I miss Andy Sidaris. He was no great filmmaker, but he always gave his fans what they paid to see. It was The Triple B Pledge: Bullets, Bombs and Babes.
Andy Sidaris got his start in the world of televised sports. He was the first directer of ABC’s Wide World of Sports and he directed countless professional games before he began making feature motion pictures. The Sidaris Formula consisted of having various Playboy Playmates involved in some kind of international crime caper. Think Charlie’s Angels with a lot more skin. They were generally shot in Hawaii.
I had never heard of Andy or his movies. Until one night on Joe Bob Briggs’ Drive-In Theater. My God, those were the days. I’d watch JBB every Saturday Night and he showed some great films. As well as many not-so-great ones. The films of Andy Sidaris fell somewhere in the middle. They were slick enough, as he had more than ample experience behind the camera. He directed as well as wrote many of them and, trust me, he was no Mamet. But he managed to get the story across. And you didn’t have to worry about a whole lot of plot to get in the way of the skin and the explosions. Sidaris knew what his audiences wanted and he gave it to them.
The first I saw was Hard Ticket to Hawaii and I later saw Malibu Express, Hard Hunted, Savage Beach and Picasso Trigger. These movies were late night cable TV staples in the 80’s and 90’s. For all I know they still are.
Andy Sidaris died in March 2007, of throat cancer. His career was successful by any standard. He learned the ropes in the industry and went on to write and direct 12 money-making pictures.
It hardly seems like Summer without Andy Sidaris around anymore.
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