Gas Pump Girls (1979)
Studio: MGM
Theatrical Release: June 28, 1979
DVD-R Release: May 23, 2012
Director: Joel Bender
R
Review by James Klein
MGM has released in their Limited Edition Collection of DVD-R's this forgettable 1979 sex comedy that is neither funny nor has any sex. One wonders what the hell were the filmmaker's thinking of when they were making this film and why MGM went thru the trouble of releasing this turd. Sitting in front of the TV watching this 86 minute excuse for a film could cure insomnia. I had fallen asleep at various moments of the film which forced me to keep skipping back, seeing what I had missed. That was pointless. I had missed nothing.
The movie starts off with Huntz Hall (yeah, not sure why the hell he agreed to be a part of this trash. Must have needed a paycheck) as Uncle Joe, a kind old man who runs an old gas station that no one seems to frequent anymore. Across the street is another gas station run by the evil Mr. Friendly (ha ha ha, get the joke?) who is extremely successful and loves the fact that Uncle Joe's business is in the shitter. When Uncle Joe suffers a mild heart attack, his extremely hot niece June (Kristen Baker from Friday the 13th Part 2) decides to enlist her semi-slutty and stupid gal pals to clean up the gas station by painting it over with all of them wearing extremely tight and revealing clothing. Soon, the customers start to come and Mr. Friendly is ready to take revenge on the business he has lost.
While the opening of the film started off promising with a prank played at graduation which causes a bunch of the gals to have their gowns ripped off, revealing their large boobs to everyone (question for any women out there: when you graduated, did you not wear a bra under your gown?). But once the movie introduces these three idiot gang members, the movie just goes downhill from there. These guys are suppose to be comic relief but their antics and idiotic behavior would make a retarded five year old groan in boredom. Every time these shitheads were on screen, I wanted to scream. Then out of the blue, the movie suddenly turns into a musical! And as quickly as it started, the movie suddenly stops being a musical and goes back to being a sex comedy. While I have no problem with movies that go bonkers out of nowhere, at least have something entertaining about them or if its a comedy, try and be funny.
I couldn't help but wonder if Gas Pump Girls could have been a funnier or more entertaining film had it been made in either the early 70's or early 80's. At first, the movie reminded me of the old Jack Hill exploitation films like The Swinging Cheerleaders and Switchblade Sisters but without the style and fun that is associated with Hill's movies. It also could have gone the way of being a Porky's rip-off with at least better music had it been made a few years later. Instead, this disco filled crap seems like a G rated movie with boobies flopping around every 20-30 minutes. While the script is as smart and well written as an episode of The Brady Bunch, the bland direction by Joel Bender and the horrible musical numbers had me envious of Helen Keller.
The DVD-R by MGM looks pretty good. It's as clear as you would expect a film from the late 70's to look (why did the late 70's love using fog filters?). The DVD doesn't come with any extras aside from a trailer which plays much better than the movie itself.
Theatrical Release: June 28, 1979
DVD-R Release: May 23, 2012
Director: Joel Bender
R
Review by James Klein
MGM has released in their Limited Edition Collection of DVD-R's this forgettable 1979 sex comedy that is neither funny nor has any sex. One wonders what the hell were the filmmaker's thinking of when they were making this film and why MGM went thru the trouble of releasing this turd. Sitting in front of the TV watching this 86 minute excuse for a film could cure insomnia. I had fallen asleep at various moments of the film which forced me to keep skipping back, seeing what I had missed. That was pointless. I had missed nothing.
The movie starts off with Huntz Hall (yeah, not sure why the hell he agreed to be a part of this trash. Must have needed a paycheck) as Uncle Joe, a kind old man who runs an old gas station that no one seems to frequent anymore. Across the street is another gas station run by the evil Mr. Friendly (ha ha ha, get the joke?) who is extremely successful and loves the fact that Uncle Joe's business is in the shitter. When Uncle Joe suffers a mild heart attack, his extremely hot niece June (Kristen Baker from Friday the 13th Part 2) decides to enlist her semi-slutty and stupid gal pals to clean up the gas station by painting it over with all of them wearing extremely tight and revealing clothing. Soon, the customers start to come and Mr. Friendly is ready to take revenge on the business he has lost.
While the opening of the film started off promising with a prank played at graduation which causes a bunch of the gals to have their gowns ripped off, revealing their large boobs to everyone (question for any women out there: when you graduated, did you not wear a bra under your gown?). But once the movie introduces these three idiot gang members, the movie just goes downhill from there. These guys are suppose to be comic relief but their antics and idiotic behavior would make a retarded five year old groan in boredom. Every time these shitheads were on screen, I wanted to scream. Then out of the blue, the movie suddenly turns into a musical! And as quickly as it started, the movie suddenly stops being a musical and goes back to being a sex comedy. While I have no problem with movies that go bonkers out of nowhere, at least have something entertaining about them or if its a comedy, try and be funny.
I couldn't help but wonder if Gas Pump Girls could have been a funnier or more entertaining film had it been made in either the early 70's or early 80's. At first, the movie reminded me of the old Jack Hill exploitation films like The Swinging Cheerleaders and Switchblade Sisters but without the style and fun that is associated with Hill's movies. It also could have gone the way of being a Porky's rip-off with at least better music had it been made a few years later. Instead, this disco filled crap seems like a G rated movie with boobies flopping around every 20-30 minutes. While the script is as smart and well written as an episode of The Brady Bunch, the bland direction by Joel Bender and the horrible musical numbers had me envious of Helen Keller.
The DVD-R by MGM looks pretty good. It's as clear as you would expect a film from the late 70's to look (why did the late 70's love using fog filters?). The DVD doesn't come with any extras aside from a trailer which plays much better than the movie itself.
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