Where the Boys Are 84

Plot

Four co-eds from snowbound Penmore College in the Northeast head to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for spring break: Carole (Lorna Luft) taking a separate vacation from her steady boyfriend Chip (Howard McGillin), winds up as a hot contender in a "Hot Bod Contest"; Jennie (Lisa Hartman) is doubly lucky, courted by both a rich classical pianist (Daniel McDonald) and a devil-may-care rocker (Russell Todd); Sandra (Wendy Schaal) looking for the Mr. Right who will finally satisfy her; and Laurie (Lynn-Holly Johnson) a sex crazed nymphomaniac dreams of a night of unbridled passion with a real he-man. Laurie ends up getting her wish, albeit through a rather unexpected source.

During the week-long festivities, the girls meet Sandra's snobbish aunt Barbara Roxbury (Louise Sorel) and her friend Maggie (Alana Stewart) and get to sample much of Fort Lauderdale's nightlife. They are also invited to a formal party at Barbara's house, which ends up being crashed by hundreds of spring breakers.

Cast

Release and box-office

Where the Boys Are '84 was produced independently by ITC Productions and was distributed by TriStar Pictures after Universal Pictures rejected it. The film was released nationwide on April 6, 1984 and was both a box office and critical flop, earning one of the year's worst film reviews from critics. It ranked #5 at the US box office grossing $3.6 million on its opening weekend. Its total domestic gross was $10.5 million. It was nominated for five Razzie Awards - including Worst Picture - with Lynn Holly-Johnson winning for Worst Supporting Actress.

Janet Maslin, writing for The New York Times, called the film "dumb, vulgar and mostly humorless." Roger Ebert, writing for The Chicago Sun-Times, reported, "It isn't a sequel and isn't a remake and isn't, in fact, much of anything."

Soundtrack

Where the Boys Are '84 soundtrack album was released on vinyl and cassette tape by RCA Records. The film's title track cover version by Lisa Hartman was released as a 7" single with the B-side "Hot Nights" by Jude Cole. However, it failed to chart.

1. "Hot Nights" – Jude Cole
2. "Seven Day Heaven" – Shandi
3. "Mini-Skirted" – Sparks
4. "Be-Bop-A-Lula" – The Rockats
5. "Jenny" – Peter Beckett

1. "Where the Boys Are" – Lisa Hartman
2. "Woman's Wise" – The Rockats
3. "Girls Night Out" – Toronto
4. "Slippin' & Slidin'" – Phil Seymour
5. "All Fired Up" – Rick Derringer

Home video

The film was released on VHS by Key Video in September 1984, but has since gone out of print. On August 23, 2011, the film was released on DVD in region 1 by Scorpion Releasing.