I'm a diehard skier and when this film came out in 1984, the fellow skibums and I decided to attend opening night. I was only a junior at the time, and at know ones surprise, skibums from all three local highschools attended. We all bonded on and off the slopes, so a few beers in the parking lot and we were ready for some ski action. We were not dissapointed, for that time, it was the best ski footage on film, alot has changed in skiing since then, but remember this is 1984. We had a rollicking good time, David Naughton made the film, funny and cocky. Doesen't hurt having Shannon Tweed, playmate of the year for some eyecandy, she prevails. The main character, "Harkin Banks" is played by a preppy Patrick Houser who obviously was cast for his looks and not his acting, he is horrible, but again this isn't Citizen Cane, just a fun raunchy ski film for people that love the sport almost as much as life. Some great oneliners, abudant nudity, more important, great skiing, watch for the one skier that gets taken out during tha Banzai race, damn does he hit hard, ouch. Typical 80's fare, but fun with friends. Rudy seems to be walking a thin line of sexuality with the fur coats and sauna scene, Harkin proves who the man is.
Behind the Scenes Extra
I was mildly surprised by the good rating since this type of movie is usually dismissed as "Drive-in Movie" fare no matter how bad or entertaining it is. All reviews were good at on that point.
I was an "Extra" on the set and have a few details of that time.
One of the MAJOR improvements of the DVD over tapes has been almost all dvd are Wide-Screen. Tapes you were lucky to find WS even if you special-ordered. I despise the butchering of films that is so common. I swear some TV stations must think theyre "creative" while chopping the movie they lacerated and showed last week Arghh dont get me started...
Another good thing about dvd is the deleted scenes.
There was a bar fight filmed in the bar where the Wet t-shirt contest is. The bar was The Lone Star and closed after filming.
The winter it was filmed Tahoe had a brutal winter 25+ feet of snow. That was good for filming as it made the "Chinese Downhill" possible. That mountain peak was a cornice called "Red Dog" and out of bounds of the ski runs. No lift went to it I think those skiers climbed up from the backside. (Notice the unbroken snow)I cant remember as I nor almost anyone would venture there as it took EXPERT level.
Those skiers were all Truckee locals and HOT skiers. Couldnt just get stunt men or "Pros" the locals would blow em away anyway
The Jumps were performed by former olympic skiers and was breath-taking to watch. Was a long day of filming though (notice the sidelines are not crowded) Standing all day there was grueling and Extras left to take a break.
The gondolas were known as the "gondoobies" and sadly they were shut down after filming. Since Squaw Valley was built for the Olympics decades before many things were Old.The ice rinks roof had fallen in that year too.
The scene where the freestyle was filmed showed the audience smoking weed was real weed. (Well it smelled real hehe)
As to a sequel? Well money talks and sadly Hot Dog didnt do so well BUT the final scene we filmed was Rudy shaking his fist and vowing revenge in HotDog 2 so a sequel mightve happened if the $$ rolled in.
Movie making is like drilling for oil though even if you do everything right theres no guarantee of success.
Thats about all I can say for now .
What about the sound track....?
All these gushing reviews with barely any reference to the sound track?! Mitch Rider doing Prince's "When you were mine" alone is worth the price of admission. Great ski scenes, Sonny-side-up, and Wooooody-kazooty. An all-time classic.
Best line of the movie- "This is Squirrel, Kendo, and.....Banana pants." David Naughten obviously forgets the line he's supposed to say and comes up with "banana pants". Where is the Oscar committee?
"Dexter Rutecki lived a life that was short and funny and sad and hard and good. Most of the time it was good. It was good the day he died. The snow was deep and pure white. The sun high and cold. He was my best friend."
This film, while some will cry "Predictable", is entirely watchable and utterly enjoyable, almost to the point of sin. Granted, it's not "Chicago", "Phantom of the Opera" (2004 version), "Dances with Wolves", or "Titanic". However, it is certainly not cutting room floor crap either, and WAY better than "Hot Dog" because it doesn't rely on nudity to sell the story. Come to think of it, that's probably why the film wasn't a smash at the box office. YES! That's it! I'm sure of it! No nudity, that remains this film's fatal fault for the vast... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Paul Gross - Peter Berg Director(s): Patrick Hasburgh DVD Release Date: Released the 03 September 2002 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Lane Myer (John Cusack) is stuck in a personal hell. A compulsive, adolescent Everyman growing up in Suburbia, USA, not only does he fail to make the prestigious high school ski team (again), but his beloved sweetheart, Beth, also leaves him for Roy, the team's popular, arrogant captain. If this isn't bad enough, he's stuck with a mother who frighteningly experiments--rather than cooks--with food, a brother who builds rockets out of models, and a best friend so desperate for drugs that he settles for snorting powdered snow. Faced with these prospects, Lane opts to end it all ... until he comes up with a ridiculous plan to gain acceptance and win Beth back. Director Savage Steve Holland warps this simple, clichéd premise, letting his wacky imagination twist it into a fairly... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 16 July 2002 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Warren Miller's Bloopers, Blunders and Bailouts is a slapstick compilation of earlier Miller programs celebrating extreme klutziness and silliness in sundry winter wonderlands. Miller plays droll host for a feast of archival footage revealing the human body's capacity to bounce and bounce (and bounce) down endless ski runs after a loss of footing. The question of how many rocks and trees a man can hit before he's broken is never quite resolved, but less agonizing comedy can be found in ordinary mishaps on rope tows and first-time skier panic on gentle bunny runs. Then there's the human impulse to attempt the truly stupid, such as skiing down steep hills of weeds and riding bikes down ski trails. Novel activities include skiing with dogs, skiing in bikinis (both genders), and skiing... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Warren Miller DVD Release Date: Released the 14 September 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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My Tutor starts with an aerobics class gyrating their hips to the strains of some outdated disco, leading the viewer to believe that it's another trashy sex comedy. But the movie--about Bobby (Matt Lattanzi), a young man whose father hires an attractive French tutor so that he can get into Yale--soon splits in two: part of it follows the comically desperate attempts of the hero's friend (played by the ever-quirky Crispin Glover, from River's Edge and the Back to the Future movies) to get laid; part of it follows the developing relationship of Bobby and Terry (Caren Kaye), the tutor, as they become lovers. The getting-laid story line is goofy and filled with gratuitous breasts, but the story of Bobby and Terry is surprisingly tender and, in its way, realistic. Terry... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Caren Kaye - Matt Lattanzi Director(s): George Bowers DVD Release Date: Released the 08 February 2000 Usually ships in 6 to 8 days
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