Let's stroll on over to Brooklyn New York...the year is 1963 and it's the another summer scorcher, Cool shades and goofy hats are a must!

Let me introduce you to the...

Flamingo Kid!



I tend to watch my movies seasonally...movies set in the summer I watch in the summer, etc.
This is one of my all time favorites...I think it's when I fist saw Matt Dillon. I loved how accurate they were with the clothes and the hairstyles and of course the music. ( I love big hair!)

A little trivia here..Janet Jones who played Carla, is married to hockey great Wayne Gretzky. Also some of us will remember Richard Crenna as Luke on The Real McCoys. Hector Elizondo (Pretty Woman) is perfect as the blue collar hardworking dad.


The movie was made in 1984 but set in 1963 and for those of us that were around back then it's fun to stroll back in time.

Jeffrey Willis (Matt Dillon) has just finished high school and isn't quite sure what the future holds. His parents expect him to go to college but he is starting to find his close-knit family stifling. He gets a summer job at the Flamingo club where he meets Phil Brody, (Crenna) a successful car dealer who fills Jeffrey's head with ideas about how to make his fortune. Phil is everything Jeffrey would like to be - popular, rich and the best gin rummy player the club has ever seen.


The boy is bedazzled by Crenna's sumptuous lifestyle, and most especially by the older man's reputation as the Flamingo's reigning gin rummy champ. Dillon begins taking on airs, which alienates his down-to-earth father. Watch for a scene in which, while channel-surfing with his new remote control, Richard Crenna watches a fleeting clip from the old TV sitcom The Real McCoys--featuring Richard Crenna.

Jeffrey's coming of age includes a romance with the very pretty Carla Samson, but the shine on Phil Brody's philosophy of life wears off when he uncovers a significant flaw in his character.

Jeffrey feels boxed in; in his home, in his life, in his dreams. At the Flamingo beach club his eyes are opened to a world filled with what he sees as beautiful people and perfect lives. He turns his back on his family in pursuit of easy street.

Jeffrey falls in love with pretty beach girl Carla, and appears to be on his way to a cushy job selling sports cars for the slick Mr. Brody. It all begins to fall apart when Jeffrey discovers that Mr. Brody misled him; and further disintegrates when he notices Mr. Brody cheating at cards. Jeffrey must finally choose between his dreams and honor. He returns to his family, which he now sees not as a box, but as a foundation.



Even though I live in New York I have never been to one of these Long Island beach clubs but they do still have them today..I did belong to a pool club in Queens before they tore it down but that's as close as I got to anything like this...

Whether it's a private beach club or your own backyard...make a splash this summer!



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