Word: avalon
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...accompanied by her Aunt Helen (Elizabeth Wilson), her older sister Andrea (Meryl Streep) and her mother Ruth (Nancy Marchand), an unresigned widow. (Colleen Dewhurst played Ruth for a few performances but withdrew because of a prior commitment.) A fifth woman distinctly jars this ostensibly patrician clan. Dixie Avalon (Dixie Carter) is a breezy, purse-swinging entertainer who has been hired by one of the absent menfolk to sing Oh Promise Me, apparently as a prank. Dixie clearly plans to get cash for her trash...
...words of a '60s platter, life meant "just a-surfin' all day and swingin' " all night. The superswingers, of course, were Warbler Frankie Avalon and matured Mouseketeer Annette Funicello, who boogied by the surf in a string of beach party movies. On Nov. 25 a Dick Clark special on NBC will be co-hosted by Funicello, now 36 and the mother of three, and Avalon, 38, father of eight. "The chemistry between us is just dynamic," giggles Funicello. Frankie agrees, and for good reason. Says he appreciatively: "Annette thinks I am the funniest guy in the world...
...High to learn how to shampoo and rinse, Frenchy is having one of those adolescent crises as to whether or not she has made the right decision by leaving school. Needless to say, her problem is hardly assuaged by a host of women with silver hair curlers and Frankie Avalon making his guest appearance as Teen Angel. Avalon tells Frenchy that she's "got the dream but not the drive. Who would want their hair done by a slob, only whores." Not only does this make Frenchy feel bad, but the audience is stupefied by this offensive piece of special...
...various pop-culture icons of the '50s (Eve Arden, Sid Caesar, Edd Byrnes, Frankie Avalon) are given nothing to say or do that is worthy of them. Still, the little shocks of recognition we feel as they make their initial appearances provide the only fleeting moments of life in a movie that has as its true subject a bygone style but is utterly devoid of that quality itself...
Many of the locals are upset by the prospect. A human voice at the end of the line instead of an electronic buzz has heightened Avalon's sense of community. A direct-dial system means no more neighborly gossip and no more baby announcements over the phone. People used to ask questions like "Where can I reach Lucy's sister?" or "How long do you broil a steak?" Now they will have to go elsewhere for the answers...