants him to quit softball next year so he can spend more time with her, but he’s reluctant. Soon, the girlfriends and wives of the other team members share the same sentiment as Samantha and have had it. One night, the girls meet runaway Mary Lou (Melissa Michaels), who has a wicked throwing arm and can play softball. Suddenly, Samantha gets an idea: she and the girls will form their softball team to teach the boys a lesson. Naturally, the guys don’t take them seriously, so the girls train hard and start getting good. Who will win this epic battle of the sexes, and who will make the squeeze play?

Review

While not as good as comedies like Animal House or Meatballs, Squeeze Play is still an enjoyably silly sex comedy. Admittedly, most of the movie’s humor is dated and relies heavily on slapstick, but plenty of the gags do land. The most famous joke in the film is when a player catches the ball between his buttcheeks. Aside from the dumb jokes, the plot is an excuse to add double entendres and get women naked. This movie is from a bygone era where a Wet T-Shirt Contest, gender stereotypes, and politically incorrect humor were acceptable. The pro-women message, though it lacks subtlety, is weirdly relevant even today and helps it stand out. While it’s easy to hate the men for being gross and rude, the women make plenty of mistakes. It’s interesting how a 70s sex comedy depicted feminism better than today’s crop of movies.

The cast, mainly made up of relatively unknown actors, does their jobs well and plays into the comedy. There are some notable cast members, including Jennifer Hetrick from Star Trek: The Next Generation and Al Corley from Dynasty. The most memorable actor here is Mike Starr, who later starred in Uncle Buck, Ed Wood, and Dumb and Dumber. Admittedly, the movie does follow plenty of sports movie tropes, but this was well before those tropes became a thing. As with every sports movie, everything culminates in a final game, though this one has some nudity. At slightly over 90 minutes long, it won’t take up too much of your time and goes by fast. Diehard Troma fans might get a kick out of this, but general audiences will probably dismiss this. Overall, Squeeze Play is a product of its time, for better or for worse, though it has its moments.

Buy Squeeze Play from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3EuFmB1.

Disclosure: The above link is an affiliate link, which means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

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Some of the most prominent actors working today often get their start in low-budget films, though they often regret this. There’s Demi Moore in Parasite 3D, Jennifer Aniston in Leprechaun, and Nicole Kidman in BMX Bandits, to name a few. Then there’s Kevin Costner, who was a stagehand before getting his big break in The Untouchables and No Way Out. While working behind the scenes, Costner would pass by the office of producer Eric Louzil and ask for acting roles. Louzil had a project in line with first-time director Richard Brander, so he offered Costner a minor part. Admittedly, Louzil hired Costner more for his looks than his acting abilities, not to mention he was awkward. The movie was filmed during the winter of 1978-79 and initially released in 1981 as Malibu Hot Summer. In 1986, Troma acquired the rights and re-released the film as Sizzle Beach, U.S.A.

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Synopsis

Best friends Janice Johnston (Terry Congie), Dit McCoy (Lesley Brander), and Cheryl Reilly (Roselyn Royce) move out to California. Dit wants to be a famous singer, Cheryl gets a job as a physical education teacher, and Janice takes acting lessons. They decide to rent a beach house and Malibu and plan to try and live out their dreams. Janice falls in love with ranch hand John Logan (Kevin Costner), who teaches her horseback riding in between her classes. Dit gets a spot in a singing competition through a friend but soon discovers how sleazy the manager is. Also, Cheryl gets scolded by her supervisor at the school for supposedly having an insatiable libido. The three grow as friends, learn lessons along the way, and meet the loves of their lives. All of this is mixed in with plenty of TNA to distract you from how dull the plot is.

Review

Going into Sizzle Beach, U.S.A., I expected it to be one of those zany sex comedies from the early 1980s. Instead, you get a bland drama about three women, their friendship, and their dreams mixed with some nudity. After a while, the nudity starts losing its appeal and becomes annoying, like you’re praying they keep their clothes on. At least the three lead women look good naked, but that’s not enough to compensate for a dull movie. Congie, Brander, and Reilly have decent chemistry together, but there’s nothing to their characters to make us care. It’s not a shock that of the three, only one has more than two acting credits to their name. I’d comment on the rest of the cast, but they’re so forgettable that it’s not worth it. Then, of course, there’s the person we’re all here to see: Kevin Costner.

After hearing Louzil say he hired Costner for his looks, it makes sense given his performance or lack thereof. Costner sounds stiff and wooden, and he looks awkward and uncomfortable as if he doesn’t know what to do. Supposedly, he was most uncomfortable shooting a love scene without clothes on, and you can tell when you see it. While he’s never been great, you’d never guess that Costner would become the superstar he is today seeing this. Usually, I scoff at actors denying or feeling embarrassed by their past work, but in this case, I get it. Even with the rampant nudity, this is such a dull and uninteresting movie that you’ll forget about it fast. Even at 90 minutes long, you could do much better than this, even if you want cheap TNA. Overall, Sizzle Beach, U.S.A. might be worth it for Costner completionists, but it’s otherwise best avoided.

Buy Sizzle Beach, U.S.A. from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3uZxKCg.

Disclosure: The above link is an affiliate link, which means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

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Where to watch Sizzle Beach, U.S.A. (1981)

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By the early 1970s, Lloyd Kaufman was only a few years away from co-founding Troma Entertainment with Michael Herz. Kaufman had two directing credits under his belt, The Girl Who Returned and The Battle of Love’s Return. Around this time, producer Ami Artzi had his first film, The Dreamer, premiere at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival. Artzi convinced Kaufman and Herz that making a G-rated family comedy in Israel would be easy money. Not only would it be a hit in Israel, but the film could also play at American synagogues. Unfortunately, the trouble started when the original script Kaufman and Herz turned in was drastically rewritten by the Israeli producers. In the end, Kaufman and Herz lost money when the film flopped upon release due to war breaking out. In 1973, Schwartz: The Brave Detective, aka Big Gus, What’s The Fuss? came and went.

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Synopsis

Detective Schwartz (Bomba Tzur) is a former cop turned private investigator who works alongside his partner Simcha (Yosef Shiloach). A wealthy man has hired them to spy on his wife, who he fears is cheating on him. The wife has an affair with her doctor, so the detectives decide to take on the case. While they manage to get photographic evidence, they accidentally lose the footage, and the doctor finds out what they’re doing. In retaliation, he hires a mob boss to send his goons after Schwartz and Simcha to hide the truth. A series of “wacky” hijinks follow as our heroes try to outrun the mob and expose the wife. Thankfully, Schwartz and Simcha have friends in high places who can help them out of this jam. Will our heroes succeed, what will happen to the wife, and just who is Gus?

Review

Over the years, Lloyd Kaufman said Big Gus, What’s The Fuss? “did more damage to the Jews than Mein Kempf.” While Lloyd’s statement might be hyperbolic, it’s not like Big Gus, What’s The Fuss? is some misunderstood masterpiece. Perhaps it’s a case of culture clash since I’m not Israeli, but I can’t imagine enjoying this if I was. Cultural issues aside, this is one of the most confusing and disjointed films I’ve seen since starting this site. What’s strange is that, at first, it begins simply enough as a goofy comedy about two bumbling detectives. The plot goes off the rails into pure chaos at some point as it devolves into a string of gags. They make no sense in context and come out of nowhere, including one involving a random couple rehearsing a scene. It doesn’t help that almost none of these gags aren’t the least bit funny.

From what I understand, many of the cast members were famous in their native land and considered superstars. Admittedly, I’ve never heard of these actors, let alone seen their previous work, so I can’t say for sure. Most of them resort to simply mugging for the camera and making silly noises thinking that’s funny. It seems like they’re trying to capture the madcap energy of Benny Hill without understanding what made him work. It doesn’t help that this film is G-rated, meaning we don’t get the sexy shenanigans Benny Hill was known for. The soundtrack comprises only two songs repeatedly played throughout, which adds to the painful viewing experience. While not as bad as It’s Pat or Freddy Got Fingered, this is still a terrible comedy. Overall, unless you’re a Troma completionist, Big Gus, What’s The Fuss? is best left forgotten.

Download Big Gus, What’s The Fuss? from Troma Direct: https://bit.ly/3qsWAZM.

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