''Psycho Beach Party'' is a 2000 comedy horror film based on the off-Broadway play of the same name, directed by Robert Lee King.

Charles Busch Charles Louis Busch (born August 23, 1954) is an American actor, screenwriter, playwright and drag queen, known for his appearances on stage in his own camp style plays and in film and television. He wrote and starred in his early plays Off-off- ...

wrote both the original play and the screenplay. As the title suggests, ''Psycho Beach Party'', set in 1962

Malibu Beach Malibu ( ; es, Malibú; Chumash: ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate and its strip of the Malibu ...

, is a parody of 1950s

psychodrama Psychodrama is an action method, often used as a psychotherapy, in which clients use spontaneous dramatization, role playing, and dramatic self-presentation to investigate and gain insight into their lives. Developed by Jacob L. Moreno and h ...

s, 1960s beach movies and 1980s

slasher film A slasher film is a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as ...

Plot

Florence Forrest (

Lauren Ambrose Lauren Anne D'Ambruoso (born February 20, 1978), known professionally as Lauren Ambrose, is an American actress and singer. She performs in television, film, and on Broadway. Ambrose had television roles as Claire Fisher in ''Six Feet Under'' ...

) is a

Gidget Gidget () is a fictional character created by author Frederick Kohner (based on his teenaged daughter, Kathy) in his 1957 novel, ''Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas''. The novel follows the adventures of a teenaged girl and her surfing fri ...

-like character determined to learn to surf, and earns the nickname " Chicklet" from the surfer guys. However Chicklet begins displaying multiple personalities, experiences inexplicable blackouts, and fears that she might be the one responsible for a series of mysterious murders in her beachside town. The deaths are investigated by Captain Monica Stark (

), who also suspects Chicklet's mother (

Beth Broderick Elizabeth Alice Broderick (born February 24, 1959) is an American actress. She portrayed Zelda Spellman in the ABC/ WB television sitcom ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' (1996–2003).

), Chicklet's best friend Berdine (Danni Wheeler), surfing guru the Great Kanaka (

Thomas Gibson Thomas Ellis Gibson (born July 3, 1962) is an American actor and director. He is best known for his television roles as Daniel Nyland on ''Chicago Hope'' (1994–1997), Greg Montgomery on ''Dharma & Greg'' (1997–2002) and Aaron Hotchner on ''C ...

) and B-movie actress Bettina Barnes (

Kimberley Davies Kimberley Davies (born 20 February 1973) is an Australian actress most famous for playing Annalise Hartman on the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'' from 1993 to 1996. She is sometimes credited as "Kimberly Davies". Life and career Davies wa ...

). Other characters include university dropout (and Chicklet's love interest) Starcat (

Nicholas Brendon Nicholas Brendon Schultz (born April 12, 1971), known professionally as Nicholas Brendon, is an American actor and writer. He is best known for playing Xander Harris in the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1997–2003) and Kevin L ...

), Swedish exchange student Lars (

Matt Keeslar Matthew Keeslar (born October 15, 1972) is an American retired actor and practicing PA-C (certified physician assistant). He is an instructor of urology at the Oregon Health & Science University's School of Medicine. Life and career Matthew ...

), surfers Yo-Yo (Nick Cornish) and Provoloney (

Andrew Levitas Social Impact Artist Andrew Levitas (born September 4, 1977) is an American painter, sculptor, filmmaker, writer, producer, photographer, and restaurateur. Early life Levitas was born in New York City. He attended Horace Mann School and then ...

), Starcat's girlfriend Marvel Ann (

Amy Adams Amy Lou Adams (born August 20, 1974) is an American actress. Known for both her comedic and dramatic roles, she has been featured three times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actresses. She has received various accolades, incl ...

), and the class "queen bee" Rhonda (

Kathleen Robertson Kathleen Robertson (born July 8, 1973) is a Canadian actress, producer, writer and showrunner. She is best known for her roles as Kitty O' Neill in the Starz, Golden Globe winning series Boss, Hildy Mulligan in TNT's Murder in the First, Tina Edi ...

Cast

as Florence 'Chicklet' Forrest *

as Kanaka *

as 'Starcat' *

as Bettina Barnes *

as Lars *

as Captain Monica Stark *

Beth Broderick Elizabeth Alice Broderick (born February 24, 1959) is an American actress. She portrayed Zelda Spellman in the ABC/ WB television sitcom ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' (1996–2003).

as Ruth Forrest *

as Marvel Ann *

as Rhonda * Nick Cornish as 'Yo-Yo' *

as Provoloney * Channon Roe as 'Wedge' Riley * Jenica Bergere as 'Cookie' * Danni Wheeler as Berdine * Nathan Bexton as T.J. * Buddy Quaid as Junior *

Nicholas D'Agosto Nicholas D'Agosto (born April 17, 1980) is an American actor, best known for featuring in ''Final Destination 5'', '' Heroes'' and ''The Office''. He starred in the Showtime series ''Masters of Sex'' and the Fox series '' Gotham''. Early li ...

as The Counterman

Play and productions

The play was originally entitled ''Gidget Goes Psychotic'', but the title was changed due to concerns about copyright. In the original 1987 production, Charles Busch played the role of Chicklet. Deciding that he might not be believable in the role of a sixteen-year-old girl ("while I can still manage, with the aid of a sympathetic cameraman, to play a sophisticated 25, 16 would be a stretch"), he added the character of Monica Stark to the movie. After over 20 years, the play had its premiere UK production by Vertigo Theatre Productions in Manchester in March 2011. The production returned in August 2012 at Sacha's Hotel Ballroom. A production was held in Australia at the

Bondi Pavilion The Bondi Surf Pavilion in Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia, is an outstanding beach cultural icon of Australia, together with the beach, park and surf lifesaving club. The structure is listed on the NSW State Heritage Register 01786 a ...

Theatre from November to December 2012; productions also ran in Melbourne (notably at the Midsumma Festival) in early 2013, receiving generally positive reviews. In Melbourne, Australia, there will also be another production of Psycho Beach Part
opening in March 2021 by Essendon Theatre Company

Reception

, the film holds a 55% approval rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, based on 33 reviews with an average rating of 5.55/10. In a positive review, Stephen Holden of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' states that the film "accomplishes what no stage production could. By assiduously copying the look and sound of those '60s movies -- the wriggling title sequences, the twangy surf music and the gawky gee-whiz screen acting style -- it definitively skewers the false innocence of American pop culture on the eve of the countercultural deluge. Most of the play's subversive humor has arrived on the screen intact." ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' critic Kevin Thomas compared the film unfavorably to its source material, opining that it "has to be twice as funny a play as it is as a movie"; he further explains that "deliberate camp like this film presents a special challenge: It must generate and sustain a high level of energy or it will swiftly fall flat. The latter is too often the case here." Praising the "strong women" of the film, Bob Graham of the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...

'' also wrote that Busch (as Monica Stark) "captures the woman-alone-in-the-world toughness of the roles played by the stars he loves. It goes beyond camp. He is sincere." However, Graham reasoned that the film has "rough edges", despite conceding that "they probably work to this larky, cheeky picture's advantage". He subsequently notes that "In some instances, it's hard to tell the really bad acting from the intentionally bad acting." Dennis Lim of ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'' was negative, concluding that the film is an "awkward combination of garish set decoration and muffled humor" and that "the viewer is left to ponder the number of levels on which this counts as a pointless exercise—a parody of parodic movies, a deconstruction of transparent genres, nda self-negatingly knowing example of camp".

Soundtrack

The original motion picture soundtrack for ''Psycho Beach Party'' was released by

Nettwerk Records Nettwerk Music Group is the umbrella company for Nettwerk Records, Nettwerk Management, and Nettwerk One Publishing. Established in 1984, the Vancouver-based company was created by Nettwerk principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record ...

under the Unforscene Music imprint on September 12, 2000. # Ben Vaughn – Main Title # Los Straightjackets – Tailspin #Ben Vaughn – Marvel Ann On The Prowl #Ben Vaughn – Wrestle #The Halibuts – Night Crawler #Ben Vaughn – Chicklet Meets Surfers #Ben Vaughn – Neenie's Famous Weenies #Hillbilly Soul Surfers – Cha-Wow-Wow #Ben Vaughn – Chicklet Learns To Surf #Four Piece Suit – Bombasteroid #Ben Vaughn – Chicklet Wipes Out #Ben Vaughn – Mournful Surfers #Ben Vaughn – Romantic Beach Scene #Ben Vaughn – Kanaka's Shack #The Fathoms – Overboard #Los Straightjackets – Tempest # Man Or Astro-Man? – Mermaid Love #Ben Vaughn – P-S-Y-C-H-O (Psycho) End Title

Home media

The film was released unrated on Region 1 DVD on November 8, 2005, by

Strand Releasing Strand Releasing is an American film production company founded in 1989 and is based in Culver City, California. The company has distributed over 300 auteur-driven titles from acclaimed international and American directors such as Apichatpong Wee ...

. The disc contains an

audio commentary An audio commentary is an additional audio track, usually digital, consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with a video. Commentaries can be serious or entertaining in nature, and can add informatio ...

with director Robert Lee King and screenwriter Charles Busch, the theatrical trailer, and the music video of "Tempest" by the band Los Straitjackets. A Blu-ray was released on August 18, 2015.

Censorship

The film runs for 95 minutes

NTSC The first American standard for analog television broadcast was developed by National Television System Committee (NTSC)National Television System Committee (1951–1953), Report and Reports of Panel No. 11, 11-A, 12–19, with Some supplement ...

on its American DVD release, but the version that was submitted to the

British Board of Film Classification The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of f ...

(BBFC) runs 85 minutes. It was passed uncut with a 15 rating. suggesting that it may have been pre-cut by

TLA Releasing TLA Releasing is a US film distribution and production company owned by TLA Entertainment Group. In March 2011, a new LLC was formed for the operation. Its primary output is LGBT-related films from all over the world under the "TLA Releasing" lab ...

before submission. Similarly, the version submitted by Magna Pacific to the

Office of Film and Literature Classification The Office of Film and Literature Classification ( mi, Te Mana Whakaatu), branded as the Classification Office, is an independent Crown entity established under Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993 responsible for censorship ...

in Australia in 2001 ran for 84 minutes. The film was rated M in Australia, indicating that the film may not have been cut due to concerns over material.

References

External links

Charles Busch's website
* * {{Amg movie, 193570, Psycho Beach Party 2000 films 2000 comedy horror films American films based on plays American horror films Films set in the 1960s Plays by Charles Busch Beach party films Australian comedy horror films 2000 comedy films LGBT-related black comedy films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films LGBT-related comedy horror films