Corvette Summer

source: Corvette Summer

I was under the impression that CORVETTE SUMMER was a TV movie, because I first saw it about 15 or more years ago on the tube, but maybe I'm wrong. Anyway, Mark Hamill starts as the slacker high school student who finds a reason to finish his secondary education in restoring a junked corvette in his shop class. The fun starts when his baby is stolen and he sets out to track it down. With the help of an eccentric drifter-*-hooker-*-beautician-*-drivethru girl(Annie Potts), Mark chases down his dream to Las Vegas. Will Mark find his 'Vette? Will Annie be able to hold down a job? Will the two come together. Watch and find out

I'd love to see a show where actors take questions and answers about their experience and thoughts on their past films that quickly ended up becoming obscure, or collecting dust at Blockbusters. I mean, in 2003 we have available to us on DVD every nuance of every film made from the mid-80's on. I suspect "Corvette Summer" will never quite get that amount of respect. Indeed, it shouldn't. Mark Hamill looks tired in this flik. As unwilling as he is to have sex with Annie Potts it seems so was his enthusiasm to play in this role. Still, if nothing else, the film does bring back memories of a now bygone era. I also (surprisingly) found myself being quite entertained by this movie, expect for the drawn out and unnessary car chase scenes at the end, the movie held my interest. Most appealing was the acting of Annie Potts and the on screen chemistry between her and Hamill. She undergoes some physical transformations here, all of them cutesy. It was also interesting to notice that bike helmets and H2O bottles (for bikes) were on the market back in '78, my wife and I didn't recall that these products were available during this era. Anyhow, in summary, this is a very light but fun film that unintentionally evokes some chuckles and is worth checking out. Just seeing that late 70's Corvette (and that groovy van!) is worth the price of admission, not to mention Danny Partridge before his DJ/VJ days!

Less than a dozen comments, none in the past couple of months: meets my criteria for throwing in my two cents... I found this to be an okay movie: not dreadful; but not great, either. I'm not a car fanatic, so, I suppose that THAT decreases one's rating right there. Mark Hamill's physique also failed to convince me that, as the film asks us to believe, he is a just-graduated high schooler. I did the math and concluded that, at the time, he was at least 26! Otherwise, it's fairly interest-holding and inoffensive. The premise is that the auto-body-class's project was the restoration of a Sting Ray, which gets stolen. Hamill's passion is to recover it. Eventually he tracks down the thieves, and, along the way, he develops a relationship with a gal who attempts a number of careers, including the world's oldest profession. Also central to the storyline is Hamill's teacher, who he looks up to. All in all, it's an okay expenditure of time and/or (a reasonable amount of) money.

When you're tired of all those boring, dime-a-dozen mainstream comedies out these days, I'd recommend looking for this movie to pop in the VCR (or DVD player if it made it that far) one weekend afternoon. 'Corvette Summer' is a semi-teen adventure in the style of something like 'Rock N'Roll High School' (the Ramones movie, not that Corey Feldman comedy), minus the rock music theme. And, even though I rarely enjoy Mark Hammil's performances, and even despite his not looking much like a high school teen (he was 27), he and Annie Potts had great chemistry in this light-hearted road adventure comedy. Hammil plays a recent high school grad who's obsessed with a Corvette he helped fix up as the final auto shop project. But, one night, while he and his classmates take the cherry auto for a joyride on the strip, it is stolen. Everyone is ready to give up, because hell, what are the chances of finding a car like that again? Especially in one piece. But, Kenny (Mark Hammil) is persistent, and tracks down any leads he can find, which take him all the way to gambling country--Las Vegas--where he latches on to a clever scheme (that shatters the kid's idealism) and where he also befriends an eccentric drifter-turned-prostitute named Vannessa (played by Annie Potts who can always make me laugh), who also gets involved in Kenny's relentless search for his famed Corvette. For laid back good times, and a bit of reminiscing, I'd recommend catching Corvette Summer--even if you're not into cars (like myself). It's an appreciable little comedy that does well thanks to its quirky stars--Hammill and Potts.

Likable film about the male obsession with cars, but the male lead is poorly played by Hamill, in his first film after Star Wars. Potts, however, is enchanting and steals the film right from under Hamill.

The summer of 1979, when this flick was a staple on that new movie medium called HBO, was Gas Line Summer & Iranian Hostage Crisis Summer. A change of mood was about to end low-budget, loner-on-a-mission car films, although "Smokey & the Bandit" kept need-for-speed flicks going as live-action Roadrunner cartoons for a few more years. "Corvette Summer" is as quirky as any earlier movie like "Vanishing Point" or "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry," if lighter & sexier than most. Just-graduated, high-school automotive genius Kenneth (Hamill) hitchhikes to Vegas in pursuit of the car theft ring that ripped off his Shop Class masterpiece, a super-custom, right-hand-drive Vette. In the spiritual limbo of the I-15 desert (see "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas") he gets into a custom van (yes, this was the tail end of the van craze, too) tricked out as a mobile bordello & driven by sassy, aspiring hooker Vanessa (Potts), on her way to Sin City to make her, well, whatever it is ambitious hookers make. VANessa, get it? Shy, innocent Kenneth is in way over his head in Vegas, with only his all-American resolve & his new friend to help him, although the hard-edged young call girl is predictably less world-wise than she first seems. Why, in the "I am Woman" age, Vanessa invested her talents, money & future in the world's oldest but least dignified profession over, say, college or even hairdressing, can be explained by young men who'd like to think that all women at least consider the joys of that career path. Remember the target audience, right? Hamill is a good choice for the whitebread Kenneth (the car doesn't even belong to him personally, but to his school), who won't be deterred from his goal by violence, money or even love--until he finds out why the car was really stolen. Potts acts with style & energy but Vanessa is too incredible for any but the most credulous testosterone machine to buy into. The bad guys are made surprisingly human, especially by the always-fine Brion James. But there's not much action & this isn't the kind of movie that can be carried by dialog, plot twists or Heavy Themes. You could always reach up, turn the TV dial & plug in your "Pong" console. The similar but meaner Chris Mitchum vehicle "Stingray," which appeared at about the same time, featured lamer acting but more skin, speed & mayhem. The best features of each film might have produced a Vette movie worth remembering. Thus the Trans Am was left to rule the box-office muscle car showroom. Another forgotten car movie brought back from the dead by "Speed Channel's" fine weekend series, Lost Drive-in.

I know no one cares, but I do. This film is historic for one reason. It is the unity of two heroes from two great seventies sci-fi films. Well, one is great, and one is quite bad. The great one is truly great, in fact it's the best. The bad one is truly bad, in fact it's the worst. Of course of the great I refer to "Star Wars" and it's star Mark Hamill, aka "Luke Skywalker", who is the hero of this film about a kid who gets his Vette swiped and then goes to Vegas (on a lead) and after a whole lot of adventures, eventually recovers it. (Since he's into fixing cars I guess you can call him "Lube Skywalker"). Along the way he meets a hooker with a heart of gold, and ends up facing off with a character played by Kim Milford, the hero from the seventies sci-fi cult film "Laserblast", which is, as I've hinted at earlier, the worst sci-fi film ever made. Milford plays the lead baddie whom Hamill must steal his car back from. I realize that no one cares about this meeting of two great sci-fi heroes, but I do. And I also must say that this is one of the best/worst movies of all time. Mark Hamill's acting needs the force, the plot needs extensive Jedi training, and the character of the hooker played by Annie Potts just might be the most annoying character of all time, ever, in any film I've ever seen. But it's a fun movie to watch on a weekend day, or a weekday night, late at night, very late. It's one of those films that meanders, looking for something but without quite finding it and yet, at the same time, it's entire purpose is, like free-form jazz, to simply exist as is. And it does. And what is, isn't that great, but you can't say it isn't entertaining, because for an hour and a half you might feel ripped off, but you won't feel cheated. So turn off your mind, relax, and enjoy this muddled gem without any expectations, and may the force be with you, always.

This movie is somewhat underrated, at least in my opinion, I guess that one has to enjoy cars to enjoy the movie. Anyway, it has Mark Hamill in one of his many not-so-famous roles, but he still makes the film watchable for a Star Wars fan. Pretty good chase scene at the end...

If you are a Star Wars fan, it is interesting to see Mark Hamill in this movie, second only to The Big Red One as non Star Wars performances go. Annie Potts of Ghostbusters and Designing Women fame is great. I personally have nothing against Hamill and would like to see him do more movies and choose better scripts. Look for this film from the same creative team as Dragonslayer (another underrated film, which Ally McBeal fans should seek to see Peter MacNichol in a slightly different light). It is well worth it. It won't change your life, but it's not a rip-off. It's good summer fun.