Hot Dog... The Movie (1983)

HOT DOG… THE MOVIE (1983)

Dir: Peter Markle

There is no way to watch Hot Dog and not think of the skiing episode of South Park (S06E02) “Asspen”. The episode featured references to Hot Dog, Ski School, Ski Patrol, Aspen Extreme, Total Recall, Pet Sematary, and Better off Dead. And it was a rip-off of the underdog sports plot and 1980’s sensibilities. The kids get dragged into the plot of a ski film complete with 80’s music and convoluted sports wagers. This episode features Butters dancing to Men At Work’s “Safety Dance,” the old man mimicking Fred Gweyn in Pet Semetary with “You don’t wanna go down that road,” and Thumper - the awesome ski instructor - who tells the kids, “You French fried, when you should have pizza’d.” One of the all-time great South Park episodes, maybe up there with “Scott Tenorman Must Die.”

Way before you could parody the ski film, there was the original ski film, Hot Dog… The Movie. This is a beloved teen sex comedy. There’s wall-to-wall female nudity and a carefree attitude to the entire production. The underdog sports movie is almost an aside to the sex and antics of these ‘professional’ skiers. We follow Harkin Banks on his mission to win a championship. Along the way, he picks up a hitchhiker, and she tags along while Harkin makes a name for himself. During the competition, he meets up with Dan (American Werewolf In London’s David Naughton) and his band of misfit skiers, and they rally together to beat the German team. There is absolutely nothing new to see here. It is fascinating to watch how the director was able to pack in additional nudity by filming scenes that made no sense to the plot. I’m looking at you wet T-shirt scene in a honky-tonk bar that leads to packed booby barrage. I have always enjoyed a good sex comedy, but if you’re going to be exploitative with nudity, there should always be equal representation. There should be bouncing penises and hairy butts to go along with breasts and pubic hair, it’s simple math.