Movie Review - Mini-Skirt Mob

RESPECT & HONOR STARTS AT HOME

Well, here we go with August. As always hot and miserable but we get out there and ride our bikes anyway. Time for Sturgis, road trips and parties that revolve around the idea of not being able to afford to go to Sturgis. We want to hold events praising America and stating how proud we are to be Americans, while at the same time, we have individuals out there disrespecting our country, troops, first responders and veterans.

Organizations gathering out there that hold the belief that way to get respect is to be heard. Not by proper actions or popular opinion or by doing what’s right for the greater good, but for personal gain and notoriety. They all want their 15 minutes of fame. Meanwhile, the ideals that our forefathers and veterans of the past and present bestowed on this great nation are being crapped on. Makes me sick.

People need to realize that respect and honor start at home. It starts with those people who you call family and friends and your personal circle. If you tell someone that you will do something for them, they should be able to rely on your word and not worry that it will be taken care of. They should be able to take that as a holy grail and that you’ve taken care of it.

Unfortunately, people like to say that they will do things for others and nothing ever comes about. Sounds great at the bar, sounds great at the party, sounds great when a person’s in need and other people are standing around. People become impressed that somebody stepped up to the plate to help another. They admire the example of kindness and caring for others that person has displayed. Then we see that after the crowds have gone that nothing happens. Empty words = no actions = no respect. Tired of the direction our beautiful country has headed in.

We are multitudes of people chanting and waiting for something that may or may not happen for years from now they will supposedly fix our country. What about now? So much damage can be done in four years. In one year. Again another example of a way of rubbing our ignorance in our face. Make no mistake about it, I admire those who stand up for what they believe in. Right or wrong it is a right that has been bestowed upon them by the blood and sacrifice of others. But again we have to look at the greater good of an entire nation. I guess the entire point of this rant is that it all starts at home. How we bring up our children, how we handle our relationships with others that we become in contact with. When you lie to someone or make empty promises to someone, you disrespect them. Nobody likes to be disrespected. In the biker culture and lifestyle, everyone loves to jump up and down about respect. How about instead of running a mouth, can you start doing the deeds that show that we are worthy of the respect that we gave our grandparents growing up?

I for one don’t take disrespect lightly and I know others who feel the same way. Now everybody is so worried about what will happen to them if they stand up for themselves. We used to be able to walk into a room and I would know that men

were men and women were women and that we would act accordingly. Now they can’t even decide what bathroom they want to use. And if that statement offends anybody, too bad. I speak my mind.

Think about what it’s going to be like when nobody decides to stand up to the bully in the room. It’s in your court, you decide. The answers to these problems starts at home. If you want respect, give respect. Because it sucks mouthing the words with no friggin’ teeth.

“ IT ALL STARTS AT HOME. HOW WE BRING UP OUR CHILDREN, HOW WE HANDLE OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS THAT WE BECOME IN CONTACT WITH. WHEN YOU LIE TO SOMEONE OR MAKE EMPTY PROMISES TO SOMEONE, YOU DISRESPECT THEM. NOBODY LIKES TO BE DISRESPECTED ”.

— Nefarious James American

This month Born To Ride reviews the Mini-Skirt Mob, another in a series of horrible old biker films for your entertainment. In some cases “the older the more horrible” comes to mind when dealing with these movies. This one was produced in 1968, and rates right (down) there with the best of the worst!

The plot bears more than a few similarities to Satan’s Sadists (which I have previously reviewed for BTR). In this case, it’s Shayne, the psychotic female leader of The “Mini Skirts” played by Diane McBain and her hair-do, stalking the innocent young couple along with her ‘gang’ members. It seems that “Jeff” the man she’s after used to be “her guy,” but he got wise, dumped his rodeo/biker buddies and married some hot brunette girl from the local bank. This in my opinion was a weird mix. The connection involving ‘biker’ girls and rodeo guys never seemed to materialize. It looked more like a ‘hippie’ flick than a poorly made biker film. Anyway, here’s my best shot at explaining the plot. … Just as Jeff, was preparing apply the pork to his new bride “Connie” all his old pals and the “Mini-Skirts” arrive at his camper trailer to party. This of course leads to a major fistfight, where Jeff and his new bride suffer the worst of the melee. Later Shayne the maniacal jilted blonde (and her hair-do) convinces the other ne’er-do-wells to hang around with her, and continue to torture Jeff and Connie. As they chase them up a mountain road Jeff swerves and runs “LG” off the road crashing his motorcycle into a deep chasm. They return to find him dead, and decide to leave, but some boy scouts see all the action. The cops come later, and haul LG off. (You don’t see too much of the cops in this one oddly. ...) Later on, the gang finds Jeff and Connie camped out, and a couple of the guys rough Connie up while Jeff is out walking around. More psycho-babble from Shayne leads the gang to keep the couple trapped in the trailer with a rifle. That only works for a while, as Jeff tries to rig something up with the propane bottle, and the stove in the camper. As usual in these films one of the members turns on the other. In this case it’s Shayne’s sister, who wants to release Jeff and his bride and return to town. She knocks one of the rodeo rednecks out, and hatches a plan with Jeff and Connie. As she dons Connie’s clothes, the couple escapes while she fires at the gang from inside the trailer. The gang retaliates with Molotov cocktails, leading to one of the ubiquitous gags where a stunt man wears a fire suit and runs around the desert while flaming away. Anyhow, I’m not sure where the beer (or the empty bottles) originally came from, but the blast from the exploding propane kills Shayne’s sister. In the end two of the gang chase Jeff and Connie through the desert, and Shayne’s motorcycle slips on the edge of a ravine and crashes down several hundred feet. Shayne is holding on to the edge for dear life and begs Connie to save her. Connie grasps Shayne’s hand but well you know … she kinda lets go as Jeff approaches, and the couple watches as Shayne tumbles to her death. As typical in these old reels, most of the actors were totally unconvincing. I found myself thinking- these aren’t real bikers or rodeo dudes! These are simply bourgeois B-movie Hollywood types earning a living at ruining their future careers. I think that during most of the viewings however. Biker exploitation? No. Waste of good Mylar? Probably. You watch it and decide for yourself.

I can only recommend this piece if you have a burning desire to see hot Sixties chicks in mini-skirts, go-go boots and huge hair. I did like the old Honda and Triumph motorcycles, and of course since there was Budweiser, (still not sure where it came from) it got one star. It runs 82 minutes, is available on DVD from MGM’s ‘Midnight Movies’ series, and I can only (in my right mind) give it 2 stars because there was a glaring lack of nudity. (The second star appears because I LOVE cat-fights!) So grab a Bud and some popcorn, and we’ll see ya next month!