Porky's (1981)

Porky's was one of the originators of the teen-sex genre and remains one of the best. Since it takes place in the 50's, I find it's not as dated as a lot of 80's films, especially with this mostly unknown cast. I was too young to see the film in the theaters when it first came around, but I can imagine the entire audience rolling out of their seats with laughter through virtually every scene.

Any fan of American Pie owes it to themselves to see what started it all, and in many ways delivers far more. Tons of nudity, profanity and laughs make this an R-rated treat.

Recommended.

Fmovies: A group of horny high-school pals visit Porky's, a redneck bar in the Everglades, where they have heard that they can pay to get laid. After they are ripped-off by the bar's obese owner and his brother, a corrupt sheriff, the friends decide to take revenge.

Porky's was one of the first American teenage sex comedies to be a major hit at the box office, but I find its success rather perplexing. As a coming-of-age story, I think the film works well enough: the nostalgic setting and strong sense of camaraderie is certainly appealing, while the bitter feud between the teens and the Everglades rednecks, and a subplot that deals realistically with the issues of racism and family violence adds drama to proceedings. I do, however, find the film's raunchy antics nowhere near as funny as its characters, and director Bob Clark, obviously think they are.

The 'Mike Hunt' telephone gag which has the teens in stitches isn't that hilarious, or original, having been conceived in the mid '70s by pranksters John Elmo and Jim Davidson; the repeated jokes about penises soon become very tedious; and as much as I enjoy seeing a young Kim Cattrall without her kecks on, her 'Lassie' scene is embarrassingly bad and far too drawn out. Clark seems to think that if his characters roll around in uncontrollable fits of hysterics for long enough, it'll eventually have the audience laughing along with them. Not in my caseÂ… I just found it irritating.

I am proud to say this is one of my favorite comedies, and I normally don't even like the "American Pie" type of sex comedy. The humor is raunchy, but in a good-natured way, and all the actors look like they're having a blast. The odd thing is that there doesn't seem to be any real reason why it's taking place in the 50's, except maybe to get across the message that teenagers have always been, and always will be, horny. Also, to the people who say this is "dated"... you guys do realize it's taking place 30 years before it was made, right?

It's not the funniest movie you'll ever see, except for a few truly hysterical scenes, but you have to love the way it captures the fun irresponsibility of high school. I think a lot of people can relate to this no matter what generation they're from, making it a definite classic. My advice is to steer clear of the upcoming remake, which will undoubtedly be raunchier and ruder, but probably have ten times less heart.

Porky's fmovies. I've never met anyone in my life who didn't love "Porky's" (in real life, that is, because on the Internet you always encounter people with different opinions) and that is probably just because this is an irresistibly energetic and out-and-out funny 80's teen comedy! The essence of juvenile & vulgar comedies lies here within this film, and arguably also "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and "Animal House", but definitely not in the lame and uninspired nowadays flicks such as "American Pie". All the classic gags and politically incorrect jests are here: small penis jokes, big penis jokes, sticking penises in usual things, voyeurism through minuscule peepholes, the eternal virgin nerd, loud-screaming girls, redneck humor and much more. If you ever wondered where Bart Simpson found the inspiration for his prank calls, well that's probably because he watched "Porky's" as well! This is the simplistic tale of a bunch of teenage friends, all of them with incontrollable raging hormones, attending high school in the 1950's. In their never ending journey to get laid, they battle against all types of annoying authorities (read: adults) like gym coaches, parents, police officers and obnoxious nightclub owners. Particularly this last group forms a severe obstacle, as the boys are desperately trying to get into a strip club in a neighboring county but the owner – a fat and sleazy hillbilly nicknamed Porky – and his gang of local yokels get a kick out of humiliating and beating up juvenile visitors. In between all their hectic adventures at school, the group plots the ultimate act of vengeance against Porky and his whole county of hillbilly freaks. Personally I don't understand how you could NOT enjoy a movie like "Porky's", as it is so stimulating, cheerful and harmlessly infantile. The main characters are delightfully stereotypical high school bastards (especially the unforgettable Pee Wee) and some of the situations they find themselves stuck in are indescribably hilarious. A few of the highlights include an outrageous sex sequence with future "Sex and the City" starlet Kim Cattrall and the legendary coach Balbricker's quest to have one of the boys suspended for obscenities in the girls' shower. Needless to say "Porky's" is a sex comedy chock-full of gratuitous T & A (and enough wool to knit a sweater with…) and crude insinuations, but if this movie is too offensive for you already, you better sing up in a convent straight away. This was the biggest box office hit for the versatile writer/director Bob Clark, who directed pleasant comedies like this as well as creepy horror movies like "Black Christmas" and "Dead of Night". He sadly died in a dramatic car accident in 2007. Thanks to films like "Porky's", he at least leaves behind a spirited heritage! Rest in peace, Mr. Clark.

I looked at the first two pages (here on the IMDB website) of other comments and am not at all surprised to find comments ranging from very good to very bad; this is that kind of movie.

If you haven't seen it, here's my take on it. People who are stuffy, proper, sophisticated, and politically correct in a social sense are not going to care for this movie. On the other hand, if you are laid back, easy going, don't have to have an uplifting and moral story line, and appreciate comedy (often sexy and somewhat raw), you are going to love this movie. The producer and director very obviously made this movie for the simple purpose of providing the audience with a lot of very funny comedy. And they succeeded immensely (if you are laid back, easy going, etc.) The scenes range from funny to hilarious.

Buy or rent the video. I've seen this on network TV and it is very "sanitized".

No one goes into a movie like "Porky's" expecting greatness. But if you get at least one good laugh, that's good enough.

Two laughs, even better.

Three, great.

Four, fantastic.

I got more laughs than this out of "Porky's", but since I went in expecting them to reach the lowest common denominator, I got just what I came in looking for.

Who doesn't know the story, o connoisseurs of lowbrow humor? What you want to know is if it's funny. Of course it is, but this isn't the best movie for family video night (then again, it depends on the family).

I won't spoil any of the gags for you but I can tell you the biggest ones depend, separately, on eggs, oversized condoms, holes in the girls' showers and a prank call to the local diner. And where, in one instance, you'd keep a driver's license.

Sorry, you'll just have to see the thing.

Eight stars, and beware of moral turpitude.