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“Hot Moves” is one of those forgotten curios from the 80s, a teen sex comedy released right in the middle of the genre’s boom, when movies like “Porky’s” were ruling the box office. With so many of these comedies hitting theaters, plenty went unnoticed at the time, while others slipped into obscurity over the years. I’m not exactly sure which camp “Hot Moves” belongs to—but either way, it’s safe to say the movie has been long forgotten.
So why bother with a 40+ year-old, low-budget teen sex comedy filled with mostly unknown actors? For me, there are two reasons. First, while the cast is largely forgettable, one name does stand out: Jill Schoelen. She went on to become a bona fide scream queen of the 80s, with memorable roles in “The Stepfather“, “Popcorn”, and even the early Brad Pitt flick “Cutting Class“.
The second reason is the genre itself. 80s teen sex comedies almost always delivered a heavy dose of nudity, and “Hot Moves” is no exception. Call it juvenile, but there’s a certain nostalgic charm in seeing a mainstream movie unapologetically packed with skin—it’s a time capsule from a bygone era when cinema didn’t shy away from that kind of fun.
And finally, there’s the plot. Let’s see if this sounds familiar:
Four high school juniors spend their summer break in Venice, Los Angeles, and make a pact to lose their virginity before senior year.
Sound familiar? It should. The writer of “American Pie” must’ve caught this flick back in the early 80s, because the foundation is basically the same. Sure, the execution couldn’t be more different, but both movies hinge on nearly identical “pact to lose it” setups. And here I was thinking “American Pie” was a 100% original recipe.
So how does “Hot Moves” hold up after all these years? Honestly, not great—but not unwatchable either. It’s exactly what you’d expect from a 40-year-old teen sex comedy. The characters are stock tropes: the women are mostly portrayed as sex objects, except for the one “good girl” who insists on waiting. The rest are more open to fooling around—just not with the four leads. And on the rare occasion one of the guys does get close, some ridiculous obstacle inevitably ruins the moment, like a room literally catching fire while his buddies spy through the window.
Another scene has one of the guys stumbling into what seems like a willing young woman, only for the big reveal—it’s actually a man in drag. Did I mention this was an 80s movie?
The movie does deliver a few fun moments and plenty of nudity—including a nude beach scene with more full-frontal than you’d expect—but it struggles with having an actual plot. To stretch the runtime, it pads things out with endless filler: shots of people hanging around the beach, montages of scantily clad women, and “extreme sports” footage of the era—skateboarding, BMX, roller skating, you name it.
In the end, “Hot Moves” is about as basic as a teen sex comedy gets. It offers a couple of chuckles and some topless eye candy, but not much else. Without its curious connection to “American Pie,” this one would’ve slipped completely into obscurity long ago.
