Where the Boys Are '84

Released by: Scorpion Releasing
Released on: 8/23/2011
Director: Hy Averback
Cast: Lisa Hartman, Wendy Schaal, Lynn Holly Johnson, Lorna Luft, Russell Todd
Year: 1984
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The Movie:
Four college girls find love during a Ft. Lauderdale spring break in this quintessential 80s motion picture. Meet Jennie, played by Lisa Hartman (known for her TV roles in Knots Landing and Tabitha), a classical music major who is reluctant to go due to the important paper she needs to finish. Then there's Sandra (Wendy Schaal, another TV veteran, who most recent work is the voice of the mom in American Dad), a southern girl who'd rather go to Bermuda, but will stay a night in Ft. Lauderdale to shut up the other girls in the group. The number three co-ed is Carole (Lorna Luft, Judy Garland's daughter), who just recently split with her long time beau hunk. Chick number four is Laurie (Lynn-Holy Johnson, yes the blind skater in Ice Castles), a fast girl looking for her Conan. The four take off in Sandra's sweet convertible with two plans in mind: get some men, and meet Sandra's famous composer cousin Camden Roxbury (Daniel McDonald).

On the way they pick up a hitchhiker, Scott (Russell Todd, Friday the 13th Part 2), an aspiring musician on his way down to meet up with his band mates and make a name for themselves. He takes an instant liking to Jennie, who's a bit cold to him, but her wick is obviously awaiting his spark. They drop him off and he quickly finds one of his band members Tony (Christopher McDonald, Happy Gilmore) and they go their separate ways. Meanwhile Carole's ex stalks her in Florida with his dopey friend, so that's going to be explosive for sure. Or maybe not.

The four ladies make their way to the beaches, the bars, and even the local drunk tank. Sandra hooks up with a cop in the jail, Jennie gets pulled this way and that by Camden and Scott, Laurie is still looking for her Conan, and Carole tries getting laid but her ex keeps cock blocking her attempts. A party at Sandra's aunt's house causes some romance troubles and the unfolding events reach crescendo at a concert performed by Camden, with the help of a special and uninvited guest.

The movie has enough elements in it to make it entertaining: hot chicks (girl-next-door Wendy Schaal wins this viewer's vote for the sexiest in the bunch); bad hair styles; bad clothing styles, 80s music up the wazoo (meet the next smash hit band The Rockats! Who?); a bar-top strip tease; a dork in shorts, high socks, and a bullhorn; and blow-up doll zaniness. There are lots of familiar faces in this one, especially if you watched a lot of The Love Boat or Fantasy Island. Christopher McDonald makes appearance in an early role and he's acting with his brother, which is an item of interest.

Be forewarned this is not a dick-and-fart joke movie. There is nothing over the top by way of a gross-out factor, there is very little nudity, and the central focus of the movie is the girls finding romance. At its core, this is a chick flick. There's plenty of eye candy to make it interesting, though, and it isn't overly sappy. For a movie aimed at the female audience, there enough going on to keep the male's attention. Plus it's loaded with 80s cheese, so if you can't enjoy the movie for what it is, you should at least be able to get a kick out of the visuals that era had to offer.

Video/Audio/Extras:
NOTE: The copy viewed for this review is a screener disc and may not represent the final product.

Scorpion has delivered Where the Boys Are '84 for the first time on DVD with an aspect of 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. They've done a nice job with giving the movie a good picture with ample grain and nice colors. The image is clear and other than the occasional piece of dirt the source material seems to be a good one. No artifacts or glitches to report. The audio is a 2.0 channel stereo track and seems void of any issues. It has a good balance with some subwoofer action during the scenes with music.

The extras include a 32-minute interview with Wendy Schaal, who plays Sandra. She has lots of stories to share and is a pleasant person to listen to. Still looks good too. She talks a bit about her role in American Dad and other things she's worked on. Following this is an additional interview with Russell Todd, who plays Scott the musician, at 22 minutes long. He also has some interesting info to divulge, shares what he's doing now, and talks about his lip sync performance in the film. The disc includes the trailer for the film as well as some other Scorpion releases: Cheerleaders Wild Weekend, Skateboard, and Follow Me. Lastly, the inside cover has some liner notes, which is a nice bonus.

The Final Word:
This remake of a 1960s movie will most certainly appeal to girly-girls after some 80s nostalgia, and it can probably be tolerated by most guys, making it a good date movie. With a good image and the extras that fit nicely, the disc is a solid release.