{"id":19200,"date":"2019-05-10T22:03:49","date_gmt":"2019-05-11T02:03:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=19200"},"modified":"2019-05-11T02:48:33","modified_gmt":"2019-05-11T06:48:33","slug":"film-lemon-popsicle-eskimo-limon-1978","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=19200","title":{"rendered":"Film: Lemon Popsicle \/ Eskimo Limon (1978)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Film<\/strong>: Very Good<\/p>\n

Transfer<\/strong>: \u00a0Good<\/p>\n

Extras<\/strong>: n\/a<\/p>\n

Label:\u00a0<\/strong> n\/a<\/p>\n

Region:<\/strong>\u00a0n\/a<\/p>\n

Released:<\/strong>\u00a0 n\/a<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong>\u00a0 Teen Comedy \/ Drama<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/strong>\u00a0Classic & cult teen comedy-drama in which an Israeli teen vies for the affection of a girl in spite of his best friend’s slick maneuvering.<\/p>\n

Special Features:<\/strong>\u00a0 n\/a<\/span><\/p>\n

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Review:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Please note: this review contains spoilers galore!<\/em><\/p>\n

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There\u2019s a theory that Cannon Films would never have existed had it not been for this frank, provocative, sexually overheated teen comedy by Boaz Davidson, which was seen by almost half of Israel and earned an enormous amount of money in Europe and Japan during its theatrical run.<\/p>\n

In spite of its cult status, Davidson\u2019s film didn\u2019t click as strongly in the U.S., but the success of the film allowed producers Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus to move Cannon Films to the U.S., and build a meteoric empire of genre movies, of which Davidson made his share of contributions as writer, producer, and director.<\/p>\n

Reportedly based on a event & relationship in Davidson\u2019s life, Lemon Popsicle <\/strong>predates Porky\u2019s<\/strong> (1981) and Meatballs<\/strong> (1979) and the mass-wave of teen comedies that soon flooded screens with borderline and R-rated content in the late 70s and 1980s, but it took huge inspiration from George Lucas\u2019 American Graffiti <\/strong>(1973) by layering in a mass of hit singles to similarly evoke a bubbly 1950s setting.<\/p>\n

Although set in Tel Aviv \u2013 the signage very clearly reveals we’re in Israel \u2013 the characters and their misadventures, antics, and troubles (not to mention cars and music) are very western, as is the simple story of a decent kid who\u2019s wholly unable to thwart his best friend’s efforts to shag the love of his young life. When she gets pregnant, he manages to get the funds for an abortion, but his hope of seeing friendship advance to true romance crumbles fast.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t your typical teen comedy plot, which should make the film uneven and outright bizarre, but as Lemon Popsicle<\/strong>\u2019s aged into a cult curio with dated sexism, the performances by the young cast remain fresh and compelling. Sequels inevitably dilute an original\u2019s most attractive elements, but the cast\u2019s natural performances in No. 1 still resonate and transcend the uncomfortable sequences which may reflect the era, but also Davidson\u2019s lack of sensitivity.<\/p>\n

The core plot follows three best friends, good kid Benzi (Yftach Katzur), tall & handsome Momo (Jonathan Sagall), and chubby Yudale (Zachi Noy) as they pick up girls in soda joints, sneak into a cinema, and soon vie for two girls \u2013 Nili (Anat Atzmon), a newcomer to the high school, and her bespectacled nerdy friend Bracha (Rachel Steiner). As Momo and Nili get closer, Benzi\u2019s stuck with Bracha, while Yudale has zero luck with women, tagging along with his friends but \u00a0oddly never feeling like a 3rd wheel, especially when his friends are romancing the girls in the same car.<\/p>\n

When Nili becomes pregnant and Momo casts her aside, a disgusted Benzi swoops in, taking her to a clinic and allowing her to recover from the procedure at the shuttered apartment of his late grandmother. A hug and a kiss seem to infer Benzi and Nili\u2019s friendship might advance to deeper emotional & physical intimacy, but her birthday party ends with Benzi leaving when he catches the former couple embracing.<\/p>\n

The dour finale certainly runs contrary to the almost mandatory happy finale where the good kid gets the hot girl, and the stud is either embarrassed and \/ or sent packing, or remains a friend and willingly accepts losing the girl, but unlike American genre entries, there\u2019s virtually no small scenes that allow Nili to deepen as a character; even her dialogue is faint and sparse.<\/p>\n

Perhaps Davidson wanted Nili to remain fixed as a soft-focused enigma of the perfect love from a teen\u2019s puppy dog vantage, or he and co-writer Eli Tavor lacked the insight or care to develop the film\u2019s female characters beyond clich\u00e9d archetypes. Lemon Popsicle<\/strong> is presented entirely from the limited vantage of Benzi before life lessons and sharp turns in adulthood.<\/p>\n

The problem with Davidson\u2019s approach is the provocative sequences, which may be reflective of the outrageous material typical of the era \u2013 Italian, British, and West German cinemas had their own brand of sex comedies and bawdy, risqu\u00e9 erotica. Genre connoisseurs won\u2019t have an issue with them per se \u2013 they\u2019re partly responsible for the film\u2019s cult status and box office success \u2013 but their inclusion mandates the girls get far less scenes.<\/p>\n

The voyeurism through peepholes, a phallus contest, encounters with a hooker and nymphomaniac, and generic boobery are typical of the teen sex comedy, but Lemon Popsicle <\/strong>may be responsible for carving a benchmark to which other filmmakers could strive but never exceed without running afoul of their respective ratings board.<\/p>\n

Whereas American teen comedies were often packed with older actors \u2013 a rather ridiculous convention – Davidson\u2019s cast is much closer to their characters\u2019 ages, which makes the characters far more believable, but also makes certain doses of nudity a little shocking, especially the abortion sequence in which Nili is asked by the doctor to fully disrobe for the procedure.<\/p>\n

The infamous nymphomaniac scene with Stella (Ophelia Shtruhl) and the three pals is lengthy, and features a full-frontal moment, whereas the topless shots may be verboten for PG genre entries, but acceptable for R-rated entries in the U.S. (In Europe, topless nudity was and remains less provocative.) On the other hand, the hooker scene, while a little garish and coarse, is<\/em> funny because it\u2019s three hot-headed teens unprepared for a business encounter in which the service agent (played by a real provider) disallows stalling, nuisance chit-chat, or negotiating for a lower group rate.<\/p>\n

The character of Yudale would get more screen time in the sequels \u2013 Sababa<\/strong> (1983), a standalone spin-off followed \u2013 but in the first film Noy is limited to playing \u2018the fat kid\u2019 who tries in vain to score, and is even abandoned by his pals when they score two girls and head for the cinema.<\/p>\n

Davidson and Tavor\u2019s humour ranges from crude to occasionally sharp and witty, and the film\u2019s first third is the strongest because the emphasis is on capturing the energy, the boasting, the hormonal tension, and joking among teens in hangouts and school, plus the odd interaction with archetypal (and typically underwritten) parents & adults.<\/p>\n

Adam Greenberg\u2019s agile, handheld cinematography adds an effective little docu-drama tone, and although Alain Jakubowicz would edit mostly action films for Cannon, his cutting keeps the film\u2019s pacing sharp, and an early dance party is really beautifully assembled from a diversity of angles and fluid camera movements; it’s the best cut and most energetic sequence in the film.<\/p>\n

The almost exclusive reliance on American rock & pop songs \u2013 some previously heard in American Graffiti <\/strong>\u2013 work well, but there are few moments of genuine silence – signs of a younger, zealous filmmaker (and maybe influential producers) wanting as many songs to not only keep the film bubbly, but sell a possible soundtrack album.<\/p>\n

The film\u2019s music rights may be a reason Lemon Popsicle <\/strong>remains unavailable on DVD in North America, or it could be part of a batch of Israeli films produced by Cannon which its current owners feel aren\u2019t as commercial in Region 1 land.<\/p>\n

The Israeli DVD was used for this review, and while it doesn\u2019t include the original American dub track, the subtitles feature very<\/em> Americanized names (Benzi becomes Benji and Benny; Mono is Bobby; Yudale is Huey and Johnny; Nili is Nikky; and Bracha is Martha), and the high school is named Roosevelt (!) in spite of visible Hebrew text, and the teens heading off to a kibbutz while Benzi helps Nili recover at his grandmother\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Even weirder are recurring but inconsistent lyrics for the English language songs that often don\u2019t match what\u2019s heard; sometimes it\u2019s for a song not in the film, or for a song that appears much later<\/em>. There\u2019s also subtitles for odd bits of unspoken dialogue, but presumably they correlate with extra material added to the English dub track to fill in scenes.<\/p>\n

Details in the audio mix are mushy due to heavy compression, and efforts to create a pseudo-surround mix consist of sometimes clumsy fades between the central dry mono track, and sudden panned effects with faux digital depth enhancements. Near the film\u2019s end, reel changes have disruptive noise.<\/p>\n

In spite of its dated elements, Lemon Popsicle <\/strong>has a certain charm, with refreshing performances and tight pacing. The resilient franchise consist of the 1978 original and sequels Going Steady<\/strong> \/ Yotzim Kavua<\/strong> (1979), Hot Bubblegum<\/strong> \/ Shifshuf Naim<\/strong> (1981), Private Popsicle<\/strong> \/ Sapiches<\/strong> (1982), Baby Love <\/strong>\/ Roman Za\u2019ir <\/strong>(1984), Up Your Anchor<\/strong> \/ Harimu Ogen<\/strong> (1985), Young Love<\/strong> \/ Ahava T\u2019zeira<\/strong> (1987), Summertime Blues<\/strong> (1988), and the reboot The Party Goes On<\/strong> (2001), plus the U.S. remake The Last American Virgin<\/strong> (1982), and the Yudale spin-off Private Maneuvers<\/strong> \/ Sababa<\/strong> (1983). (Further details of TV pilots and riffs are cited at a fan site<\/a> for the franchise.)<\/p>\n

The variety of distributors involved with the franchise might make a comprehensive boxed set a challenge in North America (and maybe even Europe, although there was a UK Region 0 PAL set that featured the 7 main films, albeit full-screen, and English dub tracks only), but at this stage, one of the most successful Israeli films deserves a special edition on Blu-ray; if not goosed with extras, then a boxed set that assembles as many of the films, period interviews, and ephemera in one DVD package.<\/p>\n

The documentary Lemon Popsicle: Of Winners and Losers <\/strong><\/a>(2018) re-examined the film and its legacy of sequels through the recollections of its key cast & crew, and addresses several prickly controversies.<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 2019 Mark R. Hasan<\/p>\n

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