The biggest troublemakers at Beaver High (get it?) are sent to a remedial school for the summer. There (wait for it), they make life miserable for the principal while (you’re not gonna believe this) finding various ways to see the female students naked, not to mention getting it on with the (but of course!) sexy French teacher. It’s hijinx and nudity, 80s style.
What we have here is a sequel to a cash-in on Porky’s, which means there is hardcore porn out there that is more artistically ambitious. But having just made and argument (in my review of Joy) for the preservation of 80s travelogue erotica, I can hardly then turn my nose up at the teen sex comedy from the same period, now can I? Having said that, this is far from being the funniest or most interesting of that species. If you came of age in the 80s, you’ll know every beat of this movie, and every tired punchline, by heart, even if you’ve never seen it. And if you didn’t grow up then, you’ll still see everything coming.
Video
There is some grain apparent here, but in most other respects, the picture quality is very solid. The colours are strong (or at least as strong as the original cinematography permits), and the print is in excellent condition. Flesh tones, blacks and contrasts are all good. The aspect ratio is 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen.
Audio
The audio track has aged rather more than the picture. The stereo sound is tinny, and there is considerable distortion on the dialogue. One gets by, but not much more than that.
Commentary Track: Severin’s John Cregan talks with director Rafael Zielinski, and their discussion is ample demonstration that there are things of interest to be said about just about any movie. I actually felt a little ashamed by my rather dismissive attitude toward the film. Not enough to recant it, but still…
Special Features
Interview with Maurice Smith: (9:56) Fascinating. The producer talks about seeing Porky’s as if he’d just viewed Citizen Kane or 2001: A Space Odyssey for the first time.
Interview with Ken Gord: (4:59) The production manager is considerably more pragmatic, suffering no illusions at all about the movie he was working on. It was, he insists, not a “movie” but a “product.”
International Version: Running 11 minutes longer than the domestic cut, this is a VHS print, and now we really are transported back to the 80s.
Final Thoughts
If you were a male adolescent in the 80s, and are very nostalgic for your younger, horny and frustrated self, then there might be some real appeal to this.
