"School's out and everything's in!"
Pick-Up Summer, or the more aptly titled Pinball Summer, is a slapstick Canadian teen comedy that begins on the last day of school and ends, presumably, towards the end of summer at the big(?) local pinball tournament. The plot, or lack of one, centers around the teenagers who populate the rowdy-but-cool O.J.'s Fast Food Restaurant and Pete's, an amusement arcade complete with its very own mascot cheerleaders. The arcade, being the spot where all the kids hang out, is home to endless brawls (and as much as we'd hoped to see Principal Vernon walk through the door and ask what's that ruckus, it wasn't to be) and a helluva lot of commotion, resulting in complaints from the uptight residents of the town. But if all the Pete's protesters reckon their complaining'll do anything to straighten out the loudmouthed teens, they've got another think comin'.
First on the agenda for main characters Greg and Steve and their girlfriends Donna and Suzy is to terrorize the dorky neighbourhood rich boy, but not before being harassed by the leather-clad, motorbike riding hard nut of the town, Bert. But when the pinball championship trophy is stolen, the kids are less worried about picking fights, quick fumbles and days at the amusement park than they are of finding the trophy for themselves. And when it falls into the hands of Bert and the biker gang, Greg and Steve hatch a plan to steal it back, hiding it in a place where no one would think to look. Well, no one except overweight, under-brained and butt-of-all-jokes Pete's employee named Whimpy, who later discovers the trophy hidden inside a pinball machine.
Striking up a deal with Bert who is eager to relocate the trophy he so cunningly hijacked in the first place, Whimpy tucks his new find away and heads off to discuss business. Bert agrees to get Whimpy laid in exchange, but meanwhile, Pete, the uh.. owner of.. well, Pete's, strikes gold and accidentally discovers the senseless Whimpy's hiding place.
Greg, Steve, Donna and Suzy go for a cosy camp-out on the beach in the mean time, but are rudely interrupted by Bert's biker gang, who graffiti the side of Steve's van as revenge for their earlier altercation involving the trophy. But revenge works both ways, and Steve and Greg are unlikely to let their number one enemies outsmart them!
As all responsible *ahem* adults do in teen movies, Donna and Suzy's parents (oh, did I forget to mention? Greg and Steve's girlfriends are sisters) go away and leave their daughters in charge of the house for a while, which means only one thing. OUTRAGEOUS POOL PARTY TIME! The place is even complete with an arcade-sized pinball machine, which is used for an oh-so mature game of 'strip pinball' involving busty O.J.'s waitress Sally. It ain't called strip pinball for nothing! And it all seems like a genius idea, but the parents - who swiftly ground their daughters and their barely-clothed butts for a week - beg to differ. They still manage to sneak out to a disco in the middle of the night, though, and meet some guy dressed as John Travolta who offers them a ride in his jerk-mobile. And so begins the fifteen minute win the girl, lose the girl, win the girl routine, where Greg and Steve express their jealousy over the white-suited, black-booted, boogie-woogie asshole and his magic ability of picking up chicks - their chicks - after waving his arms like an epileptic goldfish (..with arms).
Now all that kerfuffle is done with and there are a few minutes left to spare, it's time for the actual pinball contest. The best players in town competing for the title of Pinball King. Greg VS Bert. Shall we guess how it ends? Not including the shot of waitress Sally trundling down the road on top of a speeding pinball machine, I mean.
VERDICT: ★★ ½
Oozing with total '70sness, Pinball Summer is a flick that ticks all the low budget teen sex comedy expectations boxes. But it doesn't exactly portray pinball as the most riveting of competitive sports. And if you've ever been beaten on by a badass biker, i'm sure you'll have a good belly laugh at the character of Bert, who is possibly the tamest, most non-threatening 'bully' to ever make it into a movie. Not to mention the fact he straps the pinball trophy to the front of his Honda in some kind of desperate attempt at displaying his manliness. Also, Carl Marotte and Michael Zelniker spend about half of their screen time making eyes at one another, or so it seems.
Believe you me, Pinball Summer does have a clever way of ingraining itself in your mind, (no, i'm not talking about the boobage) and for one scene and one scene only. Without spoiling it, all I will say is that it involves a drive-in movie and a very cleverly rigged-up voice over. Beyond that, the movie relies heavily on tiresome gags and gravity-defying stunts. But we can forgive it this time, can't we?
IMAGES/VIDEOS: [movie trailer]
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SOUNDTRACK:
Someone with a lot more wisdom than myself has given me a shout to say that an OST for Pinball Summer was, actually, released on vinyl! But by the sounds of it, the chances of coming across a copy are few and far between.
1. Hot Wax - Denis Lepage
2. Gimme Your Love - Jay Boivin & Germain Gauthier
3. Evil Woman - Jay Boivin & Germain Gauthier
4. Do You Wanna Dance? - Jay Boivin & Germain Gauthier
5. Pinball Summer - Jay Boivin & Germain Gauthier
6. Wheel of Fortune - Jay Boivin & Germain Gauthier
7. Summer Girls - Jay Boivin & Germain Gauthier
8. Sally Joy - Jay Boivin & Germain Gauthier
9. Can You Catch Me - Jay Boivin & Germain Gauthier
10. Summer Magic - Jay Boivin & Germain Gauthier
11. Voyeur's Motel - Jay Boivin & Germain Gauthier
12. Sweet Madness - Jay Boivin & Germain Gauthier
