''The Party Animal'' is a 1984 comedy film written and directed by

David Beaird David Hardin Beaird (August 19, 1952 – February 6, 2019) was an American film and stage director, screenwriter, and playwright. He was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. Career In 1973, he was recipient of the Joseph Jefferson Awards, Joseph Jeffe ...

. It was independently produced and was released across the United States, where it was critically derided, but did respectably well at the box office. The film is a slapstick mockumentary-style comedy that spoofed the college campus sexploitation genre popularized by ''

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. It stars John Belushi, Peter Riegert, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, Verna Bloom, Thomas Hu ...

'' and ''

Porky's ''Porky's'' is a 1981 sex comedy film written and directed by Bob Clark about the escapades of teenagers in 1954 at the fictional Angel Beach High School in Florida. The film influenced many writers in the teen film genre and spawned two sequels: ...

''. Though the movie was made on a shoestring budget, its soundtrack featured

Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton, England in 1976 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto. They are regarded as a seminal influence on the Manchester music scene, the independen ...

The Untouchables Untouchables or The Untouchables may refer to: American history * Untouchables (law enforcement), a 1930s American law enforcement unit led by Eliot Ness * ''The Untouchables'' (book), an autobiography by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley * ''The U ...

(who also perform in the film),

The Fleshtones The Fleshtones are an American garage rock band from Queens, New York, United States, formed in 1976. History 1976–1979 The Fleshtones were formed in 1976 in Whitestone, New York, by Keith Streng (born September 18, 1955, New York City) an ...

, The Convertables and

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. The theme song for The Party Animal was "Why Can't I Touch It". The film is available through MGM Home entertainment on a limited edition series of 80s comedies.

Plot

The film begins with the strains of "Why Can't I Touch It" by Buzzcocks as the camera pans across a rural landscape to the face of a beautiful teenage girl (Susanne Ashley) who is atop a hill surveying the road below. An open-ended truck rolls into view bearing a young man lying on a pile of turnips. This is Pondo Sinatra (Matthew Causey), the star of the story, a 22-year-old virgin burdened with raging hormones, no sex appeal or social skills. He is on his way to his first day at college. Upon arrival, Pondo cannot help but notice that the university is full of attractive and scantily clad females but try as he might he is of no interest to them. The good looking and popular 'Studly' (Timothy Carhart) soon takes him under his wing, as best friend and tries to teach him the ways of seduction but Pondo is without a clue and tries ever more bizarre schemes failing spectacularly with hilarious consequences. Even the local whore house won't help him. Desperate to break what seems to be a curse, Pondo descends into suicidal depression at which point the college's wise janitor named Elbow (Jerry Jones) steps in and gives Pondo some advice in one of the film's most famous scenes. This and a few of the other main scenes are so politically incorrect they would not be allowed in today's more careful cinematic climate. The attempts include a try at poetic seduction. Studley tells Pondo what to say to his vivacious date Natasha (Robin Harlan) via a remote microphone; sending Pondo to buy elegant new clothes (he goes to the Punk store by mistake and leaves looking like

Quasimodo Quasimodo (from Quasimodo Sunday) is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the novel '' The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (1831) by Victor Hugo. Quasimodo was born with a hunchback and feared by the townspeople as a sort of monster, but ...

); taking massive quantities of drugs (which in reality would be lethal); and activating world's biggest vibrator, the Moby-M5 with disastrous consequences. The M-5 episode provides a pretext for an outrageous scene where two porn store employees discuss strategic arms limitation treaties, using various dildos as props. After one of these dating debacles, Pondo frightens Studley by shouting "I'd sell my soul for a piece of ass!" Meanwhile, the lovely Miranda, (Susanne Ashley), a mysterious girl with supernatural powers who has been observing Pondo's struggles for some time, hears his cry and cryptically acknowledges it. Some time afterward, Pondo accidentally creates a chemical compound that makes him irresistible to women. At first he revels in his new "party animal" prowess; later, exhausted and terrified, he takes to barricading himself in his room to escape the mobs of obsessed women who pursue him everywhere. "I have been greedy," he confesses despairingly to Studley, "I am like

King Midas Midas (; grc-gre, Μίδας) was the name of a king in Phrygia with whom several myths became associated, as well as two later members of the Phrygian royal house. The most famous King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek mythology for his ...

; everything I touch turns to poontang!" The end of the film is tragic-comic with a metaphysical twist concerning the fate of those ruled by lust.

Cast

Matthew Causey Matthew Causey (born 1953) is an American academic, film and theatre maker, singer-songwriter and actor. He is associate professor at Trinity College, Dublin and director of the Arts Technology Research Laboratory in the School of Drama, Film and ...

- Pondo Sinatra *

Timothy Carhart Timothy Carhart (born December 24, 1953) is an American actor. He starred in the CBS drama ''Island Son'' (1989–90) and has had recurring roles in ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' (2000–03) and '' 24'' (2002). He also starred in the 1992 ...

- Studly *Jerry Jones - Elbow *Susanne Ashley - Miranda/Mother Nature *Robin Harlan - Natasha *

Frank Galati Frank Joseph Galati (November 29, 1943 – January 2, 2023) was an American director, writer, and actor. He was a member of Steppenwolf Theatre Company and an associate director at Goodman Theatre. He taught at Northwestern University for many ...

- The Professor *Luci Roucis - Sophia *Joan Dykman - The Nurse *Barbara Baylis - Madame *Frannie James - Dean Fox *

Leland Crooke Leland Crooke is an American actor from stage and film. He is known from several stage plays and films by David Beaird. Career In February 1980, Crooke gave his stage debut in the play Bal ( Richard Nelson's loose adaptation of Bertolt Brecht's p ...

- Dean's Secretary *Billi Gordon - The New Dean

Soundtrack

The film contains numerous songs by

, Chelsea The Convertables.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Party Animal, The 1984 films 1980s sex comedy films 1980s fantasy comedy films American fantasy comedy films American independent films American sex comedy films 1984 directorial debut films 1980s English-language films Films about potions Films about virginity Films directed by David Beaird Films set in universities and colleges Films shot in Illinois 1984 comedy films 1985 comedy films 1985 films 1980s American films