Frankie & Annette Comments

Around that time

Frankie & Annette Comments
KTLA
Summer of 1989
Movie Review
VHS
C+

I'm obviously not sure how to classify this, then-contemporary comments by Avalon and Funicello about their first two Beach Party movies, interspersed during those movies.  They did this all week, but I don't seem to have the rest.  It's nice to see them together (at a time she had not yet publicly announced her struggles with multiple sclerosis), but their lines feel kind of canned, and if you're looking for much insight into Beach Party or Muscle Beach Party, you're going to be disappointed.  Still, it was a cute gimmick at the time.

The Wil Shriner Show: "Happily Married or Happily Single" (fragment)

The Wil Shriner Show: "Happily Married or Happily Single" (fragment)

Wil as guest rather than host

Syndicated?

March 22, 1988

Talk Show

VHS
C+

Except for the appearance of Frankie Avalon and his wife of (then) 25 years, this is pretty forgettable.  And I suppose it says something about the height of the Backlash Era that none of the guests are actually Happily Single.  (One is in '88 happily married but was also happy when she was single.)  Frankie and Kay have now been married 54 years!

Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: "Back to the Beach" review

I miss you guys!

Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: "Back to the Beach" review
Syndicated
Early August 1987
Movie Review
VHS
B

I started grinning as soon as I saw the credits.  Siskel & Ebert (usually ampersanded, sometimes abbreviated to Sisbert) were a wonderful team and some of their reviews have stayed with me for years.  (A few minutes ago, I watched the 1985 review of Red Sonja on Youtube, and it's just as I remembered it, "Buddha going to the bathroom" and all.)  I was tempted to go B+ just out of affection for Gene and Roger, and for that matter for Frankie & Annette.  But I'll just say that, fun as it is to see S & E argue, or both bash a flick, it's also fun to see their surprise and delight over a sweet, likable movie like BttB.

Steve Kmetko: "Back to the Beach" review

Kmetko around that time

Steve Kmetko: "Back to the Beach" review
CBS
Early August 1987
Movie Review
VHS
B-

The local LA news (KCBS) movie critic gives the new Frankie & Annette movie three out of four stars, which sounds fair.  (I gave it a B- a couple years ago, http://reviewingeverymovieiown.blogspot.com/2014/12/back-to-beach.html.)  Preceded on this clip by news that Donna Rice is going to promote "No Excuses" jeans.

The Patty Duke Show: A Foggy Day in Brooklyn Heights

The Patty Duke Show: A Foggy Day in Brooklyn Heights
ABC
September 15, 1965
Sitcom
VHS
C+

This was a series that I watched on Nickelodeon about 25 years after its first run but never really got into.  Yes, there's an element of camp to it, from the "identical cousins" concept to the silly theme song.  But, no offense to Patty Duke, I just don't feel like much was done with the various elements.  I taped this episode only for the sake of Frankie Avalon's appearance as himself, and the episode is basically people reacting to his presence.  Also it annoys me that there's no consistency about the weather.  (It's supposed to be rainy, not foggy, in Brooklyn Heights, but every exterior shot looks sunny.)  It is nice to hear Frankie croon "These Are the Good Times" outside of Beach Blanket Bingo, and the little twist at the end with boyfriend Richard's reaction to daydreaming Patty's kiss is a sly touch.  But I think this needed a serious rewrite.