Well what can you say about this flick? This one really has that train wreck quality going for it, especially once the hijacked beauty contestants land on the isolated island with the International Liberation Army. You think they only had those three members, plus the guy on the boat? Here's what has me really scratching my head (like the rest of the movie didn't) - why did Layla (Sheree North) agree to the million dollar ransom near the end of the story after they already negotiated the five million? Anyone?
But you know, the film did have it's moments. Most memorable was Victoria Principal doing her Groucho impression; very good, but how did she get her face cleaned up so well afterward? In a different movie, the showdown between Big Momma Barrett (Marcia Lewis) and daughter Cindy Lou (Karen Lamm) over Omar's lust might have qualified for some kind of award, but buried here it loses all it's significance. Did you catch that sneering 'Do it' when Momma trampled her daughter's dignity? For a brief moment, it made me forget all about Layla's histrionics with the machine gun.
There are others, but this picture's right up there with one of the most eclectic and disparate casts in cinema - Chuck Connors, Phil Silvers, Henry Gibson, Victoria Principal, Stella Stevens. Whenever I see Connors in a tight spot, I keep waiting for him to pull out that tricked out Winchester from 'The Rifleman"; I think it might have done some good here. Silvers and Gibson - very painful to watch. Silvers was basically doing himself but too long past his prime. While after watching Gibson on 'Laugh-In' back in the day, anything he tries to do serious just falls flat with me.
You know, the writers missed an opportunity at the finale after playing with the idea of feeling beautiful versus being beautiful, the theme of Cindy Lou's character. Remember how she broke down and felt ugly after the Omar incident. She could have really crushed Momma deciding not to participate in the final contest by declaring that finally, 'I feel beautiful'.
But you know, the film did have it's moments. Most memorable was Victoria Principal doing her Groucho impression; very good, but how did she get her face cleaned up so well afterward? In a different movie, the showdown between Big Momma Barrett (Marcia Lewis) and daughter Cindy Lou (Karen Lamm) over Omar's lust might have qualified for some kind of award, but buried here it loses all it's significance. Did you catch that sneering 'Do it' when Momma trampled her daughter's dignity? For a brief moment, it made me forget all about Layla's histrionics with the machine gun.
There are others, but this picture's right up there with one of the most eclectic and disparate casts in cinema - Chuck Connors, Phil Silvers, Henry Gibson, Victoria Principal, Stella Stevens. Whenever I see Connors in a tight spot, I keep waiting for him to pull out that tricked out Winchester from 'The Rifleman"; I think it might have done some good here. Silvers and Gibson - very painful to watch. Silvers was basically doing himself but too long past his prime. While after watching Gibson on 'Laugh-In' back in the day, anything he tries to do serious just falls flat with me.
You know, the writers missed an opportunity at the finale after playing with the idea of feeling beautiful versus being beautiful, the theme of Cindy Lou's character. Remember how she broke down and felt ugly after the Omar incident. She could have really crushed Momma deciding not to participate in the final contest by declaring that finally, 'I feel beautiful'.