Movie Info
Movie Name: How to Stuff a Wild Bikini
Studio: American International Pictures
Genre(s): Musical/Comedy/Romance
Release Date(s): July 14, 1965
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
That’s one wild bikini that needs to be stuffed!!!
Frankie (Frankie Avalon) has been stationed in the South Pacific and is worried Dee Dee (Annette Funicello) could cheat on him. Employing a witch doctor (Buster Keaton) and his crew, Frankie sets out to try to keep Dee Dee his by creating a perfect woman named Cassandra (Beverly Adams) who quickly attracts the attention of marketer Peachy Keane (Mickey Rooney), Eric Von Zipper (Harvey Lembeck), and every other boy on the beach. Fearing that Frankie could be cheating on her, Dee Dee sparks a relationship with Ricky (Dwayne Hickman) and it could be the end of Frankie and Dee Dee.
Written and directed by William Asher (with Leo Townsend also writing), How to Stuff a Wild Bikini is a musical beach movie. The film follows Beach Blanket Bingo (also released in 1964).
Beach movies are almost their own thing. They are kind of musicals, kind of comedies, and either have non-existent plots or plots so outrageous that they drift into the surreal. How to Stuff a Wild Bikini fits all these categories.
This popcorn would be better with Skippy Peanut Butter…
The movie has a weird witchcraft storyline which shapes the whole plot. The witch doctor creates the perfect woman who ends up not really serving her purpose of keeping Dee Dee from hooking up. In addition, Dee Dee is monitored by a pelican who tries to insinuate himself into Dee Dee’s love life. It seems like the writers just take a bunch of plot points and shove them into a hat to pull out what can become a story.
The movie is the last to have the classic Frankie and Annette combination. Frankie Avalon is barely in the picture (he was making Sergeant Deadhead) and Annette as a result almost seems as a secondary character in a secondary storyline with Dwayne Hickman. Beverly Adams’ feels like she should be the star and does feel like the feature storyline with Mickey Rooney and Brian Donlevy’s advertising plans. Elizabeth Montgomery also appears as the witch doctor Buster Keaton’s daughter and spoofs her Bewitched role in the cameo and the musical group The Kingsmen also perform.
You seem to be magic…and the girl next door!
The movie looks pretty low budget. It still uses some real beach scenes and has some nice “motorcycle riding” scenes, but it mostly feels like a quick cheap money grab. The beach pictures were a quick turnaround and made decent returns (this was the second one of the year).
How to Stuff a Wild Bikini tries to be alluring and risqué with its title, but the movie feels pretty flat. The previous entry Beach Blanket Bingo might be considered the apex of the series, but How to Stuff a Wild Bikini just feels like more of the same. How to Stuff a Wild Bikini was followed by the unrelated Sergeant Deadhead in 1965 (though not one of the “Beach Party” series).
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