The Van (1976)

[lester1/2jr]

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL0zPrxGoMA&feature=related


 Do you rememeber the scene in "American Beauty" when Kevin Spacey talks about when he was in high school and he mainly drove around and got laid alot and smoked joints or something?   he could easily have been talking about this movie.  Dammit, I want this America back.  This kid wants one thing out of life and that is to get a van so he can bang chicks in the back of it.  So he does and he's happy as a clam.  end of story, basically.    There are more over the top, crazier, funnier or more explicit teen movies for sure but this one is right up there with the best of them to me.  perfect summer flick.

   This was paired with "the pom pom girls" .  It's the second time I've seen a double feature with "the pom pom girls" and I still can't get into it.  It's like "Friends" to  the Van's "Seinfeld". If you want to see a bunch of happy well adjusted football players and cheerleaders engag in mild hijinks have it at but lots of things i'd personally rather see.  Luckily it's not actually 1976 and I don't only have the movies at the local drive in I can see.  I know I said i wanted this America back but I actually want the best of both worlds.   

[Eyesore]

I agree Lester, I miss those days too.

[The Burgomaster]

This movie played at a lot of drive-ins in my area and was often part of a double or triple feature.  I think it was on a triple bill with CORVETTE SUMMER and BIG WEDNESDAY in the late 1970s.

[lester1/2jr]

I loved Corvette Summer.  What is Big wednesday?

[Warp Ninja X]

The Van, Star Hops, The Pom Pom Girls, Covette Summer, Van Nuys Blvd, and others where some of my favorite childhood movies I use to watch on Saturday afternoon.

[Captain Tripps]

This movie was a disaster!!!!
The acting is lame, the comedy is pathetic and the script is no more than a loosely strung chain of clichés and cheap thrills. T They even resort to that Bobby kid slipping on a banana skin, because this will supposedly add comedic value.

It should have won an Oscar

[The Burgomaster]

I loved Corvette Summer.  What is Big wednesday?

Big Wednesday is actually a decent movie.  Gary Busey, Jan-Michael Vincent, and William Katt play surfers who spend much of their teen years and early adulthood waiting for "Big Wednesday", a legendary day when the surfing is supposed to be great (lots of really big waves or something . . . I can't quite remember).  I have the DVD but I haven't watched it in a few years.  It was directed by John Milius. 

[the ghoul]

Umm..... I think I'll stick to horror and sci-fi.

[frankofthefuture]

Yes, The Van is a bad movie. Yes, I like it anyway. The bad dialogue, the mysteriously high profile licensed theme song "Chevy Van", the T-shirts with sparkly "iron-on" designs, and the insane "The Van" van hit me in a soft spot.

It all reminds me of being about five in 1979 and the teenagers in my neighborhood constantly washing their cars while listening to loud music and my babysitters sneaking their boyfriends over when they thought I was sleeping and my Star-Wars shirt with the glittery border.

[Jack]

I remember my Mom taking me to see Corvette Summer when it was in theaters.  Wouldn't mind checking out a few of these '70s drive-in movies.  H.O.T.S. is another one I saw long ago and have been meaning to add to my collection for a long time now.

Tomboy with Betsy Russel looks rather enticing as well 

[Rev. Powell]

Tomboy with Betsy Russel looks rather enticing as well 

Everything with Betsy Russell is enticing.