Shag: The Movie - 1989
Annabeth Gish, Phoebe Cates, Bridget Fonda, Page Hannah
Shag the new releases, I say, and take some time to poke through the Golden Oldies section of your local Blockbuster. By Golden oldies, of course, I mean something from the eighties. Or, something from the eighties which isn't John Hughes/Brat Pack related. It won't take long to choose between those...er...three or so movies, but what the hell. You're young and wild!
Knowing that half the planet has seen Austin Powers, I should tell you now that this movie isn't about what you think it is. Shag is a kind of dancing. Think Dirty Dancing meets your parents. It's about four girls wanting to have a last summer fling before growing up. Why yes! It IS a coming-of-age story...how did you guess? By the plotline or the ensemble cast line? But it's kind of a funny story, with a few good laughs, most of which come through the party scene.
Set WAY back (in the middle of a hill...no no no) in 1963, Luanne (Hannah), Carson (Cates), Pudge (Gish) and Melaina (Fonda). Lie to their parents and take to the open road, headed for Myrtle beach. It begins as a special 'last weekend' for Carson, who is going to get married to Harley who is "so square he's got corners". But soon, it turns into a bikini-filled, 60's slang-oriented free for all fun fest. Luanne is so uptight you'd think she has to unwind to sit down, Carson wonders if maybe the 'local yokel' can turn her away from Harley, Melaina wants to go to Hollywood via dancing to some southern music in a polka-dot bikini using the confederate flag as a prop, or screwing the starlet known as Jimmy Valentine, and if that fails, screwing the agent, and Pudge just wants to have a good shag (Didn't I already tell you that it's not what you think?).
It's a cute movie, like I said. The ensemble cast work great together. I especially liked Annabeth Gish, who was just wonderful as the shy, funny Caroline "Pudge" Carmichael. Page Hannah was just annoyingly annoying as Luanne, and Phoebe Cates did a great job of turning from little miss perfect into a real wild child. Of course, she becomes 'wild' after one night in the sack with the local yokel, whose name is, laughingly, Buzz.
The plot is pretty straightforward, with no unexpected twists. But in this bubblegum-chewing, saddle shoe-wearing era of the early sixties, who really gives a damn about plot? Not I, for sure. I'm used to having plotless fluff being thrown at me. After all, I grew up in the eighties.
My advice: Take the time to see this chick flick with a bunch of girls. Trust me, this is a movie guys would only whine about.