Hot Dog... The Movie (1984)

User Rating:

4.0/10   

Director:

Peter Markle

Writer:

Mike Marvin (writer)

Release Date:

13 January 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Taste the sauce in...HOT DOG

Plot:

Naive corn-pone skiing wunderkind picks up beautiful hitchhiking bimbo on way to ski competition. Once...

Plot Keywords:

Skiing | Party | Contest | Female Nudity

Cast

David Naughton	...	Dan O'Callahan
Patrick Houser	...	Harkin Banks
Tracy Smith	...	Sunny
John Patrick Reger	...	Rudolph 'Rudi' Garmisch
Frank Koppala	...	Squirrel Murphy
James Saito	...	Kendo Yamamoto
Shannon Tweed	...	Sylvia Fonda
George Theobald	...	Slasher
Mark Vance	...	Heinz Hartman
Erik Watson	...	Fergy
Lynn Wieland	...	Michelle
Sandy Hackett	...	T-Shirt Contest M.C.
Crystal Smith	...	Motel Clerk
Peter Vogt	...	Fader Black
Robert Fuhrmann	...	Rick Lauter

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | USA:R | Philippines:R-18

Filming Locations:

Squaw Valley, California, USA

Company:

Hot Dog

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Dan challenges Rudy to the Chinese Downhill, he states, "Forty bucks a man, winner takes all." At the start of the race, the announcer says that the winner will get $2300. 2300 doesn't divide evenly by 40. Further, only about 26 racers can be seen at the start. That would make the grand total $1040.

Quotes:

Squirrel Murphy: Yeah, best run of the morning, man. Hey, were you on shrooms or what?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Robin Williams/James Taylor (#13.9)" (1988)

Soundtrack:

Hold On

Take it for what it is, nothing more--and those quotes!

Being a 52 year old insomniac, I awakened this morning at before 6 only to find that "Hot Dog" was being broadcast on Turner South. Now I have seen this film about a thousand times, and knew that it would be edited for cable, yet still found myself glued to the screen. I have read all the reviews on this no-brainer, good-times party flick from IMDb subscribers, and am always amazed in those who criticize it so harshly; one would think that they were reviewing for the Academy Awards. This movie is for one thing only--fun. And viewed in that context, it can be very entertaining and quite easy to sit through. It is not about complicated plot twists nor dialogue, and there are certainly no award winning acting performances in it. Yet the scenery (both natural and human) is great, and the skiing is incomparable. I cannot recall anything short of Warren Miller films (whose ski documentaries I got hooked on about the same time as I first saw Hot Dog) that comes close. And the soundtrack is quite good as well (interesting that no one ever sold it as an album).

I began skiing about 22 years ago, about the same time that this film was shot, and first saw it about the same time. In the 80's things were quite a bit different from nowadays, for better or worse. Recreational drugs and sex were a big part of young adulthood, whatever one's beliefs, and one must view the film as somewhat of a "period piece" of the day. I never took a ski trip on which I didn't see at least one of the stereotypes portrayed in the movie, especially the statuesque and technically engineered "Sylvia-esque" zillionaire ski bunny (who stereotype was transformed into the 90's, with a few changes, as the lovely, but driven and self-consumed Bryce Kellog in "Aspen Extreme," 1992's ski classic) or the 4-star local skier born on the slopes doing double black bump runs from the age of 4. Now I must admit, I always prayed that I'd get invited to a party the caliber of Sylvia's in the film, but this never happened. As for the moral standards of the characters ("sex,and drugs, and rock and roll"), this was part of growing up in the era. Such behavior has certainly been demonized by current day society, and, of course, the implications of such behavior nowadays is much more risky. But most of us who partied during the 80's survived it and have moved on to become responsible adults.

Perhaps it is the attraction back to that time in my past that ties me to the film, much like a cult attraction. Great skiing, beautiful women, great scenery, and a good soundtrack. But don't expect acting or a plot.

And those quotes....

"Rudi, you can kiss my ass. Not on zees side or on zat side, but right in zee middle."

"Yeah, you've got a couple of pointers, so why don't you point them downhill and...."

"You're just not on Sylvia's top forty, Shorty!"

"Now THAT's a girl I can take advantage of."

And the incomparable:

"What eena fuckeesa Chinese Downhill!?"