User Reviews

"The Prime Time" is a crappy exploitation film. Not surprisingly, it was made by Hershell Gordon Lewis--a guy known for making crappy and super-low budget films. However, at one point in the film, someone (and I assume it wasn't Lewis) added a lot of nudes swimming and cavorting about and it's obvious that these were sloppily inter-cut into the scene. For example, the wild teens are swimming at night--but when you see some nudes jump into the water, it appears to be daytime or dusk! This is highly reminiscent of Ed Wood's "Plan 9 From Outer Space" when Bela Lugosi and his double are chasing a lady--and it goes from day to night again and again in a super-sloppy job of editing. None of this is terribly sexy, as the print is pretty crappy and, frankly, most of the naked ladies aren't very desirable. If you are looking for porn, you could do a whole lot better!

The plot involves a terribly obnoxious and very unlikable 17 year-old who is anxious to become a mega-slut. She runs around with older men, poses nude for a local pedophile and seems eager to destroy herself. And, for kicks, one of the guys she parties with is a cop! I guess he took an oath to protect and to serve...again and again and again. Not surprisingly, by the end of the movie the girl has been taught a lesson about life in the fast lane--and nearly dies in the process. I am sure the film makers said this was all in the spirit of public service--to warn folks about the dangers of unbridled teen passion and all that crap. Of course, the viewers saw this as a chance to see some nudity--which could often be slipped into these dismal films because it is all 'educational'! In addition to all this 'education', you also have a cat-fight where two girls fight and rip each other's clothes off. But, as they only get down to the underwear, I assume it was part of the original film. The same goes with the from the back shots of her tussling with the pedophile painter--all in order to 'educate' the public! How civic-minded of them.

If you took out the gratuitous nudity, I might give the film a 3 or possibly 4. However, the choppy way these were used really made the film look craptastic. As a result, a 2 seems reasonable. The acting is often bad, the script occasionally interesting but often a bit dumb and the whole thing has an aura of cheapness about it.

By the way, I have no idea how old the girl in the film really was. The film said Jean was 17 but she frankly looked to be at least 25. IMDb had no information on this one way or the other--but Jo Ann LeCompte (Jean) sure didn't appear even close to 17. Also, while you have to look close to see her, Karen Black is in this film. Look closely for her distinctive face and eyes--she's in the left foreground in a scene where the guy is telling a supposed joke about cooling off. She also later in the film is The Beard's shapely model.

I nominate this film for worst rock 'n roll band in a film. They appear at the 55 minute mark and seem like the most disinterested singing group in history. They are bad enough to rival Arch Hall, Junior's band in "Eegah" and the the Del-Aires in "The Horror of Party Beach".