HELENE UDY FLIPS-OUT IN 'PICK-UP SUMMER' OR 'PINBALL SUMMER'

Helene Udy in PICK-UP SUMMER aka FLIPPER GIRLS aka PINBALL PICK-UP Year: 1980

PINBALL SUMMER, also known as PICK-UP SUMMER… the latter appearing in the opening credits… Along with other great titles like PINBALL PICK-UP, FLIPPER GIRLS or if you're a Viking, SKJEKKESOMMER… is a ninety minute Canadian Exploitation that seems about four hours, and that’s not such a bad thing…

With sporadic shots  of pinball, and the film set during summertime, the original/working title fits yet there’s not much of a pick-up since sexy sisters Donna and Suzy, played by HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME Canadian Karen Stephen and her HOG WILD Canada co-star/future DR. QUINN MEDICINE WOMAN actress Helene Udy, already seem in-cahoots with our affable heroes Greg and Steve, two cool yet equally clumsy dudes that like hanging out at a local dive arcade and, along with a grungy biker named Bert, really want to win a coveted pinball trophy.

Helene Udy warms up to a teddy bear in FLIPPER GIRLS aka PICK-UP SUMMER Rates: ***

Much of the film has the foursome hanging around local spots, ranging from a theme park to a lakeside resort: the hotter the weather, the less clothes the sisters wear… But for hardcore exploitation fans it’s Joy Boushel as Sally that not only takes it off completely, but has her very own retro rock tune blaring when she's by herself and even during a frolicking house party.

Added to the mainstays are filler roles including a conceited rich kid who falls victim to practical jokes, and an off-kilter geek dead-set on appeasing the head villain at all costs. And there's not much to say about PINBALL SUMMER expect that when the movie actually relies on the titular device, the good times pretty much stop rolling...

Karen Stephen and Helene Udy in PICK-UP SUMMER also in that year's HOG WILD

The final matchup between Greg and Bert, competing on a game aptly titled Pinball Summer while the local kids cheer them on, is somewhat ponderous: You'll wonder if the in-house arcade crowd can even see the slow-paced, flat-table game like the viewing motion picture audience.

It's the jovially flimsy plot-line: the sisters having fun despite uptight parents, and their boyfriends having fun despite the random bulwarks of their girl-next-door sirens, that makes this low-budget exploitation work despite itself.

Helene Udy and friend show their backsides in PICK-UP SUMMER