One of the most memorable comedies of the early 1980's, Bob Clark's Porky's remains a popular favorite despite the fact that the story is incredibly simple and that the humor is, to be blunt, pretty crass.

The film revolves around a group of teenage boys who attend Angel Beach High School in Florida. Like most teenage boys, these guys are completely obsessed with girls and when they can't score they decide to head deep into the heart of the Everglades to visit a ramshackle nudie bar named Porky's. Expecting a night of girly action and male bonding, they're instead treated to a rather rude awakening and it isn't long before they've been humiliated and kicked out of the establishment. Wounded male egos are a fragile thing, particularly at that age, and so the group swears revenge.

While the boys are going about their business, things get complicated at the school when some of the jocks start acting up and one of the students gets centered out for his Jewish heritage.

A huge influence on films like the Van Wilder and American Pie movies that have helped rebuild the legacy of the teen sex comedy in recent years, Porky's really broke new ground in terms of what it showed and how it showed it. Based on some of his own experiences from his younger days as well as those of his friends and co-workers, the film portrays teenage boys and their obsession with women as all consuming - which isn't far from the truth in most cases. These guys want girls and they want to do things to girls and they don't really care about anything else. They're typically dumb teenage boys who do typically dumb things to try and score and it's from this well that Clark pulls the comedic elements that make the film so enjoyable. Underneath the crass humor and the goofy jokes, however, is a surprisingly smart and poignant comment on racism and bullying and how these things can play such a huge part in someone's life when they're on the receiving end of it, especially when it happens to them in their teenage years. This makes the film smarter than a lot of viewers think to give it credit for.

Before you get the idea that the film is all serious or that it's preachy, rest assured, nothing could be further from the truth as this is a sex comedy first and foremost. The narrative bounces around from one ridiculous set piece to the next and the bulk of the movie is made up of simple, perverse gags revolving around sex. However, the underlying take on racism and bigotry is definitely there and there can be no discounting its importance in the film's success. It doesn't over shadow the comedy and it isn't heavy handed but it does pack a surprisingly strong punch when you take into account the fluffiness of the rest of the picture.

As far as the performances go, things are pretty solid across the board here. No one took home an Oscar (and no one deserved to) but you'll believe the cast in their roles, with Dan Monahan as Pee Wee stealing a few of the scenes he's in. Clark's direction isn't overly fancy but he keeps the gags coming on a regular basis and there's enough style to the visuals that if the movie doesn't look remarkable it does at least look good. In the end it's the humor that matters and that's what Porky's delivers in spades. The movie is still funny years later and it's influence continues to be felt.

Video:

Porky's is reissued in a decent 1.85.1 anamorphic transfer that, while not bad in terms of quality, does show its age. There's a softness to the picture that hurts things just a little bit and grain and the odd speck or two are easy enough to spot even if you're not looking for them. That said, the colors don't look half and the black levels are at least reasonably consistent. Detail varies from strong to mediocre while flesh tones always look right. No problems with report with mpeg compression artifacts though some very mild edge enhancement is kicking around in a few scenes.