EDITOR’S NOTE: As the journey through Cannon continues, this week we’re exploring the films of 21st Century Film Corporation, which would be the company that Menahem Golan would take over after Cannon. Formed by Tom Ward and Art Schweitzer in 1971 (or 1976, there are some disputed expert opinions), 21st Century had a great logo and released some wild stuff.

Brice Mack was a background artist at Disney before becoming a director, working on Rooster: Spurs of Death, Jennifer, Half a House and producing Ruby and Mara of the Wilderness. This movie, written by Steve Krantz (Jennifer, Ruby) feels like the perfect idea for a sitcom: a drive-in and flea market populated by wacky characters. You can just imagine the guest stars that show up to sell things or buy from the regular characters.

Also: The Farmer cinematographer Irv Goodnoff was the original choice to direct.

Ziggy (Danny Goldman, the voice of Brainy Smurf) wants to make this the best swap meet in the world, but he also wants to find love. He’s one of the many stories in this episodic movie, along with Doug (Jon Gries, who is amazing in everything he’s in, even this not all that worthy movie; beyond Napoleon Dynamite, he was also in Joysticks, Real Genius, Fright Night 2, The Monster Squad and TerrorVision), who wants to impress the ladies in car races, and his friends Buddha (Loren Lester) and Billy (Dan Spector, the voice of Robin on Batman: The Animated Series), who just want to pick up the ladies. Two of the girls include regular sellers Nancy (Ruth Cox, Jennifer) and Susan (Deborah Richter, Cyborg). When they’re not trying to get people to buy turtles, they’re at war with the obnoxious children that won’t leave their table.

Rich kid Roy (Jed Cooper) also is in love with these girls and to get rid of Doug and his gang, they destroy their T-Bird — Doug’s dad’s car — so that they can’t race against his Ferrari. They turn to Max (Danny DeVito, yes, really) to fix their wrecked car. And if you don’t believe DeVito is in this, so is Rhea Perlman as one of the mothers of the horrible kids that won’t leave our hippie girls be.

How did DeVito get in this? Well, he did it as a favor for original director Goodnoff, who he met on the movie The Van. According to the September 19, 1979 issue of Variety, DeVito “requested no more than feature billing” as Taxi was just starting when this was released. When Dimension Pictures placed newspaper ads, they put his name above the title as Danny “Taxi” DeVito, which caused him to send a cease and desist. There were no hard feelings between Goodnoff and DeVito, as the actor hired him to shoot his directorial debut, the TV movie The Selling of Vince D’Angelo.

Filmed at the Roadium Swap Meet in Torrance, CA, which is still open, this will make you miss drive-ins if all the ones in your area are gone. This played double features with H.O.T.S. and yet its VHS box said, “Starts Where H.O.T.S. Finished!” Don’t be rude, Swap Meet.

Anyways, George Memmoli from Phantom of the Paradise and The Farmer shows up, as does Beatrice Manley (The Baby), Eric Greene (Loki from Space Academy), Pigs director Marc Lawrence as drive-in owner Mr. Booth and Cheryl Rixon as Annie, the homeless sex worker who lives at the swap meet and turns tricks at night with the help of the other teenagers, which seems bleak. Rixon was the December 1977 Penthouse Pet of the Month and 1979 Pet of the Year, so she adds the sex appeal that this movie is otherwise missing. She’s also in Used Cars.

There’s also a disco theme song, “Swap Meet,” which is played in the beginning and when most of the cast goes to The Great Gatsby Discotheque Part II.

After 21st Century bought all of Dimension’s films, they re-released this.

It’s not a great movie, but if you love spotting cast members from other movies, are a Marc Lawrence or Jon Gries fan, or just have to watch every 70s and 80s sex comedy, then you’re going to like Swap Meet a lot more than every other reviewer online, who seemingly had their pets abused by this movie.

You can watch this on YouTube.