Psycho Beach Party

Director: Robert Lee King Robert Lee King

Overview

Robert Lee King directs this wacky, campy fusion of teenaged surfer flicks and slasher sagas. Impossibly perky Florence (Lauren Ambrose) doesn't quite fit in at her thoroughly square high school in her seaside Southern California town -- that is, until she happens upon a band of ultra-hip surfer dudes. Renaming herself "Chicklet," she tries her gosh-darnedest to be the sole girl riding the waves with the group led by suave Kanaka (Thomas Gibson). While adopting her surfer alter ego, Florence soon discovers that other less pleasant personalities emerge when confronted with the sight of polka dots. One called Anne Bowman is a tough, "experienced" older lady, while the other, Tylene, is a stereotypical sassy black woman. Blacking out whenever these other personalities take over, Florence becomes increasingly worried that she is responsible for a series of grizzly murders. Of course, she is far from the only suspicious character in her oceanside community -- there's B-movie star Bettina Barnes (Kimberly Davies), Swedish exchange student Lars (Matt Keeslar), and Florence's own unnervingly-perfect mom (Beth Broderick). This film was adapted from a popular off-Broadway play written by Charles Busch.

Product Details

Release Date:	08/18/2015
UPC:	0712267990047
Original Release:	2000
Rating:	NR
Source:	Strand Home Video
Language:	English
Time:	1:35:00
Sales rank:	21,294

Special Features

Commentary Track with Director Robert Lee King and Writer/Actor Charles Busch; Music Video; Other Strand Trailers

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Lauren Ambrose	Florence 'Chicklet' Forrest
Thomas Gibson	Kanaka
Nicholas Brendon	Starcat
Kimberley Davies	Bettina Barnes/Diane
Matt Keeslar	Lars
Charles Busch	Captain Monica Stark
Kathleen Robertson	Rhonda
Danni Wheeler	Berdine
Nick Cornish	Yo Yo
Andrew Levitas	Provoloney
Amy Adams	Marvel Ann
Nathan Bexton	T.J.
Beth Broderick	Mrs. Forrest
Buddy Quaid	Junior
Jenica Bergere	Cookie
Channon Roe	Wedge Riley
David Tobocman	Composer
Ben Vaughn	Composer

Technical Credits

Charles Busch

Robert Lee King	Director
Virginia Biddle	Producer
Jon Gerrans	Producer
John Hall	Executive Producer
Marcus Hu	Producer
Victor Syrmis	Producer
Charles Busch	Screenwriter
Laura Schiff	Casting
Tim Walston	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Even by playwright Charles Busch's own admission, this parody of films as diverse as Marnie, Gidget, and Halloween was a pretty lightweight piece when it premiered in New York in the mid-'80s. Beefing up the plot and adding a fun new character for himself, however, drag auteur Busch and first-time feature director Robert Lee King turned the film version of Psycho Beach Party into a fun little luau. A who's who of young alt-Hollywood -- from Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Nicholas Brendon to Gregg Araki vets Nathan Bexton and Kathleen Robertson -- get to paraphrase the teensploitation epics of years past with a knowing wink, while future Six Feet Under star Lauren Ambrose shows her considerable range in a performance that veers from goofy melodrama to all-out slapstick and includes no less than three separate characters. (Grown-ups Busch and Beth Broderick get some laughs, too, but sometimes come off like defanged John Waters heroines.) The over-the-top but humorous homoeroticism, broad caricatures, and frequently profane sight gags and puns may not endear the film to all audiences. But for those who appreciate its dated East Village attitude and its frequently spot-on pop culture spoofs, Psycho Beach Party is a quirky, deliberately low-rent ball of laughs.

All Movie Guide - Brian J. Dillard