Malibu Hot Summer (1981) User Reviews

Fizzle Beach, U.S.A.

[guyfromjerzee · 3/10 · 1 October 2004]

Even if you love Troma, you might not fall in love with this movie. The charm of most Troma movies is that even though they're incredibly awful (artistic-wise), the filmmakers don't pretend they're making Shakespeare. "Sizzle Beach, U.S.A." often does take itself seriously, yet sporadically finds room for those quirky Troma elements. There's a scene where a naive, ditsy aspiring actress tries to get a job by sleeping with a morbidly obese man. He sees her naked body and says, "I see real potential in you." Pretty funny. But gags like that are sandwiched between badly played dramatic moments. The film almost plays out like a bad soap opera...with gratuitous female nudity. The nudity is practically the only saving grace of this "film," though it certainly shouldn't be anyone's sole reason to buy a copy of the DVD. I wasn't surprised when I watched an interview on the DVD, in which the film's director mentions that Kevin Costner tried to buy the rights to the movie, so that he can remove it from all stores and selling outlets. It's still amusing to see Costner in such a horrible flick. Anybody who thought "The Postman" was bad should probably check this movie out first. Though not quite the talented actor he is today, Costner probably gives the film's best performance. The rest of the cast put no emotion into their dialogue, and sound as if they're reading off cue cards. I can barely call this a film, because it's basically just a collection of scenes. It's neither character-driven, nor plot-driven. This is one of those movies I expect to see in the bargain bin, for about $4.99. The only minor compliment I can give is Costner does have a pretty substantial supporting role, so this wasn't one of those cases where a now-famous actor is placed on the DVD cover to increase sales, when he only has a small cameo. And on the bright side, it's a Troma DVD, so it has some cool Tromatic extras. (3 out of 10)

Lame-o skin flick

[Leofwine_draca · 2/10 · 2 September 2017]

SIZZLE BEACH U.S.A. is a '70s-era sex comedy that didn't get released until a decade after it was filmed. It's notable for featuring a teenage Kevin Costner in a bit part role as a farm hand, and he looks like a goofy kid, which is quite amusing. However, he's only a very small part of the overall storyline, which is about three 'hot' girls from Los Angeles turning up on a Malibu beach and having fun. Essentially this is a skin flick which requires the trio of lead actresses to wander around in the nude, strip off, and engage in some sex scenes. It's pretty boring, and bottom of the barrel entertainment.

Kevin Costner's First Movie

[slightlymad22 · 2/10 · 5 August 2016]

I have decided to watch every kevin Costner movie in order. So I start here with his debut. Malibu Hot Summer or Sizzle Beach USA as its called on my DVD.

Plot In A Paragraph: 3 female friends (One wants to become an actress, one wants to be a singer, and the other wants to be a gym teacher) go to stay at a beach house for the summer.

There are a lot of naked beauties in the movie, and I'm sure a few people still get a kick out of the 1970's soft core porn movie vibe. But it's one to miss.

Kevin Costner is given a Special Guest Star Billing, and is in it quite a bit. He plays a cowboy who falls in love with the actress. But truthfully he gives the impression he is reading his lines from a none to helpful prompt book.

cheesy 1970's style softcore porn

[bs122782 · 28 September 1999]

Shot in 1974 but not released until 1986 the film can be mainly of interest to anyone because 19-year old Kevin Costner plays a small role as a ranch hand. Interesting thing is, he is actually the best thing about the movie -- he at least tries to act. He's rough around the edges but one can see that a couple years of acting lessons added to that laid-back "aw shucks ma'am" demeanor will make him the star he is today. The rest of the cast gives your typical low budget talent-free performances. Plot (if you can it that) centers around three uniquely untalented women trying to make it in la-la land. lots of t & a, tacky sets and costumes, bad cinematography, a cheesy script, and tuneless music.

Special place in my heart

[BigTommo · 1/10 · 15 January 2007]

I had to check the spoiler alert, which is pretty ridiculous considering there's no discernible ending to give away. A woman goes to LA to become a singer and meets two other women along the way in an hilarious{sic} turn of events whereby a doorknob falls off of a diner bathroom door. The two girls want to become a gym teacher and an actress, respectively.

Then somehow Kevin Costner turns up working for the shortest man on Earth at a ranch. The girls stay with one of them's cousin and they all make their way through a sea of LA clichés, situational and character-wise. There's a bunch of random ugly sex-scenes with the most fake breasts ever filmed. Then the one girl sings a song and the movie ends.

Yet there are these weird side characters and stories that will be introduced and then completely discarded within ten seconds(acting class students), and insane moments(girl and man run into each other on beach) and single shots(afro-ed and moustachioed black man leering at white girl) that make me think that there was some sick genius behind the camera. And then there was the little person. The littlest in my estimation.

I first watched this dubbed in French, which was awesome as you can tune out a foreign language if you want and just laugh at the stupidity. I bought the DVD later in English and have yet to make it through. Even my friends who are big into Mystery Science Theater went to play Scrabble after about twenty minutes. But for me it has some nostalgia, and I still think it's the worst thing ever made, in any form of media, visual or otherwise. (Move over Paul Hogan's 'Almost an Angel'!)

A FAIR comment on the film

[96leipers · 9/10 · 6 December 2000]

For a film with not a very good plot to begin with this was saved by Kevin's performance. It's a film starring kevin, in what I would call his "off years", so how can it be as bad as these voters say. The acting was ok and the story was not the best ever written but it was a classic B-Movie and i remember seeing it when it was first released, maybe my memory has faded in the years between then and now, and I was impressed , i was only 12 at the time and my understanding of films was not as concise as it is now, but every film has good points. Doesn't it?

Not all bad!

[Freakmaker · 6/10 · 25 December 2007]

A fairly decent T and A flick that delivers plenty of nudity in it's runtime.Good looking girls too!There are better beach movies out there but fans of the genre would do well to check it out.Kevin Costners only in a few scenes although he's clearly the most natural actor in the film.IMDb states in "Trivia"that the film was shot in 1974 and released in 1986.I have a hard time believing this,a simple click through the cast list would seem to indicate a shooting date around '79 to '82 otherwise most of the cast would have done this in '74 then nothing else for 6 years before they all started acting again?The films not THAT bad...

What a 70's jewel!

[dansome · 10/10 · 8 April 1999]

I totally adore this film! It is truly among the more terrible creations to ever be released on the world! Definitely watch it with a remote so you can catch all the little oddities. Don't be fooled by Troma's attempts to pass this off as a modern flick--it is from 1974, and definitely NOT a Costner film. He has a very small part, though you can see the budding talent in this 19-year-old. He's the only one with talent, though. Look for fun things like articles of clothing that disappear and reappear--this film is PACKED with unintended hilarity! Enjoy!

is it really a pre Boogie nNights?

[remco-2 · 6/10 · 14 November 1998]

I have seen Sizzle Beach on a DVD and gristly to say, the extra's Troma Studios put on the DVD are more fun than the movie itself. The movie is originally released as Malibu Hot Summer in '74 starring Kevin Costner playing one of his first roles. In this film he is playing a rancher that meets a couple of women who just arrived in L.A. He is showing them the way in the hard and quick city of Los Angeles. If you like Troma movies this is a must see. All the typical Troma aspects can be seen: bare cheasted ladies, a "pimpy" midget, some lesbian scenes, lots of topless swimming and on top some great music. If you are into that and don't mind the absence of acting Sizzle beach might be the predecessor of Boogie Nights.

Kostner's early work

[toxiy · 3 July 1999]

Sizzle Beach USA is one of those great little films that lets you peer into the time when an actor or actress that has made it, was putting their all into their performance. This is a true work of art with T&A to boot.