Muscle Beach Party (1964)

A group of California teens are spending the summer at the beach surfing and partying. But a team of bodybuilders in the beach house next door as well as an Italian Contessa (Luciana Paluzzi) disrupt the summer fun. The second entry in the BEACH PARTY franchise suffers from a certain laziness. Even the songs (co-written by The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson) are on the blah side though Stevie Wonder (in his film debut) spices things up with the lively finger snapping Happy Street and cute as a button Donna Loren teaches us how to dance the Muscle Bustle. Teen icons Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello (who died today which is why I watched this in her memory) are the stars and a more wholesome pair would be hard to find but one would have to struggle awfully hard not to like them. It's amusing though to watch the diminutive Avalon romance the statuesque Paluzzi who seems to overwhelm him. Directed by William Asher. With Peter Lorre, Buddy Hackett, Don Rickles, Morey Amsterdam, John Ashley, Jody McCrea, Michael Nader and that hip shaking beach bunny Candy Johnson.