Where the Boys Are '84

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Where the Boys Are '84
Theatrical release poster
Directed byHy Averback
Written by
  • Stu Krieger
  • Jeff Burkhart
Produced byAllan Carr
Starring
CinematographyJames A. Contner
Edited by
  • Bobbie Shapiro
  • Mel Shapiro
Music bySylvester Levay
Production
company
Distributed byTri-Star Pictures
Release date
  • April 6, 1984 (1984-04-06)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$10,530,000 (USA) (sub-total)[1]

Where the Boys Are '84 (onscreen title: Where the Boys Are) is a 1984 American sex comedy film that was directed by Hyman Jack "Hy" Averback (the last film he ever directed) and starred Lisa Hartman, Lorna Luft, Wendy Schaal, and Lynn-Holly Johnson. A remake of the 1960 film Where the Boys Are, it was produced by Allan Carr. It was the first film released by Tri-Star Pictures.[2]

Plot[edit]

Four female students from snowbound Penmore College in the Northeast head to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for spring break: Carole (Lorna Luft) is taking a separate vacation from her steady boyfriend Chip (Howard McGillin), but she winds up as a hot contender in a "Hot Bod Contest;" Jennie (Lisa Hartman) is courted by both a rich classical pianist (Daniel McDonald) and a devil-may-care rocker (Russell Todd); Sandra (Wendy Schaal) is looking for the Mr. Right who will finally satisfy her; and Laurie (Lynn-Holly Johnson) is a sex crazed nymphomaniac who dreams of a night of unbridled passion with a real he-man. Laurie ends up getting her wish, albeit through a rather unexpected source.

During the week-long festivities, the young women meet Sandra's snobbish aunt Barbara Roxbury (Louise Sorel) and her friend Maggie (Alana Stewart) and get to sample much of Fort Lauderdale's nightlife. They are also invited to a formal party at Barbara's house, which ends up being crashed by hundreds of spring breakers.

Cast[edit]

Production[edit]

Posters and advertising material presented the film's title as Where the Boys Are '84, the onscreen title is simply Where the Boys Are.

In an interview on the DVD Wendy Schaal remembered it as a fun production with a party atmosphere, thanks to producer Allan Carr who was known for his parties. Schaal admitted they were smoking real marijuana in the beach funeral scene.[3] Russell Todd's singing was dubbed by Peter Beckett, vocalist with Player and Little River Band.[3]

Touted as a more "realistic" version of the popular 1960 film, with nudity and drug references, the date rape storyline of the original does not appear in this version.

Where the Boys Are '84 was filmed from May 16 to June 26, 1983 at the following Florida locations: Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club in Boca Raton; Lauderdale Beach Hotel, Bootleggers and City Limits Nightclub in Fort Lauderdale; Young Circle Bandshell in Hollywood.

Release[edit]

Where the Boys Are '84 was produced independently by ITC Productions and was distributed by Tri-Star Pictures after Universal Pictures rejected it.[2] On April 3, 1984, it was screened at the National Theater in New York City with Allan Carr and the principal cast attending the premiere, as well as the post-premiere party at Studio 54.[4]

The film was released nationwide on April 6, 1984 and was both a box office and critical flop. It ranked #5 at the US box office grossing $3.6 million on its opening weekend. Its total domestic gross was $10.5 million.[1]

Reception[edit]

Janet Maslin, writing for The New York Times, called the film "dumb, vulgar and mostly humorless."[5] Roger Ebert, writing for The Chicago Sun-Times, reported, "It isn't a sequel and isn't a remake and isn't, in fact, much of anything."[6] Reel Film Reviews' David Nusair wrote: "There's ultimately not a whole lot within Where the Boys Are worth embracing or getting excited about..."[7]

Accolades[edit]

Award Category Recipient Result Ref.
Golden Raspberry Awards Worst Picture Allan Carr Nominated [8]
Worst Supporting Actress Lynn-Holly Johnson Won
Worst Screenplay Stu Krieger and Jeff Burkhart Nominated
Worst Musical Score Sylvester Levay Nominated
Worst New Star Russell Todd Nominated

Soundtrack[edit]

Where the Boys Are '84:
Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by
various artists
ReleasedApril 1984
Recorded1983
GenrePop rock
LabelRCA Records
Producer
Singles from Where the Boys Are '84
  1. "Where the Boys Are"
    Released: April 1984

Where the Boys Are '84: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack was released in April 1984 on vinyl and cassette tape by RCA Records. The soundtrack features ten songs, all of which appear in various scenes throughout the film. The title track cover version by Lisa Hartman was released as a single with the B-side "Hot Nights" by Jude Cole, however, it failed to chart. Lorna Luft recorded a disco version of "Where the Boys Are" released concurrently with the film although it was not a soundtrack item: produced by Joel Diamond, this version - credited mononymously to Lorna - featured background vocals by members of Village People.[9]

Side A
  1. "Hot Nights" – performed by Jude Cole
  2. "Seven Day Heaven" – performed by Shandi
  3. "Mini-Skirted" – performed by Sparks
  4. "Be-Bop-a-Lula" – performed by The Rockats
  5. "Jenny" – performed by Peter Beckett
Side B
  1. "Where the Boys Are" – performed by Lisa Hartman
  2. "Woman's Wise" – performed by The Rockats
  3. "Girls Night Out" – performed by Toronto
  4. "Slippin' & Slidin'" – performed by Phil Seymour
  5. "All Fired Up" – performed by Rick Derringer

Home media[edit]

The film was released on VHS as 20th Century Fox offshoot Key Video. The DVD release was marred by copyright disagreement between Tri-Star and ITC Productions.[3] On February 6, 2018 Scorpion Releasing issued a remastered version of the film on Blu-ray, with DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0.[3][10]

See also[edit]

Spring Break, a 1983 film with a similar setting and tone

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Where the Boys Are '84 at Box Office Mojo
  2. ^ a b London, Michael. "Tri-Star Bows With A Universal Castoff." Archived 2016-03-02 at the Wayback Machine Sarasota Herald-Tribune (February 18, 1984).
  3. ^ a b c d Cotenas, Eric. "Where the Boys Are '84 (1984) Blu-ray". Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  4. ^ Where the Boys Are '84 premiere Archived 2023-03-05 at the Wayback Machine at Getty Images
  5. ^ Maslin, Janet (April 7, 1984). "Film: Lauderdale quartet, 'Where the Boys Are'". The New York Times. p. 14.
  6. ^ Ebert, Roger (January 1, 1984). "Where the Boys Are '84". Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  7. ^ Nusair, David. "Where the Boys Are – Reel Film Reviews". Archived from the original on 2021-10-01. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  8. ^ "Home of the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation 1984 Archive". Razzies.com. Archived from the original on 11 September 2004.
  9. ^ St Petersburg Times 8 April 1984 "Where the Songs Are" p.6A.
  10. ^ Skeen, Jesse (October 1, 2018). "Where the Boys Are '84". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.

External links[edit]

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