Amiable small town dude Bobby (1970s drive-in movie mainstay Bill Adler) is yearning for something more. He gets wind of the cruising / vehicle culture on Van Nuys Blvd., and promptly heads out there. He makes friends with Greg (Dennis Bowen) and "Chooch" (David Hayward) and falls for spunky blonde beauty "Moon" (Playboy playmate Cynthia Wood).
Don't look for much more story in this lightly entertaining artifact of late 1970s California. Writer / director William Sachs ("The Incredible Melting Man") is simply having fun, and gives his movie an episodic quality. Bobby and his newfound buddies do such things as patronize a race track and an amusement park, go disco dancing, etc. Bobby has a tough time accepting Moon as an equal, so the final episode will see them race their vans. Meanwhile, there's a subplot involving the humiliation of party pooper cop Al Zass (Dana Gladstone).
Exploitation fans will appreciate the doses of nudity. The young cast in this thing is certainly attractive. "Van Nuys Blvd." is mostly valuable as a snapshot of the sights and sounds of the time. The disco soundtrack is most amusing if somewhat repetitive. Although the movie is not that long at 94 minutes, you can still see some definite padding; the disco dancing takes up a fair bit of the running time. The actors are all very engaging, including Tara Strohmeier as sexy carhop Wanda, and Di Ann Monaco, Susanne Severeid, Aesop Aquarian, Bella Bruck, Mary Ellen O'Neill, Renee Harmon, and Tiger the dog from the film "A Boy and His Dog" in a cute cameo.
Not particularly memorable but quite easy to watch and impossible to dislike.
Seven out of 10.
Don't look for much more story in this lightly entertaining artifact of late 1970s California. Writer / director William Sachs ("The Incredible Melting Man") is simply having fun, and gives his movie an episodic quality. Bobby and his newfound buddies do such things as patronize a race track and an amusement park, go disco dancing, etc. Bobby has a tough time accepting Moon as an equal, so the final episode will see them race their vans. Meanwhile, there's a subplot involving the humiliation of party pooper cop Al Zass (Dana Gladstone).
Exploitation fans will appreciate the doses of nudity. The young cast in this thing is certainly attractive. "Van Nuys Blvd." is mostly valuable as a snapshot of the sights and sounds of the time. The disco soundtrack is most amusing if somewhat repetitive. Although the movie is not that long at 94 minutes, you can still see some definite padding; the disco dancing takes up a fair bit of the running time. The actors are all very engaging, including Tara Strohmeier as sexy carhop Wanda, and Di Ann Monaco, Susanne Severeid, Aesop Aquarian, Bella Bruck, Mary Ellen O'Neill, Renee Harmon, and Tiger the dog from the film "A Boy and His Dog" in a cute cameo.
Not particularly memorable but quite easy to watch and impossible to dislike.
Seven out of 10.