It's a hot Long Island summer in the 1960s. The kids from the local suburban high school spend most of the summer frolicking at the beach before heading back for their senior year. Nerdy bookworm Paul (Barry Gordon) and tough jock Russ (Jon Voight) compete fiercely for the beautiful, popular Christine (played by ex-"Hullabaloo" dancer Lada Edmund Jr.) Over the course of the summer, the intellectual, fantasy-prone Paul discovers that life and love can't be learned through books but must be experienced first-hand.
The acting by Voight and Gordon is quite good, considering the relative inexperience of both actors at the time. Gretchen Corbett, who plays Paul's on-again/off-again love interest Barbara, also does a fine job. But the real treat here is the first-rate performance of Edmund, who is absolutely gorgeous and who shows surprising talent and depth.
While a cinematic classic this ain't, "Out of It" is fun nonetheless. The music and script clearly are dated (teen-agers drink beer in public, and one character actually says "Let's make it" as a prelude to passion!), and the story jumps around a bit. But the camera work is good, and people who root for the underdog will absolutely love Paul, who learns lessons any of us folks who think too much would find useful. The shots of real-looking people on the beach (complete with cellulite and beer bellies) make this flick all the more enjoyable.
