Synopsis
Summer of 1963. Carson is getting married to her boyfriend so her friends Melaina, Pudge and Luanne take her to Myrtle Beach for one last irresponsible weekend.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Phoebe CatesCarson McBride
- Scott CoffeyChip
- Bridget FondaMelaina Buller
- Annabeth GishCaroline "Pudge" Carmichael
- Page HannahLuanne Clatterbuck
- Robert RuslerBuzz Ravenel
- Tyrone Power Jr.Harley Ralston
- Jeff YagherJimmy Valentine
- Paul LieberThe Manager
- Donald CraigSenator Clatterbuck
Recommendations
- 90
Los Angeles Times
An utterly pleasant surprise...Lordy, is it tenderly acted, with an unyielding spine of honesty to all its characters. - 75
Chicago Sun-Times
It has a charm based on its innocence, its conviction, its pre-Beatles soundtrack and the big 1950s cars the kids drive around in. - 75
Slant Magazine
As for Fonda, the camera certainly loves her (to quote a famous line by Howard Hawks), but an actor needs a part that will make her a star, and few films since Shag have seen fit to play to her strengths, specifically that perky blond American sass of hers that found perfect expression here. - 70
Time Out
The adolescent antics may be familiar, but Barron directs with affection both for her characters and for back-combing and boned underskirts; her young professionals turn in appropriately corny performances; and the soundtrack is a corker. - 63
TV Guide Magazine
Director Zelda Barron has a real affection for her characters, enabling them to retain a sweet dignity even under some excessive circumstances dictated by the unimaginative, slight script. - 60
Orlando Sentinel
Easily the best thing about Shag: The Movie is its soundtrack, which combines newer music with such golden oldies as ''Easier Said Than Done,'' ''Up on the Roof'' and the ever-weird ''Alley Oop.'' These tunes (some of which are performed by the 15-member Voltage Brothers) do a lot to keep the mood light and to cover the lapses in the narrative, of which, you can be sure, there are more than a few. - 60
Variety
As a dance flick, Shag suffers from an unexciting dance-style and so-so choreography but compensates with a fine young cast and likable story. - 40
The New York Times
Long before the film is over, one is left frustratedly grasping after characters and an ambiance that have evaporated into formulaic freneticism.
