American Boyfriends (1989)

Director:

Sandy Wilson

Writer:

Sandy Wilson (writer)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

In 1965 everyone was dreaming of california...

Plot:

Four Canadian girls skip off university to get to the wedding of one of their number's relatives across the border in Portland...

Plot Keywords:

Wedding | Vietnam War | Sequel | Road Trip | Draft Dodger

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Margaret Langrick	...	Sandy Wilcox
John Wildman	...	Butch Walker
Jason Blicker	...	Marty Kaplan
Liisa Repo-Martell	...	Julie La Belle
Delia Breit	...	Lizzie
Michelle Bardeaux	...	Thelma
Troy Mallory	...	Spider
Scott Anderson	...	Daryl
Gordon Currie	...	Glider
Loren Dunsworth	...	Cynthia Walker, Butch's Bride
Babs Chula	...	Dolly, Butch's Mother
James Kidnie	...	Sid, Dolly's Husband
Terry Moore	...	Al Walker
Jane Mortifee	...	Kitty Wilcox
Richard Donat	...	Major Wilcox
Nicholas Lea	...	Ron
Don MacKay	...	Julie's Father
Merrilyn Gann	...	Julie's Mother
Nicola Cavendish	...	Mrs. Day
Garry Chalk	...	Canadian Bartender
Cal Schlesinger	...	American Bartender
Terri Welch	...	Glider's Girlfriend
Ian Tracey	...	Teaching Assistant Girard
Sean Berner	...	U.S. Border Guard
Dolores Drake	...	Maxine Walker, Al's New Wife
Tony Pantages	...	Jimmy the Sailor
Venus Terzo	...	Sophie
Maureen Webb	...	Mary
Jonathan Zeichner	...	State Trooper
Stephen Dimopoulos	...	Minister
Wilf Rome	...	Canadian Border Guard
Ritchie Hobden	...	Mucker, Canadian Border Guard (as Rich Hobden)
Anna Marie Stricker	...	Portland Hair Dresser
Jo Bates	...	Portland Hair Dresser
Nyree Roy	...	Portland Hair Dresser

Directed by
Sandy Wilson

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Sandy Wilson		writer

Produced by
Steven DeNure	....	producer
Nikos Theodosakis	....	assistant producer
Sandy Wilson	....	producer

Original Music by
Terry Frewer

Cinematography by
Brenton Spencer

Film Editing by
Lara Mazur

Production Design by
Phil Schmidt

Set Decoration by
Jim Erickson

Costume Design by
Sheila Bingham

Makeup Department
Sandy Cooper	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Colleen Nystedt	....	production manager
Stéphane Reichel	....	executive in charge of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Edward Folger	....	first assistant director (as Ed Folger)

Art Department
James H. Chow	....	property master
Brian Davie	....	set dresser
Paul Jenkinson	....	set dresser
Catherine Leighton	....	props
Peter Mills	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Barry Backus	....	dialog editor
Alan Hardiman	....	sound editor
Paul Massey	....	sound re-recording mixer
Richard Patton	....	sound (as Rick Patton)
Don White	....	sound re-recording mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Glen Forrieter	....	dolly grip
Dave Gordon	....	key grip
Chris Helcermanas-Benge	....	still photographer
Kevin Jewison	....	camera operator
Peter Mohr	....	lamp operator
Brian Savage	....	gaffer
Al Uglanica	....	best boy grip

Casting Department
James Forsyth	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Christine Mooney	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Bonni Devlin	....	first assistant editor

Other crew
Jim Hamms	....	location manager
Todd Pittson	....	location manager
Pattie Robertson	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Backseat Productions Ltd.
• British Columbia Film Commission (in association with)
• Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) (participation)
• First Choice Films (participation)
• National Film Board of Canada (NFB) (participation)
• Oasis Pictures
• Téléfilm Canada (participation)

Distributors

• Alliance Releasing Home Video (1989) (Canada) (VHS)
• MCA (1989) (Canada) (video)
• Media Home Entertainment (1990) (USA) (VHS)
• Video Treasures (1990) (USA) (video)

Also Known As:

"My American Boyfriend" - Canada (English title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

UK:15 | West Germany:6

Company:

Backseat Productions Ltd.

Movie Connections:

Features "The Jetsons" (1962)

Soundtrack:

On the Day I Go

If this is romance, than my vote is that it has died.

Films need to stand alone. No sequel should work where one needs to see the first to understand the second; the work of the director is to allow first time viewers to understand their goals, missions, and tones of the film without forcing more money out of their hard earned pockets. Not the case here. From the beginning we are pushed into the lives of these four, sometimes three, mostly two, teenagers that love nothing more in life than to talk about sex, getting married, past boyfriends, and historical moments in the past. The problem with this film, where it faults immediately, is that there is no future. Nobody cares about consequences or decisions, and there is no authority there to stop them. Sure, this was 1965, the times had fewer boundaries, but Wilson doesn't give us this. She allows her girls to have free reign and control, and thus the story becomes disastrous. To begin, we have no characters. There were no developed characters at all in this film. Through monotone voices, staged lines, and unrehearsed moments, we follow these girls as they leave college, head to Oregon, and suddenly into California. No parent worries, money doesn't seem to be an issue, reality happens to float right out the window. One would think witty dialogue would follow, but it doesn't. Nothing of value occurs with out characters, because they give us nothing to care about. A review quotes Margaret Langrick's performances as "Sandy Wilcox" as charming, but to me, she was utterly dull. None of these characters has any emotion when they spoke, they were all dried up, and nobody (the actors nor the director) seemed to care. It was the 1960s, I guess anything was possible.

Moving past the characters, one would hope that the story would venture at least a spark of interest, but not with "American Boyfriends". Having nearly found myself ill with the characters, the story had me running to the bathroom. Nothing was cohesive. I have used the word "nothing" quite a bit, but it is because all other words escape me. Nothing of value happened in this film. In one scene we were driving to a wedding, no money, no cares, and the open road ahead of us. Then, we are getting gas, eating dinner, getting our hair done, and living the pampered life. Then we are at the wedding, cousins flirt, the driest best man (another sore moment for the film) attempts to talk, couples unite, others break apart, and free cars are given out to those that whine the most. Then we are in California, looking for surfers, finding freeloaders, drinking, listening to music, crying about the war, and talking to a guy named "Glider" who apparently loves hotdogs. Tragedy happens; we are back to Canada, and rushing the boarders. All in a days work -- but not for me. Nothing of value happened outside of what I just mentioned. There are no characters, no stories -- not one reason for this film to even exist. My toes wouldn't even tap at the music because it seemed cliché and overused. It didn't reflect the situations that our pseudo-characters were going through. It felt as if Wilson wanted to make a film, throw in several of her own favorite songs, and keep her friends from films past – not actually make a strong, memorable body of work. Most of the time I can find at least one positive comment to make about a body of work that a team spent blood and tears on, but with "American Boyfriends" nothing comes to mind. It was a stale piece of bread hoping to find out that lighting does strike twice, but alas, the weatherman called for clear skies.

Overall, I cannot suggest this little film to anyone. There is a reason why it hasn't seen the DVD light yet, and it would be a waste of disc space if it miraculously did. The characters were unmotivated, boring, staged, random, and sprinkled with a bit of amateur night on top. They were not professionals and only added to the diminished quality of the film. The story was non-existent. There was nothing, outside of what I could summarize in two minutes that made this film stand out in my mind. It was as if Sandy Wilson didn't know how to make a movie, or that there wasn't any script, just money and a map. Focus on the direction and characters, no matter the power of the story, and still something will stick to the audience. There was nothing of value at all. The music, of which this film prided itself on (i.e. see the sticker on the box) was horrendous. It completely missed the direction of the story. It felt like I was watching "Good Morning Vietnam" set to opera music – it just didn't work. There is nothing positive to say about this film. It is a blemish on both the Hollywood name as well as the word "sequel". I cannot suggest this film to friends or family, nor even to Sandy Wilson. It was rushed, trite, and completely incomplete. Whomever thought these girls could act, were horribly mistaken. Skip this one please, for the sake of your family – you will live a happier life.

Grade: * out of *****