film rating:
disc rating:
companies: Maurice Smith Productions,
Millennium, and New World Pictures
year: 1983
runtime: 80′
country: Canada
director: Rafal Zielinski
cast: Peter Keleghan, Kent Deuters,
Linda Speciale, Alan Deveau,
Linda Shayne, Jason Warren,
Jim Coburn, Terrea Smith
disc company: Severin Films
release date: October 13, 2009
retail price: $34.95
disc details: Region A / Single Layer
feature: 1080p HD
audio: Dolby Digital English [2.0]
subtitles: none
reviewed from a screener
provided by Severin Films LLC.
order this disc from Amazon.com
Plot: A motley gang of high school miscreants go on a quest to reveal the breasts of resident virgin Purity Busch.
I have to admit before delving into this review proper that I’ve never much been friends with the teen sex comedy sub-genre. I’ve not seen Bob Clark’s Porky’s, any of the multitude of American Pie iterations, or even the seminal John Landis effort Animal House. Aside from the long-ago experience of seeing Fast Times at Ridgemont High on television one very boring summer day, my experience with the sub-genre is practically nil. Consider this review to be the perspective of a complete outsider.
My first impression of Screwballs, and this isn’t meant as an insult in the least, is that it’s a tremendously stupid film. I would even go so far as to call it epic in terms of its stupidity. The humor, from character names (Purity Busch, Melvin Jerkovski, Bootsie Goodhead, and so on) on up, is about as obvious as it gets. None of this is necessarily a bad thing as far as the genre is concerned, and in the case of Screwballs the combination of obviousness and uncompromising idiocy are positive boons.
