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''Porky's'' is a 1981
sex comedy Sexual comedy (also known as, sex comedy and erotic comedy) is a genre in which comedy is motivated by sexual situations and love affairs. Although "sexual comedy" is primarily a description of dramatic forms such as theatre and film, literary wor ...
film written and directed by
Bob Clark Benjamin Robert Clark (August 5, 1939 – April 4, 2007) was an American film director and screenwriter. In the 1970s and 1980s, he was responsible for some of the most successful films in Canadian film industry, Canadian film history such ...
about the escapades of teenagers in 1954 at the fictional Angel Beach High School in
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
. The film stars
Kim Cattrall Kim Victoria Cattrall (; born 21 August 1956) is a British, Canadian, and American actress. She is known for her portrayal of Samantha Jones on HBO's ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), for which she received five Primetime Emmy Award nominati ...
, Scott Colomby, Kaki Hunter,
Nancy Parsons Nancy Anne Parsons (January 17, 1942 – January 5, 2001) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She is known for portraying the discipline-minded coach Beulah Balbricker in the sex comedy '' Porky's'' (1981) and its sequels ...
,
Alex Karras Alexander George Karras (July 15, 1935October 10, 2012) was an American professional American football, football player, professional wrestler, sportscaster, and actor. He was a four-time Pro Bowl selection playing defensive tackle for the Detro ...
, and
Susan Clark Susan Clark (born Nora Golding; March 8, 1943) is a Canadians, Canadian actress. She made her big screen debut in the 1967 drama film ''Banning (film), Banning'' and the following year played the female lead in the crime thriller ''Coogan's Bluf ...
. The film influenced many writers in the
teen film Teen film is a film genre targeted at teenagers, preteens and/or young adults by the plot being based on their special interests, such as coming of age, attempting to fit in, bullying, peer pressure, first love, teen rebellion, conflict with pa ...
genre and spawned two sequels: '' Porky's II: The Next Day'' (1983) and '' Porky's Revenge!'' (1985), and an ashcan copy titled '' Porky's Pimpin' Pee Wee'' (2009). ''Porky's'' was the sixth highest-grossing film of 1982. The film received generally positive reviews at the time of its release, but reviews have become more mixed-to-negative over time.


Plot

In 1954, each boy in a group of Florida Angel Beach High School students plans to lose his virginity. They go to Porky's, a
strip club A strip club (also known as a strip joint, striptease bar, peeler bar, gentlemen's club, among others) is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease and other erotic dances including lap dances. St ...
in the
Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of flooded grasslands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orlando with the K ...
, believing that they can hire a prostitute to satisfy their sexual desires. The club's proprietor, Porky Wallace, takes their money but humiliates the boys by dumping them into the swamp. When the group demands their money back, Sheriff Wallace, Porky's brother, drives them away but not before he extorts them for the rest of their money, further embarrassing them. After Mickey Jarvis, who returned to Porky's for revenge, is beaten so badly he has to be hospitalized, the gang becomes hellbent on exacting revenge on Porky and Sheriff Wallace, eventually sinking Porky's establishment into the swamp. Porky and his men, joined by Sheriff Wallace, chase the group, but the boys make it across the county line, out of Sheriff Wallace's jurisdiction, where local police officers and the high school band meet them. One of the officers, Mickey's older brother, Ted, repeatedly damages Porky's Hudson Hornet, promising to drop all charges against Porky for driving an unsafe vehicle if the night's events are forgiven. Because the boys are too young to have been allowed into Porky's legally, Porky and Sheriff Wallace agree. In a subplot, the boys peep on female students in the girl's locker room shower, and Tommy Turner, Billy McCarty, and Pee Wee Morris see several girls showering. Pee Wee gives them away when he shouts at an obese girl, who has been blocking his view, to move so that he can see. While a few girls run out, most stay, finding the situation funny. To test their attitude, Tommy sticks his tongue out through his peephole but gets it smeared with soap. Infuriated, he drops his pants and sticks his penis through the opening just before female coach Beulah Balbricker, who has a running feud with Tommy, walks into the shower area. Spotting the protruding member, she sneaks up on Tommy, grabs his penis, and pulls with all her might. Tommy pulls free and escapes, but Beulah is determined to prove that the offending member, which has a mole on it, belongs to Tommy, going so far as to request that Principal Carter hold a police-type line-up of the boys in the nude so she can identify it. However, Carter balks at her request. As the other basketball coaches laugh, Coach Roy Brackett suggests asking the police to send a sketch artist and hang wanted posters around the school. When that suggestion gets even Carter laughing, Balbricker leaves in a huff. At the end of the film, she sneaks out of the bushes to ambush Tommy and actually drags his pants down, but she is pulled off him by police and dragged away screaming that she saw "it" and that she can identify its owner. Tommy breaks the
fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance dramatic convention, convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. ...
, saying, "Jeez!" to the camera. Another subplot involves Coach Brackett taking an interest in the attractive coach, Lynn Honeywell. Coach Fred Warren repeatedly refers to Honeywell as "Lassie" while pointing to the equipment room, much to Coach Brackett's confusion. He quickly finds out why when he and Honeywell hide out in the equipment room after an argument with Balbricker, and Honeywell becomes turned on by the scent of the room. This leads to the pair having quickie sex in the room, as Honeywell begins loudly howling like a dog, thus revealing why she is called
Lassie Lassie is a fictional female Rough Collie dog and is featured in a 1938 short story by Eric Knight that was later expanded to a 1940 full-length novel, '' Lassie Come-Home''. Knight's portrayal of Lassie bears some features in common with anot ...
. Her orgasmic howls are heard throughout the entire school, much to the students' and Coach Warren's amusement, but not to Balbricker and head coach Goodenough. Brackett and Honeywell are eventually fired as a result.


Cast


Production

Bob Clark got the idea to make ''Porky's'' in 1972. It was based on his experiences with five high school friends in Florida in the 1950s. He based the story on actual occurrences at Boca Ciega High School in
Gulfport, Florida Gulfport is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, bordering St. Petersburg, South Pasadena, and Boca Ciega Bay. The population of Gulfport was 11,783 at the 2020 census. Gulfport is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater ...
, and
Fort Lauderdale High School Fort Lauderdale High School is a high school located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida that serves students in grades 9 through 12. The school is a part of the Broward County Public Schools district. Founded in 1899 as a school for whites, the high s ...
in the early 1960s, and on a venue called Porky's Hide Away in
Oakland Park, Florida Oakland Park, officially the City of Oakland Park, is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is part of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 6,166,488 people at the 2020 census. As of the 2020 United States census ...
. Clark teamed up with Roger Swaybill on a film, '' Breaking Point''. When Clark fell ill with
mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adu ...
in 1979, he dictated the story of ''Porky's'' to Swaybill, who then wrote a draft of the script. Every studio in Hollywood turned down the project. Clark eventually obtained financing from Melvin Simon Productions and a Canadian firm, Astral Bellevue Pathe. The film had to be made in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
to obtain government tax benefits. This meant Clark, who was an American, got sole screen credit as writer. However, Swaybill was reimbursed with a six-figure sum and was co-writer on the sequel. "It seems incredible to realize that ''Porky's'', which earned more than $200 million worldwide, was done as a tax shelter, but that's the way it was," Swaybill says.
Kim Cattrall Kim Victoria Cattrall (; born 21 August 1956) is a British, Canadian, and American actress. She is known for her portrayal of Samantha Jones on HBO's ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), for which she received five Primetime Emmy Award nominati ...
took a small role in the film because she needed the money, and was horrified, at first, to see her name at the top of the poster: "People thought it was the end of my career".


Release

''Porky's'' was released in
Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...
and
Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...
, on November 13, 1981. It then received a wide release in Canada and the United States on March 19, 1982. In
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, the film was banned on February 1, 1982; the decision was overturned 19 days later.


Critical response

Upon its release, ''Porky's'' was viewed as "a likeable lowbrow coming-of-age comedy", but the critical appraisal has been more negative since then. Review aggregation website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, which collects both contemporary and modern reviews, gives the film a score of 33% based on reviews from 39 critics and an average rating of 4.8/10. The consensus reads, "Gleeful in its
misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against Woman, women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than Man, men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been wide ...
and celebratory of bad behavior, ''Porky's'' is an intermittently funny farce that will leave audiences feeling in need of a shower." On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
the film has a score of 40% based on reviews from 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Film critics
Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune'' who co-hosted a movie review television series alongside colleague Roger Ebert. Siskel started writing for the '' ...
and
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
in their syndicated '' At the Movies'' television series both expressed disdain for ''Porky's'' and later called it one of the worst films of 1982. In particular, they criticized the film for what they viewed as its objectification and degradation of women and the childish nature of its antagonists, and they disliked that the film took what they felt was a thin, shallow and off-color stance against
anti-Semitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
. In his print review for the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'', Ebert noted that the film's sexual content ''per se'' was not the film's failing, but rather the manner it was used: "Even in an easy scene like the one where the guys spy on the girls in the locker room, the director, Bob Clark, blows it. Peeping Tom scenes can be very funny (remember
John Belushi John Adam Belushi ( ; January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, singer and musician. He was one of seven ''Saturday Night Live'' cast members of the first season. He was arguably the most popular member of the ''Satur ...
on the ladder in ''
Animal House ''National Lampoon's Animal House'' is a 1978 American comedy film directed by John Landis and written by Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney and Chris Miller (writer), Chris Miller. It stars John Belushi, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, Verna Bloom, Tom ...
''?) Here, it's just smarmy." Siskel would later go on to call it one of the worst films ever made.


Box office

The film grossed $7.6 million for the weekend when it opened wide in 1982. It grossed a total of $106 million in its initial release in the United States and Canada, including $12 million in Canada. It grossed $25–30 million overseas, for a worldwide gross of over $130 million. Although it was written and directed by an American and was filmed in
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
and
Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean ...
, ''Porky's'' was produced by the Canadian company Astral Media. As a result, ''Porky's'' can be classed as the highest-grossing Canadian film of all time in the United States and Canada, with a total of C$111 million by 1999, including $6 million from a 1983 re-issue prior to the release of the sequel. Including the re-issue, the film grossed $160 million worldwide.


Home media

On May 22, 2007,
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 20th Century Home Entertainment (previously known as Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC. and also known as 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment) was a home video distribution arm that distributes films produced by 20th Century Stud ...
released all three films in an "Ultimate Collection"
box set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...
on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
. The DVD of the film from the "Ultimate Collection" was also released as a stand-alone release called the "One Size Fits All" Edition and includes a retrospective featurette with Bob Clark, a discussion on how ''Porky's'' is a comedy classic, movie commentary by Clark, the theatrical trailer, two television spots, trailers for '' Porky's II: The Next Day'' and '' Porky's Revenge!'', and the sales pitch for the ''Porky's'' video game. ''Porky's'' was released on Blu-ray on September 25, 2012. The bonus material for the Blu-ray is the bonus material from the "One Size Fits All" Edition that focuses on the movie itself. The trailers for ''Porky's II: The Next Day'' and ''Porky's Revenge!'', and the ''Porky's'' video game sales pitch were not included as bonus materials for the
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
release.


Sequels and additional media

The first two ''Porky's'' films were directed by
Bob Clark Benjamin Robert Clark (August 5, 1939 – April 4, 2007) was an American film director and screenwriter. In the 1970s and 1980s, he was responsible for some of the most successful films in Canadian film industry, Canadian film history such ...
and produced by Harold Greenberg, who founded Astral Communications (now known as Astral Media). Following the success of ''Porky's'' in North America and Europe, a sequel, ''Porky's II: The Next Day'', was released in 1983. It was poorly received by critics and was less commercially successful than the original. Clark did not want to make another film in the series, so director
James Komack James Komack (August 3, 1924 – December 24, 1997) was an American television producer, director, screenwriter, and actor. He is best known for producing several hit television series, including '' The Courtship of Eddie's Father'', ''Chico and ...
made the third and last part of the saga. The third film, ''Porky's Revenge!'', was the worst-received of the series both critically and commercially. Although it was not originally part of the series, the film '' Hollywood Zap!'' was released as a ''Porky's'' film in Europe. A video game based on the film, also titled ''Porky's'', was released for the
Atari 2600 The Atari 2600 is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977 as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS), it popularized microprocessor-based hardware and games stored on swappable ROM cartridg ...
and
Atari 8-bit computers The Atari 8-bit computers, formally launched as the Atari Home Computer System, are a series of home computers introduced by Atari, Inc., in 1979 with the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The architecture is designed around the 8-bit MOS Technology 650 ...
by 20th Century Fox in 1983.


Remake

In 2002,
Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American broadcaster and media personality. He is best known for his radio show, ''The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from 1 ...
acquired the
remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...
rights and has long hoped to produce a remake of the film. The potential remake ran into legal trouble in 2011 when two other production companies stepped forward claiming to own the rights. In 2013, the parties reached a confidential settlement and agreed to dismiss a claim and counterclaim with prejudice. The terms of the settlement remain confidential, and to date, if it allows for Stern's remake to be made is unknown. A spinoff, '' Porky's Pimpin' Pee Wee'', was made in order to retain the rights for a further seven years and released via
video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...
in 2009.


References


External links

* * * {{Porky's 1981 films 1981 comedy films 1980s American films 1980s Canadian films 1980s coming-of-age comedy films 1980s English-language films 1980s sex comedy films 1980s teen comedy films 1980s high school films 20th Century Fox films 20th Century Studios franchises American coming-of-age comedy films American sex comedy films American teen comedy films Canadian coming-of-age comedy films Canadian sex comedy films Canadian teen comedy films English-language Canadian films Films about pranks Films about prostitution in the United States Films about virginity Films directed by Bob Clark Films produced by Don Carmody Films scored by Paul Zaza Films set in 1954 Films set in Florida Films shot in Florida Films shot in Miami Teen sex comedy films Teensploitation English-language sex comedy films Films produced by Bob Clark Films with screenplays by Bob Clark