"Screwballs" is one of the most priceless of 1980s sex comedies, a deliberately nutty, over the top farce set in the 1960s and intended to be styled like a comic book. True enough that it doesn't have very much of a story, and is mostly a series of outrageous sexy gags. But who in their right mind is going to *want* a story when it comes to this sort of thing? They get exactly what they want, and that's titillation writ large. To hell with subtlety, am I right? The actors are all very enthusiastic, and the movie does have a certain energy and charm that makes it impossible to resist.
Basically, the set-up is that five disparate, incredibly horny guys - Rick (Peter Keleghan), Brent (Kent Deuters), Howie (Alan Deveau), Melvin (Jason Warren), and Tim (Jim Coburn) - meet in detention. They become obsessed with the reigning virgin / tease at their school, the aptly named Purity Busch (Linda Speciale), and make it their mission to either get with her, or at the very least, get an eyeful of her breasts.
Co-written by Jim Wynorski and co-star Linda Shayne (who plays the easygoing Bootsie Goodhead), and directed with verve by Rafal Zielinski, "Screwballs" is pretty damn childish, but that's the point of this whole thing. Among the assorted escapades, the sleazy quintet run afoul of their uptight principal, Stuckoff (Donnie Bowes), play a game of strip bowling, create havoc at a drive-in (where the Roger Corman production "The Arena" (or, as it's titled in this movie, "The Wild Women of Wango") is playing on the screen, ogle a stripper (who's played by the great Raven De La Croix), and contrive some methods of leering at the private parts of the many attractive female cast members.
There's just enough female flesh to satisfy, and the filmmakers do make sure that there's a proper payoff at the end - after which the end credits promptly start rolling. They do know how to send you away with a smile.
Eight out of 10.
Basically, the set-up is that five disparate, incredibly horny guys - Rick (Peter Keleghan), Brent (Kent Deuters), Howie (Alan Deveau), Melvin (Jason Warren), and Tim (Jim Coburn) - meet in detention. They become obsessed with the reigning virgin / tease at their school, the aptly named Purity Busch (Linda Speciale), and make it their mission to either get with her, or at the very least, get an eyeful of her breasts.
Co-written by Jim Wynorski and co-star Linda Shayne (who plays the easygoing Bootsie Goodhead), and directed with verve by Rafal Zielinski, "Screwballs" is pretty damn childish, but that's the point of this whole thing. Among the assorted escapades, the sleazy quintet run afoul of their uptight principal, Stuckoff (Donnie Bowes), play a game of strip bowling, create havoc at a drive-in (where the Roger Corman production "The Arena" (or, as it's titled in this movie, "The Wild Women of Wango") is playing on the screen, ogle a stripper (who's played by the great Raven De La Croix), and contrive some methods of leering at the private parts of the many attractive female cast members.
There's just enough female flesh to satisfy, and the filmmakers do make sure that there's a proper payoff at the end - after which the end credits promptly start rolling. They do know how to send you away with a smile.
Eight out of 10.