The Van (1977 film)

Infobox Film
name=The Van


director=Sam Grossman
writer=Celia Susan Cotelo
Robert J. Rosenthal
producer=Paul Lewis
starring=Stuart Getz
Deborah White
Danny DeVito
music=Steve Eaton
Sammy Johns
Michael Lloyd
distributor=Crown International Pictures
released=1977
runtime=92 min
language=English
imdb_id=00075378

The Van is a low budget teenage comedy film made in the mid- to late 1970s which shows stereotypical teenagers whose social lives revolve around getting high, drag racing and girls. The movie features music from Sammy Johns (most notably the song "Chevy Van"), and is representative of its time. It exemplifies the free sex of an era before AIDS awareness, and celebrates the cultural tropes of the time, such as the heavily accessorized van that provides the film's title and the van's obligatory 8-track player. The film is an early example of a new type of teen comedy which featured sexual situations, nudity and substance abuse; a far cry from the Beach Party films of the early 1960s. "The Van" helped herald a form that would be perfected in 1978 with "National Lampoon's Animal House" and later with "Porky's".

Tagline

The movie has had several taglines presented on the cover of the movie including "Bobby has a new machine...and everyone wants a ride!" and what appears to be the most popular is "Bobby couldn't make it 'till he went...FUN-TRUCKIN'!". The movie has around 8 different covers that were released in North America so the taglines have been changed several times and may vary in foreign releases.

Plot Summary

The setting of The Van is down town America and is mostly filmed in and around the beach or at the pub were the protagonist Bobby Hampton (played by Stuart Getz) is often seen trying to score with chicks. After Bobby and his best friend Jack (played by Harry Moses) graduate from high school Bobby decides to spend his well earned money, that he earned from working at a car wash, to buy a van, not just any Van, but a hyped-up van complete with waterbed, toaster and television, Bobby feels confident that he can take over the town for the night and get the girl of his dreams. After a few run-in's with his co-workers Bobby tries to hook-in with several girls that he meets in a bar.

After trying to force sex on a girl and after making love to a girl who turns out to be a prostitute, Bobby tries for some bigger game and goes after a girl from his high school called Tina (played by Deborah White) and at the same time is drawn to the movies antagonist Dugan's girlfriend, Sally. After Jack falls for Tina's best friend Sue, Bobby is obligated to give up his wild games of chasing girls so he can be with just Tina, however Tina is not so hasty in going out with Bobby as she knows of his ways of using girls just for sex.

Bobby ignores his feelings and makes love with a very large girl at a drive-in restaurant and after this realizes that he has to focus on just getting Tina, however he is once more interrupted along the course after he winds up having sex with Dugan's girl Sally, although it was only a one-night stand, Tina is once more put off by Bobby. To prove that Bobby actually is really only interested in Tina, he kidnaps her and drives her to a secluded beach (after a long car chase with the police), and tells her that she is making him feel like he doesn't want to "play the game any more" of chasing after girls, she admits that she also feels like she wants to be with him, after making love, Bobby is set, but not before his boss Andy (played by Danny DeVito) is in serious debt after a bet he made with some gangsters. To earn some extra money to pay back the money he lends Andy, Bobby drag races with Dugan, just before the race Bobby spices some things up by admitting to Dugan that he had slept with Sally and soon after calls Dugan a "turd". The flag is dropped and the race starts. Out of rage over what Bobby had earlier said, Dugan tries to drive Bobby off the road, unsuccessfully. Bobby flips over and rolls to the finishing line, however Dugan rams into a police vehicle (the same police that were chasing Bobby earlier) and fails to catch up.

Bobby wins the race, and the girl of his dreams.

Characters

*Bobby Hampton - the movies protagonist, Bobby is a recent high school graduate who buys a customized Van to try and win the girl of his dreams, it is not uncommon to see him and his best friend Jack drag racing and spending time at the pub.
*Andy - Bobby's boss, played by Danny DeVito, after getting stuck inside of a car in the front seat, Bobby helps him by stabbing him with a pin forcing Andy to wriggle free from the car and to safety. Gets into trouble after making a bet (and losing) with gangsters. He runs a gambling racket from within his Car Wash.
*Jack Crandall - Bobby Hampton's best friend, Jack is the more sensible one between the two and prefers to settle for Sue, a girl from his high school and Tina's best friend, other than chasing girls all the time, Jack is attacked by Bobby's co-workers after Bobby pulls a prank on them by spiking their beer.
*Tina - Bobby's girlfriend, opting to live a sensible life, getting good grades and have sensible sex, Tina eventually falls for Bobby after realizing how hard Bobby is actually trying to get her.
*Sue - Sue is Tina's best friend, she is a lot more wild than what Tina is, expressing sexual freedom and partying, Sue tries to convince Tina to go out with Bobby after she starts to date Bobby's best friend, Jack.
*Dugan Hicks - the movies antagonist, Dugan, known by his close friend as Dougy, is likely to be seen in the pub picking fights with people, lifting weights or drag racing (often in an unfair manner). Dugan dislikes Bobby because Bobby tries to sleep with Sally(Dugan's girlfriend). Dugan is put in his place after being beaten in a drag race by Bobby.
*Sally - Sally is Dugan Hick's girlfriend, she is shown us being very sexually provocative, no-one dares to even talk to Sally in fear of Dugan's wrath, (on one occasion a basketballer simply says "Hi" to Sally and is punished for it by Dugan, after Dugan pours beer down the basketballers pants). Sally sleeps with Bobby on one occasion to prove how unhappy she is with the way Dugan treats people.

Main Cast

Stuart Getz - Bobby HamptonDeborah White - Tina

Bill Adler - Steve

Danny DeVito - Andy

Donald Elson - Mr. Hump

Harry Moses - Jack Crandall

Howard Dayton - Friendly

James Oliver - Van Customizer

Jim Kester - Tom

Lilyan McBride - Bertha

Marcie Barkin - Sue

Steven J. Oliver - Dugan Hicks

Walter Maslow - Henry Hampton

Trivia

*The van that Bobby drives is actually a Dodge, and not a Chevy Van at all.
*The only T-shirts Bobby wears throughout the entire film are Van related ones, including a 'California Super Van's' shirt.
*The movie's title was originally "Chevy Van", however this title was changed soon after release.
*The movie was originally rated 'R' due to its high content of sex scenes, it was later changed to 'M' when it was later released on DVD.
*Bobby, being the 'good guy' of the movie, had his Van named 'Straight Arrow', after the fact that it can travel fast and is powerful, Dugan on the other hand, had his name called 'Van Killer' after the fact that he casually plays unfairly during drag races.
*After the film was made merchandise was made also, including toy replica's of both Bobby's and Dugan's vans.
*This film is one of many favorites in the collection of director Quentin Tarantino, and was featured in his 2007 Grindhouse Film Festival at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles.

Decline

Although the movie was popular for its time, that popularity steadily declined after the 1970s had ended. Teen comedies with superior production values were prevalent by the mid-80s, and "The Van" was quickly relegated to the bargain bins after it made its appearance on VHS. The DVD copy can be found for around $2.20 USD.Fact|date=May 2008