\n<\/p>\n
[With one
\nson in college and another about to be, Spring Break is a lot more than just a
\nconcept or a professional reality for this AmericanStudier. So this week I\u2019ll
\nAmericanStudy a handful of cinematic portrayals of Spring Break, leading up to some
\nweekend reflections on being a college Dad!]<\/p>\n
On what Full For one On the Next Ben<\/span><\/p>\n PS. What
\nwasn\u2019t new about the historic beach bomb, and what was.<\/span><\/p>\n
\ndisclosure: I haven\u2019t seen more than a few clips of <\/span>From Justin to Kelly<\/span><\/i><\/a> (2003),
\nthe movie <\/span>Wikipedia
\nnotes<\/span><\/a> \u201cis often regarded as one of the worst movies ever made\u201d and that
\nreceived <\/span>a 2005
\nRazzie<\/span><\/a> for \u201cWorst \u2018Musical\u2019 of Our First 25 Years\u201d (their delightful
\nscare quotes). Thanks to a Twitter recommendation from <\/span>AJ Schmitz<\/span><\/a> I did
\nlisten to the <\/span>How
\nDid This Get Made?<\/span><\/i><\/a> episode on the film, which I\u2019m quite sure was
\nfar more enjoyable than the movie would have been. You might nonetheless argue
\nthat I shouldn\u2019t be writing a blog post on a movie I haven\u2019t watched, and I\u2019d
\nunderstand that critique (evidence-based analyzer that I try to be)\u2014but life is
\ntoo short to spend 81 minutes watching From
\nJustin to Kelly<\/i>; and in any case my plan for this post is to analyze not
\nall the nuances of this text (probably should have used scare quotes of my own
\nfor both of those last couple nouns), but rather to use it to engage a couple
\nof pop culture contexts. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nthing, the Spring Break-set From Justin
\nto Kelly<\/i>, featuring the \u201cacting\u201d debuts (couldn\u2019t resist that time) of American Idol<\/i>\u2019s first season winner and
\nrunner-up Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini (I\u2019m sure I could find a YouTube
\nclip to hyperlink there, but I like you all too much to do that to you), is
\npart of a long tradition of sub-par beach films starring teen idol-type actors.
\nI\u2019m thinking in particular about the many, many films inspired by <\/span>Sandra
\nDee\u2019s 1959 hit movie Gidget<\/i><\/span><\/a>; as I
\nwrote in that post Gidget <\/i>isn\u2019t
\nterrible (although I think its popularity was due more to a bunch of beautiful
\nbodies making surfing look good than any cinematic strengths), but it doesn\u2019t
\nseem that we can say the same of the majority of the more than 30 \u201c<\/span>beach
\nparty films<\/span><\/a>\u201d that were greenlit after Gidget<\/i>\u2019s
\nsuccess and were released in the five years after <\/span>1963\u2019s Beach Party<\/i><\/span><\/a>. These films often starred attractive,
\npopular young stars like <\/span>Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello<\/span><\/a>, and,
\nlike From Justin to Kelly<\/i>, were more
\nor less excuses to put those folks on the beach and hope that young audiences
\nwould want to join them there enough to overlook the absence of plots,
\ncompelling characters, or the like. That legacy doesn\u2019t make From Justin to Kelly<\/i> any better, but it
\ndoes make it make a bit more sense. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nother hand, Avalon and Funicello may not have been Olivier and Hepburn, but
\nthey were established actors, performers who had appeared in multiple films
\nbefore their beach partying days. Guarini and Clarkson were cast in a film
\nimmediately after their time on American
\nIdol<\/i>, and because of that time\u2014<\/span>Clarkson
\nin particular has noted<\/span><\/a> that she didn\u2019t want to make the film but was
\ncontractually obligated to do so. I\u2019m not someone who believes that reality TV
\nis an entirely or even consistently negative cultural presence (certain <\/span>reality TV
\npresidents<\/span><\/a> notwithstanding), but I think it\u2019s fair to say that the track
\nrecord of reality TV stars going on to meaningful success in any other arena
\n(or even in their own arena\u2014Clarkson is one of only a few <\/span>music-show
\nstars<\/span><\/a> to achieve a lasting career in the field) is <\/span>a mixed
\none<\/span><\/a> at best. You might say that even the most talented screen
\nperformers couldn\u2019t have saved From
\nJustin to Kelly<\/i>, but I believe the more accurate frame is quite distinct:
\nthat this thoroughly forgettable film would never have been made at all if it
\nweren\u2019t for the goal of producing a vehicle for these two reality TV
\ncontestants. This is one Spring Break story that should have stayed broken. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nSpring Break film tomorrow,<\/span><\/p>\n
\ndo you think? Other Spring Break films or texts you\u2019d share? <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n