Like so many "beach movies," and variations of them, I first saw this one when it was pretty CLOSE to new. It's easy to jump on it for being a "Some Like It Hot" rip-off, forgetting that the men-disguised-as-women joke has probably been going on FOREVER. Even though it's considered the masterpiece, SLIH didn't INVENT the idea. (And, this movie even acknowledges that one in one little line.) This one has some genuinely clever moments (though I wouldn't care that much if it DIDN'T). There's the carefully set-up joke that ends in front of the gas station with the line " 17 cents worth of regular" (you have to see the whole thing for yourself). And the moment where Dwayne Hickman "breaks the fourth wall" in a pretty original way - "Look, nothing's going to happen for a few minutes. Why don't you go get a coke or something?" And of course the cameos (which you usually expect from these movies) - Annette Funicello herself as Frankie and Dwayne's professor (!), and Dick Miller.
