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 *****
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