Porky’s
Notable as being one of the most raunchy comedies not only of the 80s, but maybe ever, this is also significant for probably having the BLANDEST ensemble cast of young actors ever seen in any major production. It’s kinda amazing how NOT ONE of its stars ever had any kind of a career beyond these films, and as a result most of the main characters are just interchangeable, with the viewer not caring for them and barely able to distinguish one from another (except for Dan Monahan’s Pee-Wee, who’s only notable for being annoying and overplaying every scene he’s in). What saves the movie though, is actually some surprisingly good writing and dialogue, even if we don’t care whose mouth it’s coming out of, it’s still perceptive and quite funny. It’s nice to see some of the supporting name actors here though, such as Alex Karras’ idiot redneck sheriff, Kim Cattrall, as young and sexy as she’ll ever look (and showing a brief glimpse of bush as a bonus), as the assistant gym teacher, and Susan Clark as the hooker involved in a elaborate practical joke early in the movie. Chuck Mitchell as Porky, the ostensible villain of the piece (and owner of an outback redneck bar / bordello) is actually pretty cool and has a couple of funny moments. Mainly all the humor here is extracted with the skill of the late director Bob Clark, most notably the infamous shower peephole scene which, along with the followup scene in the principal’s office (“Have you seen this prick?”), is one of the single funniest parts of any movie I’ve ever seen. However, the character’s main motivation for revenge on Porky is a little unjustified, and I certainly didn’t agree with seeing them get their “revenge” on him. The only thing he was really guilty of was he didn’t want any underage kids in his establishment, and even though he had a little fun with them, I didn’t see the point of him being dealt so harsh a punishment. In the end, despite having a terribly untalented group of young actors here, good writing and some genuine laughs still make it worth a watch…
7/10