No kids, don’t listen to advice from the lift operator

This entry is part of the Final Girl’s Film Club—check it out HERE to find out what others have written about Frozen.

Initially, before I'd even seen frame-one of this flick, I had so little faith in Frozen (2010), that I also started to watch Ski Party (1965), thinking to compare and contrast and mock.
But as it turned out, Frozen is a top-notch little B-movie, and Ski Party is, gosh, a waste of time.

Frozen is also an awesome feel-bad movie, and a decent variation in the “trapped in one location” sub-genre of thriller.

A trio of kids bribe the lift operator for one last ski run on Sunday night before the lodge closes, but when he’s called away, the three college students are stuck in a lift chair,
high above the ground,
and miles from anywhere.
In the cold.
And the resort is closed for the week.

Oh yeah, there are wolves, too.
This is a flick, like I Saw The Devil, that has a grim 1970s vibe—not necessarily a 1970s look or style (in fact, both Frozen and I Saw The Devil have very contemporary styles),
but more like a similar philosophy: No one gets out of here alive
(like those 1970s Cinemadnesses like Last House on the Left or Bava’s Rabid Dogs, or the excellent, similarly-themed and why-isn’t-it-available-on-DVD-yet TV movie A Cold Night’s Death).
Yeah, Frozen could easily be an Italian-German co-production from the late-1960s…Too bad they didn’t think of it then. But that’s to our benefit!

Frozen also reminded me of a modern Jack London story: a man against nature fight for survival—and often man is not up to the task, with survival becoming a roll of the dice.

Frozen is helped immensely by making its three leads as well-developed as possible, so the horror is magnified. Some of the kids may be annoying sometimes, but even they are given humanity.

It’s something too few horror films do today: give us characters with depth, people we are willing to invest our time with—something very important in a “one-set” film.
Director Adam Green keeps the camera mobile—
and the flick never lacks decent cinematography—
but if we didn’t want to stick with the three kids, the flick could have been easily derailed.

I don’t want to give away much of the horrors that await our luckless skiers,
but the ante is routinely upped, helped by some decent gore, great use of sound and lots of tension.
The flick is often nervewracking, pushing into intensity frequently.
Highly recommended. (Full Disclosure: Frozen was viewed via my Nflux Streamzining—which means my cash outlay was minimal. But, yeah, rent it.)



Meanwhile,
Ski Party is snooze city, hep cats and cool kitties!
Frankie Avalon and Dwayne Hickman are really boring and do stupid things
(with a major plot contrivance ripped off from Some Like It Hot).

Yvonne Craig is superfoxy, sure, but never on-screen enough, nor is she in a bikini (or spandex superhero costume or green paint) enough either.

The movie is only of interest to the most rabid of Lesley Gore or James Brown fans, both of whom make cameos in the flick.


So our overaged “teens” chase Yvonne (and who could blame them?) and her roommate up to Sun Valley, Idaho (No, YOU da ’ho!) (Nyuk-nyuk-nyuk!)

Yes, the level of humor in Ski Party was like that.
Thankfully, ski bunnies would turn up and do The Frug and The Twist, and honestly, it was awesome seeing all these healthy, natural hotties! Sure, they took care of their bodies and exercised, but it wasn;t to the robotic perfection of today. Just some nice, natural girls. Healthy chicks. All-American gals. Sigh….

Ms. Gore turns up on the Greyhound bus that the knuckleheads are taking to stalk two innocent college girls,
wearing some unflattering gold lame` hiphuggers and
enthusiastically but obviously lip-syncing to her pop ditty "Sunshine & Lollipops”—more on that in a second—

Later, JB and the Flames turn up as the ski patrol, partnered with booze-equipped sheepdogs.
When Yvonne Craig recognizes James Brown, and chirps perky, “I have all your records!” I believe her.

Both musical superstars are obviously lip-syncing, but neither appeared in that many films, so I guess Ski Party is of historical value.
But the movie cannot escape criticism then: It even wastes the talents of The Famous Flames, James Brown’s incredible syncopated back-up dancers, during Brown’s performance of the song “I Feel Good.”
They are shunted to the side and ignored.
This was a gig done only for money and possible exposure. Sigh… Your money/time is better spent digging up the original songs.


I’m a big fan of Lesley Gore’s song "Sunshine & Lollipops"—
especially how it’s used in the fantastic animated film Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs—really one of the best films I saw in 2010, and an excellent variation on the Faust legend).

Here are the lyrics to "Sunshine & Lollipops" (written by Marvin Hamlisch), but it’s not the lyrics that make the song. It’s best to hunt it down and listen to it.
NOW!

[It’s got this psychotic beat! I love it!]

Sunshine,
lollipops
and
rainbows, Everything that's wonderful is what I feel when
we're together,
Brighter than a lucky
penny,
When you're near
the
rain cloud disappears, dear,
And I feel so fine
just to know that you are mine.

My life is
sunshine,
lollipops
and
rainbows, That's how this
refrain goes,
so come on, join in
everybody!
Sunshine, lollipops and
rainbows, Everything that's wonderful is sure to come your way
When you're in love to stay.

Sunshine,
lollipops and
rainbows, Everything that's wonderful is what I feel
when
we're together,
Brighter than a lucky
penny,
When you're near the
rain cloud disappears, dear,
And I feel so fine
just to know that you are mine.My life is
sunshine, lollipops
and
rainbows,
That's how this refrain goes,
so come on, join in
everybody!

Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows,
Everything that's wonderful is sure to come your way
'Cause you're in love,
you're in love,
And love is here to stay!

Like a Pop-Music-Addled Schoolgirl from 1964, I Shriek, “TAMI, I Love You!”

After hearing about it for years, The TAMI Show was finally released to DVD (I don’t think it was ever even on VHS), and man-oh-man, it’s fucking fantastic.
(I’m not gonna give a detailed review/synopsis/track listing, but for that sort of thing, please check out the various links provided (those highlighted bits).)

The TAMI Show is an incredible rock/pop music documentary that needs to be watched with ATTENTION.
You just can’t put this on as background noise or as a video wallpaper at a party (well, you could, but you really should watch it for reals first).

The TAMI Show DVD is a thing of beauty: The transfer is crisp, with great performances by an eclectic collection of groups.
And I was completely engaged with how the show was shot—I liked its straightforward TV-style aesthetics, with many lingering close-ups of performers, like Diana Ross (fronting The Supremes) during “Where Did Our Love Go.”

If you like the rock (or the pop), you must check this movie out.

The footage isn’t available from the intertubes, but during TAMI, Lesley Gore (who was supposedly/probably the biggest act to perform in the show) sings what is now one of my new fave songs, “Hey Now.” I gotta gets me an mp3 of this song, toot sweet!

Here’s Ms. Gore’s 45 version of “Hey Now”



(Dig “Hey Now”’s B-side: how prophetic!)


BTW, the DVD supplementals feature John Landis’ commentary from Trailers From Hell about the flick’s trailer—and guess what? Landis was at The TAMI Show! His seventh grade class all went, and Landis has some great memories and insights. Like, after the mind-blowing perf by James Brown and the Flames, of course The Rolling Stones would suck!

And speaking of the Godfather of Soul, Mr. Dynamite, Soul Brother Number One, Sex Machine, The Hardest Working Man in Show Business, The King of Funk, that is to say
Mr. James Brown—
Well HOLY SHIT, we’re talking God here. The performance by James Brown and the Famous Flames is the stuff of legend, rightly stealing the show.
And I wish to all that I consider unholy that I could dance as well as The Famous Flames. Perfection!

Here’s Mr. Brown and The Flames doing “Out of Sight” on The TAMI Show—pay special attention to those dance movies. Wow!




But the weirdest moment of The TAMI Show is Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas performance of “Little Children.”

No TAMI footage of this on YouTube, but here’s Billy and his boys performing it on “Top of the Pops.”



Jeepers, is that creepy or what? Is this song an excuse for pedophilia?!?
And during the performance on The TAMI Show, Billy strikes me as a combo of Andy Kaufman and Ian Curtis: oozing discomfort and creepiness. (Was this song used in Todd Field’s movie of the same name? IMDB doesn’t say that it was, although the song would be perfect, I think—but what do I know, I haven’t seen this movie…)
But I’m so glad there’s a touch of uncomfortable weirdness in the midst of all this teen joyful shrieking.

The TAMI Show: watch it ASAP; you’ll feel better, promise.

[And yes, this post is in direct philosophical contradiction to this post. So sue me.]