Directed by Bob Clark, 'Porky's' is a film which was originally released way back in 1982. Two sequels followed in the form of 1983s 'Porky's II: The Next Day' and then came 'Porky's Revenge' in 1985. It's now over 25 years since the release of the original film; understandably it has considerably dated and I'm sure that it was a lot more shocking to audiences back in 1982 than it is now in 2008. 'Porky's' is a teen movie which deals with the exploits of six sexually frustrated teenage boys; some of the films scenes will have you in tears of laughter, others however will see you raising a yawn. 'Porky's' is the film to blame for all the sex teen comedies that have been released over the years, it's a gross-out comedy and at its time was a really quite innovative concept. Crudeness levels are nothing here compared with what you'll find in similar films of this sort today, it's still quite funny though and really must be given some sort of respect for having pioneered the whole gross-out teen comedy genre.

Six teenage high school lads currently only have one thing on their mind; having sex. It's all they can think about and everything that they do is driven by their hormones and absolute lust for the teenage girls of the school and some of the more attractive female teachers also. These six individuals all live in Angel Beach, Florida and the year is 1954. One day the group travel out of town to a bar run by a man named Porky; the bar has the oh-so original name of Porky's and the teenagers believe that they will here be able to hire out some prostitutes. Porky is not the nicest of bar owners in the world, he promises the teenage boys 'a night to remember' though and in this respect he does stick to his word. The boys don't get quite what they bargained for, furious with having been humiliated they then begin to plot their revenge.

For the most part 'Porky's' is just a string of fairly unconnected sexually related scenes and the Porky's bar element of the film does not emerge until quite late on in the films progression. There are some really rude and notable scenes here, ones that when you watch them you genuinely will laugh out loud; often however the film progresses with limited energy and very little to keep you truly entertained. There's no denying that you'll never forget some of what you see here; there's one scene involving the girls shower room for instance which will forever remain engrained in my memory. If you've seen the film then you'll know exactly what I'm talking about here, if you haven't however then I'm certainly not going to go and spoil it for you. Whilst 'Porky's' is at times incredibly funny, it's not consistently excellent and you spend a lot of time here waiting for the next punchline to come. The films plot is limited, it's not the best story ever told but it's still quite funny to watch.

Whilst many films of this sort achieve the fairly mild '15' certificate, 'Porky's' outdoes the vast majority of its peers in being rated an 18. The reason for this? Displays of absolute full frontal nudity. Male nudity is shown here as well as female nudity and it is this that earns the film its 18 rating. It's nowhere near as extreme as other films of this nature in most areas, 'Porky's' certainly doesn't hold back in its sheer display of nudity however and there are here many scenes of a visually sexual nature.

Despite the comedy nature of this film, 'Porky's' actually covers some extremely important moral ground. It looks into the racist nature of the society of the time, the issue of anti-Semitism, and also the subject of an incredibly corrupt police force. Serious issues are dealt with well here, the film is set in 1954 and peoples viewpoints within the film therefore reflect this. It's a comedy that knows when to be serious, it doesn't take political matters too lightly but never is the film overly serious either. The balance is spot on here, the contrast works well and really helps to further the enjoyment that can be gained from watching this film.

Kim Cattrall is the lady whom all the lads lust after here, she plays the role of P.E. teacher Ms. Honeywell and her strong sexuality contrasts well with the more macho figure of Ms. Balbricker played by the late, great Nancy Parsons. Kim Cattrall flaunts her sexuality well here, she plays her part to perfection and it's great to see her away from the 'Sex and the City' role which she is now so well known for. Dan Monahan is another notable performer here in his role as Pee Wee, he plays his sexually inexperienced part strongly and is incredibly believable as the hapless teen. He bears the brunt of all five of the other teenage guys jokes, he's not the coolest of the pack but they love him nonetheless. All others cast within this film are not great in their roles here; they're okay, nothing spectacular however and for the most part their performances are really quite forgettable. You'll find yourself forgetting the on-screen names of many of those involved in this film; character names are not too important here however and the main strengths of 'Porky's' are in its great comedy moments and fine exploration of important political issues also.

Taking inflation into account; 'Porky's' remains to be the most internationally successful Canadian film ever made. 'Porky's' is sure-fire proof that sex does indeed sell, it shocked audiences of its time and although a little tame by today's standards it still has its moments and is still quite a funny film to watch. Plot progression is not a strong point of 'Porky's', it's really quite weak in this department but does at times provide some super funny scenes. It's not exactly a laugh a minute, 'Porky's' has its moments however and it is this that makes it a fairly enjoyable film to watch. Time has not treated 'Porky's' too kindly, it takes a lot to shock in today's society and the world is a very different place to what it was back in 1982. 'Porky's' is an okay film, there are a lot better out there than this but it does provide for quite a fun 94 minutes of viewing entertainment. I would recommend this film in a way in that it's nice to see where the whole teen movie gross-out genre began, it's no classic though and whilst some films will always be great; 'Porky's just isn't so shocking anymore, and half the films original appeal was surely in the fact that it was so daringly different and shocking at the time of its cinematic release in 1982.

Porky's can currently be found at Play.com at the bargain price of £2.99 (Or can be bought as a part of the Porky's 1 And 2 (Double Feature) for £3.99).


Director: Bob Clark
Genre: Comedy
Language: English
Runtime: 94 mins
BBFC Rating: 18