''Homework'' is a 1982

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by James Beshears and starring

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primeti ...

. The film was marketed with the tagline "Every young man needs a teacher."

Summary

''Homework'' tells the story of Tommy ( Michael Morgan), a young rock star who is also a virgin. As he tries to lose his virginity to local high school girls, a classmate's mother (

) decides to make a man of him.

Cast

as Diana *Michael Morgan as Tommy * Shell Kepler as Lisa *Lanny Horn as Ralph *Erin Donovan as Sheila * Lee Purcell as Ms. Jackson * Renée Harris as Cookie *Mark Brown as Mix *Steve Gustafson as John * Carrie Snodgress as Dr. Delingua * Wings Hauser as Reddog *

Betty Thomas Betty Thomas (born Betty Lucille Nienhauser; July 21, 1948) is an American actress, director, and producer. She is known for her Emmy Award-winning role as Sergeant Lucy Bates on the television series '' Hill Street Blues''. As of March 2018, T ...

as Reddog's secretary

Lawsuits

The day before the film's premiere, it was reported that Joan Collins, Betty Thomas, Carrie Snodgress and Lee Purcell had all taken legal action to get their names removed from the credits. Collins claimed that the film's advertising was misleading because she had only performed in a minor supporting role shot two years earlier, but a sex scene had been added afterward using a

body double In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes FOR another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stunt ...

to cash in on her new celebrity status from the hit TV show ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

''. The other three performers claimed they had been under a false impression about the kind of film they were making."Judge Bars Ads Depicting Collins' Nude 'Homework'". ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

''. September 1, 1982. p. 5. Collins' attorneys won a partial victory when a federal court ordered Jensen Farley Pictures to stop using ads that depicted Collins nude.

Reception

'' called the film "a very poorly-made sex comedy" with "plentiful post-production doctoring" in evidence. Gene Siskel of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' gave the film zero stars out of four, declaring: "A miserable excuse for a movie. One of the year's worst."

Dale Pollock Dale M. Pollock (born 1950) is an American film producer, writer and film professor. A journalist whose works have been published in a number of magazines and newspapers, Pollock is also the author of a biography of George Lucas. Pollock has ...

wrote in the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' that the film was marred by "poor photography, sloppy editing and atrocious acting," and that the body double in the sex scene "doesn't even resemble Collins." Pollock, Dale (September 1, 1982). "'Homework' Gets Flunking Grade". ''

''. Part VI, p. 2.

References

External links

* * 1982 films 1982 comedy films Films about virginity 1980s English-language films American comedy films 1980s American films {{1980s-comedy-film-stub