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| Images courtesy of Metro Goldwyn Mayer |
After co-writing The Sugarland Express with Steven
Spielberg, eventual American New Wave Dragonslayer and Batteries Not
Included director Matthew Robbins made his screen debut with the 1978
romantic road comedy Corvette Summer starring Mark Hamill in his first
post-Star Wars film. Co-starring
Annie Potts and featuring some unlikely turns from Danny Bonaduce, Brion James
and Dick Miller, the low-budget film made for around $1.7 million for MGM
became a box office success raking in around $36 million and also garnered then-newcomer
Annie Potts a Golden Globe for Best Acting Debut. However, critics were less than kind to it
and in the years since it has largely been forgotten save for some snarky pop cultural
references in MST3K, Justice League Action and a Green Day song. A shame because what’s here is kind of a
proto-Pee Wee’s Big Adventure type of road comedy with quirk, bombastic
slapstick and a genuinely sweet natured summer movie that takes full advantage
of its neon-lit Las Vegas setting.
High-school senior and shop class student Kenny Dantley
(Mark Hamill) is a California based car enthusiast who rescues a 1973 Chevrolet
Corvette Stingray from a scrapyard moments before it can be crushed and
proceeds to refurbish it into a beautiful new customized motor vehicle. Only problem is the night it is unveiled and
driven around the town, someone steals it, catapulting Kenny across the country
on the hunt for the hot car when he learns through here say it is residing in
Las Vegas. Hitchhiking his way there
including with a group of Mexican luxury drivers, his sojourn crosses paths
with young drifter Vanessa (Annie Potts) who is a self-proclaimed ‘prostitute
in training’. Landing a position in a
Vegas car wash while there, he spots the car driving around and tracks it to a
garage spearheaded by a mercurial owner named Wayne Lowry (Kim Milford). The trouble is there’s more than meets the
eye regarding how and why the vehicle was stolen in the first place.
A free-spirited road movie that gradually develops into a
romantic sort of caper chase comedy involving numerous scenes of Mark Hamill
running on foot across rocky terrain or through alleyways trying to catch the
thief, a bit of a coming-of-age story with Annie Potts undeniably at her
sexiest, Corvette Summer while having a dated moral ambiguity present in
a lot of like-minded comedies from the late 1970s is nevertheless a charmingly
entertaining little number. Mark Hamill’s
first movie following the breakthrough success of Star Wars and Annie
Potts first screen appearance, the unlikely twosome create onscreen an
infectious charm as it fluctuates between screwball comedy, sex comedy and a
slice-of-life action-thriller comedy. With
bright sunny camerawork by recurring Clint Eastwood cinematographer Frank
Stanley and a suitably exciting if not overzealous score by The Last
Starfighter composer Craig Safan, from a technical end Matthew Robbins’
first foray into film directing is a lovely looking and sounding summer movie
that like Pee Wee’s Big Adventure after it sort of transforms the
car/bike into a near-holy relic that must be rescued from nefarious wrongdoers.
Mark Hamill in his first post-Star Wars role is
tasked with channeling a wild amount of physical energy in one of his most physical
performances to date as an endearing youth who pours his heart and soul into
this inanimate motor vehicle only to discover his equal in terms of
intelligence and innocence with Vanessa.
Annie Potts in her first role is perky and bright-eyed, confident and
playfully daring but still ultimately a lost soul trying to find her way in the
world. Knowing the actress primarily as
the receptionist from Ghostbusters, her screen presence here may come as
a shock to some as she exudes a great amount of sex appeal and at one point
disrobes for the camera in an unexpected moment of nudity while also being able
to do screwball physical comedy.
Recurring television actor Eugene Roche also makes an interesting turn
as a schoolteacher who finds himself colluding with characters who might have
something to do with the stolen vehicle, including future Blade Runner star
Brion James as one of the thieves.
Although met with mixed critical reception upon its summer
1978 release, the low-budget road romcom became a surefire smash hit at the box
office. Costing around $1.7 million, it
managed to rake in $36 million in ticket sales and further garnered Annie Potts
a Golden Globe nomination for Best Acting Debut. An escapist cross-country odyssey that takes
full advantage of the Las Vegas nighttime and desert settings, the film in the
years since has become something of a curiosity for Mark Hamill fans keen on
seeing what kind of career he had outside of the Star Wars empire. Frequently referenced in modern media
including Mystery Science Theater 3,000 and Justice League Action
as well as the Green Day album Saviors, this largely forgotten little
gem while dated and conflicting in some areas is still a fun and entertainingly
cute summer comedy. While Matthew
Robbins mostly went back to writing screenplays, directing a few films here and
there including The Legend of Billie Jean and episodes of the TV show Amazing
Stories, Corvette Summer is a great starting point for the
still-working screenwriter and is more than worth checking out for the adorable
charms of Annie Potts who is positively delightful onscreen.
--Andrew Kotwicki
