Hoo boy. "Beach party" movies sure were a thing, weren't they? Direly meager plot provides a flimsy pretense to feature scantily clad women, shirtless men, dancing, music, and more camp than a national park. Even in instances like this, where there's no actual beach to speak of, all the other hallmarks of the genre remain intact, including empty characters, generally bland dialogue, bad special effects (though par for the course of the era), and wholly outrageous development of what little plot there is. With kitsch this outlandish, the genre is effectively self-parodying. 'The ghost in the invisible bikini' is a unique experience, to say the least.
Credit where it's due: the costume design, such as it is, includes swimwear with some nice patterns. The hair and makeup work is on point, and the set design and decoration are swell. There are real dashes of cleverness peppered throughout, mostly in some of the humor, which consists of quips and one-liners, sexual innuendo, sight gags, and touches of situational or physical comedy. And even as the movie is overeager to slip in small songs wherever it can, I appreciate the contributions of Nancy Sinatra, Quinn O'Hara, and Piccola Pupa in these scenes. What can I say - the tunes are a little catchy.
Now, to be fair, for all the gaucheness and cheese that characterizes this feature and its brethren, one can trace a through line from beach party flicks to more overly self-serious comedies of more recent years. Moreover, putting aside the particulars that flow from the style, there are distinct similarities in the lighthearted playfulness - and even the most far-fetched story ideas - to pictures and TV shows of the 60s at large. Why, consider the "haunted house" element in this example, and one could even say there's a bit of Scooby Doo in 'The ghost in the invisible bikini.' This is a preposterous title, but it's not truly alone in any sense.
The greatest spirit of generosity doesn't absolve the picture of all its issues, however. The involvement of the biker gang is beyond specious. Some scenes achieve levels of superfluous bizarrerie far exceeding the already questionable standard of the film, and the scene writing at large is dubious, consistently raising a skeptical eyebrow. Too many moments come off as self-indulgent as a scene runs long in the tooth and the joke wears thin. Even at its best there's a lot about this that just feels tired, and the fun of the ridiculousness struggles to balance with the tawdry, unyielding ham-handedness. There comes a point where the nonsense is slightly more centered around the narrative, but the story is so inelegantly assembled that the difference is functionally meaningless.
There's a lot to take in with this movie. With all this having been said, though, I can't say I wasn't entertained. It's endlessly silly, and frivolous beyond compare, but it's a duly amusing frivolity. The caveat is that it definitely tries one's patience, and only viewers who are receptive to the utmost weird, wide variety that cinema has to offer are likely to find especial value herein. It's not a title I feel I can specifically recommend, but if you're deeply curious and looking for something a bit off the beaten track, a ludicrous romp like 'The ghost in the invisible bikini' may just be what you want.
Credit where it's due: the costume design, such as it is, includes swimwear with some nice patterns. The hair and makeup work is on point, and the set design and decoration are swell. There are real dashes of cleverness peppered throughout, mostly in some of the humor, which consists of quips and one-liners, sexual innuendo, sight gags, and touches of situational or physical comedy. And even as the movie is overeager to slip in small songs wherever it can, I appreciate the contributions of Nancy Sinatra, Quinn O'Hara, and Piccola Pupa in these scenes. What can I say - the tunes are a little catchy.
Now, to be fair, for all the gaucheness and cheese that characterizes this feature and its brethren, one can trace a through line from beach party flicks to more overly self-serious comedies of more recent years. Moreover, putting aside the particulars that flow from the style, there are distinct similarities in the lighthearted playfulness - and even the most far-fetched story ideas - to pictures and TV shows of the 60s at large. Why, consider the "haunted house" element in this example, and one could even say there's a bit of Scooby Doo in 'The ghost in the invisible bikini.' This is a preposterous title, but it's not truly alone in any sense.
The greatest spirit of generosity doesn't absolve the picture of all its issues, however. The involvement of the biker gang is beyond specious. Some scenes achieve levels of superfluous bizarrerie far exceeding the already questionable standard of the film, and the scene writing at large is dubious, consistently raising a skeptical eyebrow. Too many moments come off as self-indulgent as a scene runs long in the tooth and the joke wears thin. Even at its best there's a lot about this that just feels tired, and the fun of the ridiculousness struggles to balance with the tawdry, unyielding ham-handedness. There comes a point where the nonsense is slightly more centered around the narrative, but the story is so inelegantly assembled that the difference is functionally meaningless.
There's a lot to take in with this movie. With all this having been said, though, I can't say I wasn't entertained. It's endlessly silly, and frivolous beyond compare, but it's a duly amusing frivolity. The caveat is that it definitely tries one's patience, and only viewers who are receptive to the utmost weird, wide variety that cinema has to offer are likely to find especial value herein. It's not a title I feel I can specifically recommend, but if you're deeply curious and looking for something a bit off the beaten track, a ludicrous romp like 'The ghost in the invisible bikini' may just be what you want.