Weekend Pass (1984) from Tuna

Weekend Pass is an 80s sexploitation comedy about four sailors who have just completed basic training at San Diego, and are off to LA for a big weekend liberty before heading to their first duty stations. We have a black ex gang-banger who was given a choice by the court of boot camp or jail, a college graduate who thinks he is God's gift to the ladies, a wannabe comedian who is scheduled to debut at a comedy club on open mike night, and a nerd with a blind date waiting for him. There first stop is The G String for lunch and tits, the latter provided by clothing removal experts Sara Costa and Ashley St. John.

The others decide to get the nerd laid, and call Chop Suzi outcall, whereupon he gets a nearly fatal massage from a topless Cheryl Song. The college man's big date with Hilary Shapiro, wherein she shows breasts and buns, is a complete bust. All four seaman apprentices end up with a decent date the last night of the liberty.

My biggest complaint was that they did not do their research on the Navy. If recruits marched the way this bunch did at graduation, they would be doing boot camp over again. The uniforms resembled what sailors who had sea time would look like, especially in the way the hats were bent, but not recruits. They didn't take off their hats indoors. After having just finished boot camp, they would not have made that mistake. They were called "seaman," even though their two stripes clearly shows them as seaman apprentices. In the Navy, recruits get one stripe. For a much better idea of sailors on the town, see Cinderella Liberty or The Last Detail

On the other hand, this is just supposed to be a sexploitation film, not a cinema classic, and it works as light entertainment. The IMDb score of 2.5 underrates it significantly. The actual arithmetic mean is 4.3, which is closer to what the film deserves, given that their adventures are believable, there are some amusing moments in the film, and some pretty women deliver some pleasant T&A. Granted, I have a weakness for this kind of material, but I don't think you'll find this one so bad at all if you're open to the pleasures of the genre.
 

DVD INFO

  • widescreen anamorphic transfer
  • no features

 

NUDITY REPORT

see the main commentary

The Critics Vote ...

  • No major reviews online

 

The People Vote ...

The meaning of the IMDb score: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence equivalent to about three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, comparable to approximately two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, equivalent to about a two star rating from the critics, or a C- from our system. Films rated below five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film - this score is roughly equivalent to one and a half stars from the critics or a D on our scale. (Possibly even less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

Our own guideline:

  • A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre.
  • B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. Any film rated B- or better is recommended for just about anyone. In order to rate at least a B-, a film should be both a critical and commercial success. Exceptions: (1) We will occasionally rate a film B- with good popular acceptance and bad reviews, if we believe the critics have severely underrated a film. (2) We may also assign a B- or better to a well-reviewed film which did not do well at the box office if we feel that the fault lay in the marketing of the film, and that the film might have been a hit if people had known about it. (Like, for example, The Waterdance.)
  • C+ means it has no crossover appeal, but will be considered excellent by people who enjoy this kind of movie. If this is your kind of movie, a C+ and an A are indistinguishable to you.
  • C means it is competent, but uninspired genre fare. People who like this kind of movie will think it satisfactory. Others probably will not.
  • C- indicates that it we found it to be a poor movie, but genre addicts find it watchable. Any film rated C- or better is recommended for fans of that type of film, but films with this rating should be approached with caution by mainstream audiences, who may find them incompetent or repulsive or both. If this is NOT your kind of movie, a C- and an E are indistinguishable to you.
  • D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. We don't score films below C- that often, because we like movies and we think that most of them have at least a solid niche audience. Now that you know that, you should have serious reservations about any movie below C-. Films rated below C- generally have both bad reviews and poor popular acceptance.
  • E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre.
  • F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

 

Based on this description, it's a C-. If you like this sort of movie, this one is just barely good enough when you need a fix. Otherwise, steer clear.

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