Gas Pump Girls (1979)

There’s not much to say about something like Gas Pump Girls, the title of which tells you everything—this is a dim-witted sex comedy about pretty teenaged women working at a filling station. Sure, there’s a story of sorts, in which spunky June (Kirsten Baker) recruits her friends to help run her ailing uncle’s station while he’s recuperating from a heart attack. And, sure, there’s a villain of sorts, since the odious manager of the station across the street will do anything to deny June success. But nobody watches something called Gas Pump Girls for the plot—it’s all about dirty jokes and ogling. The jokes, generally speaking, are not funny, though they are indeed dirty. Several scenes feature dialogue crudely equating the insertion of a gas nozzle into a car’s tank with—well, you can figure it out. As for ogling opportunities, they are plentiful, though whether the skin on display is satisfying for any particular viewer is a matter of taste. Several attractive women appear topless, though the cast’s most glamorous starlet, alluring brunette Linda Lawrence, never disrobes further than bikinis and other peekaboo outfits. The acting is uniformly awful, but leading lady Baker does okay in the film’s strangest scene—for no particular reason, about 15 minutes into the movie, Baker breaks into song, briefly transforming Gas Pump Girls into a sweet, G-rated musical. Similarly, at one point later in the movie, Baker turns to the camera and addresses the audience for only one line. Gas Pump Girls can’t be described as a complete waste of film, simply because horny 14-year-old boys (and/or adults who think like them) can probably get what they want out of the movie. Beyond them, however, few will be able to tolerate Gas Pump Girls, much less actually enjoy the flick. (Available as part of the MGM Limited Collection on Amazon.com)

Gas Pump Girls: LAME