Hop in the Supervan

Can you think of a movie in which you can find guys with Gabe Kaplan hair, see inside cool, souped-up vans from the late 70’s, see Len Lesser from tv’s Seinfeld, hot women smoking joints, an outdoor game involving crawling through cardboard boxes, and see guys with Incredible Hulk and Mr. Spock masks? I can. It’s called “Supervan.”
The 1976 film, “Supervan” captures a time when there were contests to see who had the best and coolest van, whether it be one with carpeting along the entire interior or one with lots of interesting artwork painted on the outside. There were several films in the late 1970’s that attempted to sell tickets by capitalizing on the current trends. Citizen’s Band (1977), Skateboard (1978), Skatetown USA (1979), and “Tilt” (1979) starring Brooke Shields are a few examples.
After an opening credits sequence featuring the memorable song, “Ridin’ High,” we are introduced to Clint Morgan (Mark Schneider), owner of a souped-up van he hopes to enter into a van contest, specifically, the Second Annual Non-National Invitational Bicentennial Invitational Freak-Out ’76. Who wouldn’t want to go back in time and attend anything called Bicentennial Freak-Out ’76? On his way to the said Freak-Out, Clint runs into some mean bikers who, through not particularly sensical means, lead him into a compactor at a dump where his van gets crushed. None of this really makes much sense, but that is ok since we know we will eventually arrive at the Freak-Out. At the dump, Clint rescues Karen Trenton (Katie Saylor, a regular on the 1977-78 science fiction series, “The Fantastic Journey” which starred Roddy McDowell and Jared Martin). Karen was being attacked by the previously mentioned bikers. Eventually, Clint and Karen get away, however his van is destroyed so his hopes of winning the Freak-Out are dashed. A tow truck towing a pick-up truck takes Clint and Karen to the laboratory where a special solar-powered super van is being made. You might call it Supervan. Actually, in the film, it is named Vandora. Vandora is designed by Clint’s friend, Vince (Skip Riley) who works for T.B. Trenton (Morgan Woodward) at Mid America Motors. Morgan Woodward, who has a fantastic Tom Snyder hairdo, was regularly featured on the tv show “Dallas” as oil baron, Punk Anderson, and guest-starred a few times on the Logan’s Run tv series which aired during the 1977-78 season on CBS. An interesting side note is that “Dallas” and the earlier sci-fi shows, “Logan’s Run” and “The Fantastic Journey,” were all produced by Leonard Katzman. Some of the actors from the sci-fi shows would eventually appear on “Dallas.”
Through a series of events, Clint and Karen enter Vandora into the Freak-Out contest. T.B. Trenton, the owner of Vandora is not pleased by the theft of his super van so he and his henchman make their way out to the contest to try to retrieve the vehicle. The best scenes in “Supervan” take place at the Freak-Out. It feels a bit like stepping into 1976 and experiencing a bit of the trends of the time. This is where the value of the film lies. It is not a serious film and it does not try to be so. It was obviously made to cater to the youth of America who may be into the van craze of the late 1970’s. As such, it succeeds in being entertaining for 91 minutes. People, like myself, who enjoy movies that flaunt their 70’s-ishness will enjoy “Supervan.” Others may not find it as interesting. The music in “Supervan” is surprisingly good. I wonder if the soundtrack is available anywhere. I wouldn’t buy the dvd, but “Supervan” is worth checking out if you ever have the opportunity. Blockbuster.com has it, however Netflix does not. I suppose you could buy it from Amazon if you are so inclined. If nothing else, see “Supervan” to see to nice-looking 70’s women smoking joints and the crawling though a cardboard box contest. I am driving away in the Supervan, giving it 2 ½ out of 4 windshield wipers.