Hardbodies (1984) Poster

(1984)

User Reviews

Review this title
44 Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
6/10
Very likable 80's sex comedy
gridoon202420 January 2008
"Hardbodies" delivers what you should expect from a lightweight 80's sex comedy: plenty of fantastic-looking girls in bikinis or topless, a fun-carefree-sunny-summer-California-beach atmosphere, a couple of chuckles, and lots of 80's music. It does not deliver high cinematic artistry or a brilliant plot, but then again you should not expect any of that. The two main girls, Teal Roberts and Cindy Silver, are both enormously appealing and pleasantly natural, and the two main guys, Grant Cramer and Courtney Gains, are likable. The premise might have worked better if we had younger nerds in the roles of the middle-aged men, but to its credit the movie acknowledges their age and somehow manages to get away with it. It's the girls who are the most important here anyway, and as I said the casting was very good right down the line - I don't remember looking at even one less-than-pretty girl in this movie, even at the background. One of THE prettiest is no doubt a very young Kathleen Kinmont, in her first movie role: she doesn't get naked, yet her very tight white T-shirt leaves little to the imagination. (**1/2)
14 out of 18 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
Ahhh classic 80's smut
acedj17 March 2020
A trio of married, middle-aged men hire a streetwise 20 something to help them get laid with the local women. There are parties and scenes a plenty with topless women.

This is not Hemingway, nor is is Shakespeare, hell it ain't even Roger Coreman. This is a movie filmed with the premise of "how many young actresses can we get topless in one film?" Does that make it a bad movie? Not at all, it just isn't great. There are some good laughs in here, but long on plot it isn't.
5 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
5/10
Good waste of time.
Peach-219 December 1998
This film is a good waste of time if you like gratuitous nudity and bad acting. Watch it on a rainy day.
9 out of 16 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Whoa, long trip back!
Ryan-776 April 1999
I remember watching this film when I was thirteen and just loving it: gorgeous naked women, gorgeous naked women, gorgeous naked women! Now my thoughts would be: 80s! 80s! 80s! AAAAGGGH! Okay, the 80s weren't so horrible, and I have fond memories of them, and this completely trashy teen sex flick (pretty much the quintessential movie of this quintessentially 80s genre) will zoom you back there so fast, you'll get whiplash and snap the flourescent strap on your sun glasses. Oh, the naked women are still gorgeous, but this thing never can have the same sort of fantastic appeal it did when you were 13 and afraid your parents would walk in the door while you and your buddies were watching it.
28 out of 32 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
2/10
Witness beach romp
bkoganbing22 January 2019
I saw in another review that Hardbodies at least it pretends to be nothing else than a T&A classic. That is certainly true but honesty is not enough to save this rather witless beach romp from oblivion.

The best blond surfer god type since Greg Bradford is featured in Hardbodies. Grant Cramer is currently between residents and not surprising since apparently he doesn't actually have a job. But 3 forty something guys who've made their pile and divorced their wives are now looking to pick up women on the beach and Cramer certainly knows how.

The only saving grace is Grant Cramer who if your taste runs to blond surfer types as a woman or a gay man he fills the bill.

But it's not enough.
3 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
4/10
Watch Porky's instead
kevin_robbins3 September 2023
Hardbodies (1984) is a classic 80s picture that I recently rewatched on Tubi. The storyline follows three middle aged men in California looking for a good time, some hot ladies and plenty of sex. When their game isn't getting them any of those three things, a young man comes along to teach them the ways to score a California hardbody.

This movie is directed by Mark Griffiths (A Cry in the Wild) and stars Grant Cramer (Killer Klowns from Outer Space), Teal Roberts (Beverly Hills Cop II), Courtney Gains (Children of the Corn), Kane Hodder (Hatchet), Roberta Collins (Death Race 2000) and Kristi Somers (Savage Streets).

This is classic 80s in just about every way - storyline, comedic content, settings, attire, soundtrack, montage and atmosphere. The ladies in this are smoking and there's a ton of nudity sprinkled in throughout this picture, which was common for this era (Porky's, Meatballs, Screwballs, etc). The acting, storyline and comedic content is pretty cheesy, and nothing special, but it was fun randomly seeing Courtney Gains in this from Children of the Corn...he kind of reminded me of Carrot Top. The old men in this are a bit creepy and awkward and I couldn't wait to see most of their scenes with ladies end.

Overall, this is an excuse to get as many gorgeous woman in a movie with regular looking guys and see how audiences reacted. I would score this a 4/10 and recommend skipping it and watching Porky's instead.
1 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
Epitome of a good breast movie
FFT530516 April 1999
Before sitting down to watch Hardbodies, decide what you are looking for out of this film. Do you want a well-written movie with an engaging plot, Oscar-worthy performances and beautifully-written dialogue? Then stay away from this movie. Do you want to see a fairly entertaining movie centered around fitting as much gratuitous shots of topless women as possible? Then you've found what you're looking for!

Hardbodies is a cheesy, 80's teen sex movie. But if you like cheesy, 80's teen sex movies, it's actually pretty good. It's better than any of the other ones out there. Some funny, quotable lines. A few entertaining characters. And many, many hot naked women. I mean, really -- how can you go wrong when there's bikini tops flying off before the opening credits even end?
26 out of 28 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
4/10
not that great
disdressed1227 March 2011
what can i say about this alleged 80's sex comedy other than it was pretty lame.i didn't laugh once.i watched it all the way through hoping for a few laughs,but it was not meant to be.there was some female nudity, though not as much as you would expect from a sex comedy. i did like the music.plus the main character was actually a likable guy.the acting wasn't as bad as it could have been for this genre,and the dialogue wasn't too hokey either.besides that though,i can't think of a lot positives about the movie.it was fairly short,so i guess that's a good thing.if all you're interested is seeing a half dozen or so naked breasts then this is your movie.for me,Hardbodies is a 4/10
3 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
Truth in advertising
Fluke_Skywalker10 September 2014
The "sex comedy" was a staple of the 80s. With the advent of home video and cable TV, they were churned out by the dozens and people ate them up. Most of them centered around the exploits of a jocular group of young men and their attempts to get lucky. Lots of female nudity and cheesy rock music followed.

'Hardbodies' is one of the more well regarded of the genre and it's easy to see why. With a solid hook, a charming cast and a bevy of young beauties who get topless at the drop of a hat, 'Hardbodies' is more or less everything you could want from a movie of its type. Does it rise above its station to become something more? No, but that's okay. It is what it is, and that's more than enough.
3 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
1/10
I had (thankfully) forgotten this but the DVD release bought it all screaming back!
preppy-319 August 2009
Back in 1985 I caught this thing (I can't even call it a movie) on cable. I was in college and I was with a high school friend whose hormones were raging out of control. I figured out early on that this was hopeless. Stupid script (a bunch of old guys hiring some young guys to show them how to score with women), bad acting (with one exception) and pathetic jokes. The plentiful female nudity here kept my friend happy for a while--but even he was bored after 30 minutes in. Remember--this was a HIGH SCHOOL BOY! This was back before nudity was so easy to get to by the Internet and such. We kept watching hoping for something interesting or funny but that never happened. The funniest thing about this was the original ad campaign in which the studio admitted this film was crap! (One poster had a fictional review that said, "This is the best movie I've seen this afternoon!"). Only Grant Cramer in the lead showed any talent and has actually gone on to a career in the business. No-budget and boring t&a. Skip it.
5 out of 15 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
10/10
if you dont like it, you dont know what the 80's are!
the_advenger2 April 2001
This was a funny movie! true it was medicore acting, but hell that is what the 80's comedies were like. I laughed, i enjoyed the music, this is what it is about. oh yeah, i liked the hardbodies too! btw yes there was plenty of nudity, but heck such is life that is why it is rated R anyways, keep the kiddies out of the room and quit complaining!
18 out of 22 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
Great 80's trash!
jellopuke28 November 2018
This might be the trashiest movie ever. The plot is simply old dudes want to sleep with young girls and hire a surfer to help. Tonnes of nudity and zero conflict, but there's lots of partying and boobs so if you want sex comedy antics this is amazing!
2 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
5/10
Hardbodies is the typical 80's movie
Guy-278 February 1999
This was never intended to be a great, Oscar worthy movie. The reason I liked it so much is that it reminds me of my high school years, the way we talked, the slang, and the fact that the 80's were the greatest decade ever! So many movies of that time (Valley Girl, etc...) were almost like a record of the times we lived in and for that reason, they are worth keeping.
2 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Hardbodies 18th Anniversary
jimmy_james_8613 July 2002
Hardbodies, which was released in the summer of '84, came out around the same time as Ghostbusters and is similar with the latter in the respect that they are both classic films of their respective genres. This movie excels on so many different levels I don't even know where to begin. The performances of Grant Cramer as scammin'jammin' Scotty Palmer and Courtney Gains as his pothead buddy, Rag, are unforgettable. These actors bring such depth to their characters that at times the film seems to take on a documentary feel. "Are these actors, or are they real people just playing themselves," you may ask yourself while watching.

Their adventure begins when three middle-aged dorks turn to Scotty for advice on how to pick up the many beach babes which inhabit the SoCal location where the story takes place. He gives them the helpful advice of "dialoguing" the young girls with the promise that they will be offered the "B.B.D." (Bigger Better Deal). Many memorable characters are encountered along their journey of finding the ultimate piece of you-know-what in this already overpopulated area of hottys.

Who can forget Candy, the chick who "melts in your ear and not in your mouth". And Rag's ability to "flip people off in 48 languages". Hardbodies is also a standout in the category of "80's Party Movie" because it holds the distinction of being one of the few where just about every girl shown in the flick gets naked at least once. Let us all celebrate the 18th anniversary of "Hardbodies" by getting plenty of beer and picking up this brilliant masterpiece at the local blockbuster. A Cinematic triumph and a milestone in 80's cinema.
25 out of 34 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
5/10
Mildly Entertaining
Uriah4317 June 2016
"Scotty" (Grant Cramer) is a young man who has a definite gift when it comes to talking to the ladies. So much so that he has recently hooked up with a great girlfriend named "Kristi" (Teal Roberts). But even so, that doesn't stop him from flirting with the opposite sex every chance he gets. It's during one of those times that his amazing abilities are observed by three middle-aged men who essentially beg him to teach them how-to pick-up beach babes--or what he refers to as "hardbodies". At first, he declines but after being kicked out of his apartment for failing to pay rent he agrees for a set dollar amount and free room and board. What he doesn't take into consideration is just how unscrupulous one of these men actually is and the lengths he will go to in order to achieve his goals. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a decent representative of the "summer beach" sub-genre which enjoyed particular success in the early-60's before dying out a few years later and then reemerging in the late-70's and early-80's. The difference between the two eras being that the earlier films centered more on music, surfing and swimsuits whereas the latter focuses more directly on sex and partial nudity. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing as I suppose this evolution in film was probably inevitable due to the change in generations and social norms. Be that as it may, this movie contained both some light humor and several attractive ladies wearing skimpy attire to keep it mildly interesting and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Average.
2 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
1/10
Just Gross
mattsfo-866623 April 2022
If you want to see gross fat old men have sex with women they'd never have a chance with in real life, this is your movie. This movie is a relic of a time where women were dumb, blonde and topless throughout an entire movie.
2 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
5/10
The 80's Beach Movie! Now with more Sleaze!
DasBobsWorld5 March 2019
The 80s is a genre unto itself at this point, spawning what seems like a million sub-genres in its ever-growing use of style and attitude which umbrellas over us today in homages and peoples memories. That doesn't mean those memories or homages are of specific films from the decade of decadence. Well, except when they are. Case in point, Hardbodies. At least for me.

It is hard not to think of the oversexed beach party boob wrangling movies from this era and ignore Hardbodies. I mean it has everything you think it should. Bikinis, Boobs, Butts, and a not so proper amount of sleaze. The main plot is about a beach bum kid who is being paid by three old guys to help them get laid with the women or "Hardbodies" on the beach. His teaching methods are just unsubtle ways to get more shots of girls in bikinis doing what they do. Sunbathing, washing cars, roller skating and so on. Still, all this time our beach bum hero Scotty Palmer just wants to be with his true love and whisk her away on a magic dream ride in his race car water bed that has realistic wave action. He wants to succeed. He manages a band named Diaper Rash, who is played by Vixen the all-girls Bon Jovi. He saves the beach from gross uncool guys and even teaches an old man the meaning of no means no. Maybe Hardbodies is something more than a bare chest tanning in the sunshine. Maybe it's a testament to a changing time, a more thoughtful and sensitive love story with gratuitous nudity...Nahhhh!

Hardbodies is a late night comedy with a lot of nudity and some questionable morals. Is it still kind of fun? Yeah. Still, whatever you think about it, it's a staple of a film type that really doesn't exist anymore, and maybe for the better.
1 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
"Cause she don't do fossils for freeeee"
PredragReviews25 December 2016
This 1984 classic exceeds all expectations - story of the quest for "Hardbodies" never takes itself too seriously and holds up just as well today as the day it was made - this movie has a lot of good laughs and one liners - also, Steve Gold should have won an Academy Award for his portrayal of "Farnsey", a scene stealing, robe wearing, toupee loving womanizer who is introduced during the film's final act. It's one of those mindless movies where boy meets girl and they fall in love, but the boy meets these older rich guys and tries to teach them how to score with younger babes! Plenty of beach bikini babes and some fun sexy love scenes. The young actors are attracted and it's just a feel good movie.

The synopsis of the film is three middle aged men in mid-life crises rent a beach house and are having absolutely no success in scoring with the beautiful young women on the beach. So they acquire the help of a young stud to show them how to succeed with these hotties. But one of these guys turns into a jerk and puts the moves on the young stud's girlfriend. Eventually the jerk gets his (come)-uppance, and our hero gets his girl back. Quite a fascinating story-line, huh? The only actor of any note whatsoever in this film is goofy looking redheaded Courtney Gaines, who also starred in Children Of The Corn and Can't Buy Me Love, and had a small part in Back To The Future. Also, there's an early appearance by girl rock group, Vixen, before they grew their hair out and had some success as a metal act in the late 80's!

Overall rating: 7 out of 10.
1 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
5/10
good for the genre
robert375014 November 2021
Ah, the 80s, when there was plenty of unapologetic, unabashed prurient movie content. We were all younger, and we all loved to see attractive young women. This movie delivers a bevy of buxom bouncy bodacious bikini babes. Sure, the acting is no great shakes, but no one really cares. The handsome young surfer dude is jobless, but the girls don't mind, and he proves to be a nice guy in the end, defending a young woman against the unwanted advances of an older man.
1 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
The 80s personified!
udar5526 August 2009
Beach bums Scotty (Grant Cramer) and Rag (Courtney Gains) take a trio of old dudes up on their offer to pay them how to pick up chicks on the beach. Gnarly! But old fossil Hunter (Gary Wood) turns out to be a nefarious wolf looking to move in on Scotty's main girl Kristi (Teal Roberts). Bogus! You can almost smell the Coppertone during the opening credits of this 80s time capsule. This hits all the 80s T&A marks perfectly with the requisite nudity, music montages and crude humor. It ain't SUMMER SCHOOL (1987), but it will do if you are looking for a way to kill 90 minutes looking at neon designs, wicker furniture and 80s fashion. Look for Kathleen Kinmont and future Jason Voorhees Kane Hodder in small supporting roles. This turned into a minor box office hit in the summer of 1984 and saw an inferior sequel - where out lead duo is recast and sent to Greece - a few years later. Anchor Bay recently released both on a single DVD labeled the HARDBODIES Collection. Party hardy!
0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
3/10
Utter '80s Sex Romp' disappointment
teamcaryl21 November 2021
I rented this on Amazon Prime recently, as I never got around to watching when it was on HBO etc.

What utter disappointment. No real script or plot. Lazy dialogue and lame humor. I've seen B and D movies that were better quality.

Grant Cramer (Killer Clowns) is supposed to be a surfer super stud, but was lame and bored me to nothing. The only ones who truly could act were Courtney Gaines who's a legend from Children of the Corn and Memphis Belle. And the middle aged bearded dude and his buddy Jeff Goldblum wannabe.
1 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
8/10
A supremely silly'n'sleazy serving of vintage 80's sex comedy trash
Woodyanders20 August 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Smarmy wannabe hipster Hunter (nicely played to the smug hilt by Gary Wood), tubby Rounder (solid Michael Rapport), and easygoing Carlton Ashby (a wonderfully amiable performance by Sorrells Pickard) are three lecherous and hopelessly square middle-aged guys who rent the most swank house on the beach. The bumbling trio hire slick and hunky beach bum stud Scotty Palmer (a very likable turn by Grant Cramer) to teach them how to score with hot young babes. Directer/co-writer Mark Griffiths relates the cheerfully goofy and naughty story at a bouncy constant pace and maintains a blithely raunchy tone throughout. Better still, this film certainly delivers what it promises: wall-to-wall tasty female nudity, gorgeous honeys aplenty in skimpy bikinis or less, a cool rockin' soundtrack (the theme song is extremely catchy and the all-girl band Vixen seriously smokes), some sizzling soft-core sex, no pretense whatsoever to get in the way of the delightfully raucous go-for-it bawdy fun, and loads of heavy-duty partying. The ladies are undeniably hot: Teal Roberts as Scotty's sweet girlfriend Kristi Kelly, Kristi Sommers as the sassy'n'spunky Michelle, Cindy Silver as the perky Kimberly, Darcy De Moss as aggressive Dede, and Crystal Shaw as the enticing, yet unavailable Candy. Courtney Gains has a ball as Scotty's funky buddy Rags and the ever-radiant Roberta Collins acquits herself well as friendly land lady Lana. Popping up in nifty bits are Kathleen Kimmont as a sexy skater, Kane "Jason" Hodder as a pesky geek, and Joyce Jameson as Rounder's overbearing mother. Tom Richmond's sparkling cinematography gives the picture an attractive sunny look and surveys all the luscious chicks with unabashedly leering aplomb. Vic Caesar's lively score keeps things humming along. Of course, this flick is absolute tacky and idiotic cheese, but it's way too energetic and good-natured in its very unapologetic stupidity to be remotely offensive. A complete hoot.
6 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
5/10
Hardbodies
BandSAboutMovies8 June 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This movie ran all the time on cable to the point that it was a puberty rite of passage amongst the teens of my hometown, which really seems to come up in so many write-ups this week. Yes, before the internet and sexting, we were all in our rooms alone watching cable and hacking the carrot. The 80s were not an innocent time.

Grant Cramer (Killer Klowns from Outer Space) is Scotty, who gets hired by three old men - Gary Wood, Michael Rapport (Patrick from Black Christmas) and Sorrells Pickard - to teach them how to pick up young women. He has a skill called BBD (Bigger and Better Deal) that allows him to "dialogue" women into bed. Then, you know, he falls in love with a girl named Kristi and starts seeing how sad the life he led once was. Because yeah, that's how guys are.

I mean, what do you expect about a movie that's based on an article in the November 1983 Penthouse Magazine that was written by the film's screenwriters Eric Alter and Steve Greene? Supposedly, this is based on a true story.

Courtney Gains - Malachi! - is in this, as is Darcy DeMoss from Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives and Vice Academy 3, Roberta Collins (Matilda the Hun from Death Race 2000), Kathleen Kinmont (Halloween 4), Kristi Somers (Valerie from Savage Streets), Marcia Carr (Stevie from Savage Streets and Nancy from Maniac Cop), Emily Longstreth (American Drive-In), Leslee Bremmer (School Spirit), Kane Hodder as a geek and the band Vixen playing Diaper Rash.

Is it good? Well, no. Not really. Is it something that I watch every once in a while to remind myself of when I was closer in age to the hero and not the men who hire him?

Yes. I can admit it.
0 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
What a story!
hlw2729 July 1999
Hey, at least this movie is what it is! A t & a classic. And, what a concept: 3 older bachelors hire a younger guy to party with them and train them on how to pick up younger women? C'mon, that's a beautiful script. Genius! All guys should rent it, especially to see the characters come clean in the end... Moral to the story: it is more important to just be yourself.
10 out of 16 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
4/10
bad sex comedy
SnoopyStyle19 December 2023
Beach bum Scotty Palmer (Grant Cramer) is tired of scamming people, but he's getting evicted. Kristi (Teal Roberts) is his girl and Rag (Courtney Gains) is his best mate. He meets three middle-aged businessmen with lots of money, a beach front house, and none of his ladies' man skills. He and the guys come to an agreement.

This sex comedy is pretty bad. The acting is bad. I only recognize Courtney Gains. The writing is worst. It's not funny at all. It doesn't deliver the comedy part of a sex comedy. When it tries to be serious, it's awkwardly ill-fitting. The only positive is that it delivers what one expects. There are lots of beautiful babes although there is nothing too explicit. It's bad sexploitation. It's trashy but not trashy enough to be fun.
0 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
An error has occured. Please try again.

See also

Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews


Recently Viewed