Phat Beach is a 1996 American comedy film directed by Doug Ellin, which stars Jermaine 'Huggy' Hopkins, Coolio, Brian Hooks and Gregg Vance. The movie has been considered to be "one of the greatest (and perhaps only) hip-hop beach movies of all time."
Plot
Benny King, an overweight, self-conscious teen in Bakersfield, California, faces the prospect of a dismal summer when his father Carl pushes him to get a job at a hamburger joint. Carl wants Benny to develop a work ethic instead of sitting around the house all summer, writing and dreaming. Benny begrudgingly takes on the job, but continues to daydream about Candace, the girl of his dreams, and gets sidetracked by his hormonal friend Durrel Jackson.
Durrel proposes an attractive alternative to Benny—heading off to the Southern California beaches. While Benny's family is on vacation, he borrows his father's Mercedes convertible and heads to Malibu with Durrel. Though Benny and Durrel intend to sell cheap sunglasses to beach-goers so Benny can afford a poetry class, Durrel gets distracted with all the attractive women around. Durrel proceeds to enjoy hook-ups with an assortment of women, while Benny is convinced he won't meet anyone because of his size. The duo get into a variety of misadventures, including running into Coolio at a first-class hotel and signing up for a volleyball tournament when they realize they are out of money.
Cast
Production
The film was the directorial debut of Doug Ellin, who was offered the chance to direct by producer Cleveland O'Neal based on a short film he made titled The Waiter. O'Neal envisioned Phat Beach to be the first hip-hop beach movie.
Due to the film being non-union, much of the cast, with the exception of Jermaine Hopkins, consisted of unknown actors appearing in their first feature film. Before Hopkins was cast in the role of Benny, Anthony Anderson had read for the part.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack album for the film was released on August 7, 1996, through TVT Records and consisted primarily of hip hop and R&B music. The album reached number 40 on the Top R&B Albums chart.
Track listing
"Fatal" – 4:03 (E-40) "U Gotta Go" – 3:25 (The Buckwee Boiz and Kinsui) samples "Dance To The Drummer's Beat" by Herman Kelly & Life "Up to No Good" – 4:18 (Eightball & MJG) "She's Hollywood" – 4:06 (Solo-Loc and Rod King) "Gotta Have Game" – 3:41 (The Click) "I'm Hungry" – 3:35 (Biz Markie) "Like Playas" – 5:17 (Spice 1 and Young Kyoz) "80 Ways" – 5:05 (Def Jef) "You Are My Kind of Guy" – 3:03 (Delasaneice) "Get Tis Money Honey" – 3:43 Wildlife Society 3:43 "I Want the Bomb" – 4:04 (LaTanya) "I Just Wanna (Be With You)" – 3:58 (L.A. Ganz) "I Dream of You" – 4:25 (Chubb Rock) "Jock'n Me" – 4:20 (MoKenStef)
Release
Phat Beach received a wide theatrical release on August 2, 1996. It opened in the 22nd spot, grossing $658,614 on 408 screens. It ultimately grossed $1,383,553 domestically, making the low-budget film a financial success.
Reception
At the time of release, Phat Beach received negative responses from critics who described the film as little more than a puerile sex comedy. Roger Hurlburt of the Orlando Sentinel lamented that "women are treated as brainless, money-grubbing half-wits who swoon over dirty comments, vulgar flattery and a fancy car", and added "the plot is just an excuse for audiences to gape at a group of outrageously bosomy women removing bikini tops. In Phat Beach, smarmy, sexist jokes combine with silicone to produce a laughless, truly tasteless tale. Scarcely a poignant look at the loneliness of overweight, poetry-loving, nice-boy Benny King (Jermaine "Huggy" Hopkins), this simply is a bounce-and-jiggle picture. Phat is intended to titillate through gratuitous, overripe nudity and foul-mouthed high jinks. Contrary to the ads, none of it is phresh or phunky. Phlaccid is more like it."
In contrast, Amy Wu of the Chicago Tribune gave a positive review and wrote, "Phat Beach is a fun movie, and that's all it's meant to be." She added, "Simplicity is what makes Phat Beach so enjoyable", but "behind the simplicity is something revolutionary...The cast is multiethnic, the main characters are not white and the music comes from rap artist Coolio instead of the Beach Boys". The Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas felt the film is familiar at points, but praised the comedic chemistry between Hopkins and Hooks, in addition to the soundtrack.