Smile (1975)

[lester1/2jr]

    I'm convinced movies like this are the next (relatively) big thing in b movie...ness.  There is no logical reason to rent this.  As a comedy it's not that funny, good for an occasional chuckle at best.  It's not ground breaking.  It is like if you took the quaint small town of a typical setting for a horror movie and took out the horror.  and also had a cameraman intent on ogling a then teenage Melanie Griffith.

           This is a slice of life of a state wide California beauty pageant.  The script is hokey, hackneyed sort of 70's variety show humor.  The lives of the people in this movie were as foreign to me as the Taliban.  Why would a man go to a lodge of some sort to hang out with other men?  Why would anyone want to go to this boring competition  where the "talent" competition consists mainly of bad singing and baton twirling.  One girl's talent is packing her suitcase for crying out loud.  Only one judge makes the slightest remark about how ridiculous that is. 

      Unfortunately, this movie ended up winning me over.  The sub plot involving the marriage of one of the pageant coordinaters takes a well played "American beauty" type turn.  As we are subject to virtually the entirety of the preposterous competition itself, we, in essense , give up.  even the stagey dialogue starts to feel real.

  Life was really really different before video games, rap, and the internet.  For one thing it was much much slower.  Definately one for the 70's time capsule.

edit:  apparently  this movie has a bit of a cult following.  I think the reviewers are  crazy.   anyway, I couldn't find the great trailer at youtube so if anyone knows where I could find it that would be super.

[zombie no.one]

  and also had a cameraman intent on ogling a then teenage Melanie Griffith.

lol, I may have to track this one down 

nice review man, why are you in negative karma. that's not cool. ....+1

[lester1/2jr]

?  me negative?  no way.  I just wouldn't want people buying or renting this thinking it is a grade A comedy.

and ms grifith is briefly topless fyi. 

[zombie no.one]

no I meant your "karma" thing under your name was -2...you must have p**sed 2 people off! its back to 0 now. (not that it really matters in the grand scheme of life, but still...)

[lester1/2jr]

oh hahaha.  yeah, i don't know,  I guess i did.  alot of my reviews at netflix are voted not helpful.  apparently i rub people the wrong way 

[soylentgreen]

oh hahaha.  yeah, i don't know,  I guess i did.  alot of my reviews at netflix are voted not helpful.  apparently i rub people the wrong way 

Personally, I've always appreciated your take on things.

As far as the Netflix proles...Ya know...I'd actually be kinda proud of that distinction myself.  Oddly enough.