It's spring break, and college kids from around the country descend en masse to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Hart, Mimieux, Prentiss, and Francis are four friends in search of sun, parties, and boys, though not necessarily in that order. The episodic plot line follows each girl in her
respective success or failure with members of the opposite gender. Prentiss (in her film debut) is a scatterbrained lass who falls for Hutton, though their relationship takes a jealous turn when Hutton is briefly infatuated with Nichols, a nightclub entertainer who performs an underwater act in a
glass tank. Recording star Francis also makes her first film appearance, capitalizing more on her vocal talents than acting ability. Hart meets Ivy Leaguer Hamilton, and romance blooms. Mimieux is determined to get herself an Ivy Leaguer any way she can, mistaking sexual passion for true love.
WHERE THE BOYS ARE is plenty moralistic, yet the film is not without a naive sense of charm. Hart, who doesn't give in so easily to Hamilton, is the pinnacle of everything good and proper, while poor Mimieux gets exactly what she deserves for responding so swiftly to Harrity's importunities--or so
the film would have us believe. This sexual moralizing is a bit much, portraying women as either good or bad while the boys who chase them have just one thing in mind. Fortunately, the black-and-white ethics are balanced with the lighter involvements of the other couples. Prentiss and Hutton give
their story a silly sweetness, going through predictable situations with fine comic flair. Considering the radical movements that would sweep college campuses in the 1960s, this film holds some interest as a relic of sexual attitudes in the 1950s. A 1984 remake showed just how much Hollywood had
changed in portraying sexual antics on screen, though the later film has none of the original's appeal. leave a comment
