It’s not unrealistic to say that 20th Century Fox was the studio that brought home the teenage sex comedy. Not too long ago, they released a special edition of “Revenge of the Nerds.” However, before the nerds took college by storm, the teen sex comedy was defined with a bunch of retro high schoolers from Angel Beach in “Porky’s.”

I was too young to see “Porky’s” in the theatres. While I was able to convince my parents to bring my twelve-going-on-thirteen butt to see “Revenge of the Nerds,” there was no way I’d convince them to bring me as a ten year old to see “Porky’s.”

In fact, the first exposure (no pun intended) to “Porky’s” was at a high school party to see a video tape of “Porky’s Revenge,” which opens with an incredibly hot blonde flashing the camera. Needless to say, I was hooked... and embarrassed as hell around all the girls at the party at the same time.

Only a few years later did I end up watching the “Porky’s” series with some friends late one Friday night. And even then, I loved the first one, thought the second was a bit of a let down but found the third film to redeem the franchise.

The films follow a group of high school students from the early 1960s who are coming of age. The main character is Pee Wee (Dan Monahan), whose name is a not-so-subtle slam on the size of his manhood, and he’s joined by a group of friends whose goal is to get some action. They head down to the Everglades where a local hood named Porky runs a casino and brothel. After taking their money, Porky sends them back home without any nookie. The film continues with the kids continuing to try to get laid, seek revenge on Porky and deal with some anti-Semitic feelings from one of their friends.

The sequel takes up on the day after the kids’ revenge on Porky, who doesn’t actually appear in this film at all. This story finds the boys joining the theater department at school for a production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” However, a local preacher is looking to shut down the play for indecency. The kids whip up a scheme to keep the play going by exposing the hypocritical preacher, taking a stab at the heart of a corrupt politician and fighting the KKK.

The third film brings Porky back for another run. The kids are out to help their basketball coach, who owes money to Porky, who has rebuilt his casino and brothel as a riverboat. Pee Wee is jonesing for the hot new exchange student (horribly acted but beautifully cast as German Playboy Playmate Kim Evenson) while Meat (also named for the size of his manhood) has accidentally hooked up with Porky’s homely daughter.

Like any great series, the original is the best because it’s the original. The film helped solidify the teen sex comedy and spawned dozens of imitations. However, it had a lot of heart as well. There was a bit of preachiness with the anti-Semitic angle. Still, this was forgivable considering that it – as well as many of the escapades in the movie – were real stories from director Bob Clarke’s life. The movie wasn’t as sweet as “Revenge of the Nerds,” but it does have some of the most hilarious and classic scenes from this breed of film.

The second film was a forced sequel. It steered away from the teen sex comedy angle and went more to teach a lesson. The KKK angle was as preachy as it could come, and I found it pretty hard to swallow that the kids looking to get laid in the first film suddenly became fans of Shakespeare. It’s a sad thing when all the R-rated nudity in the film were from old, fat, bald guys.

However, things were redeemed with “Porky’s Revenge,” which went back to the tried-and-true concept of the teen sex comedy. There were sex jokes, silliness and extreme situations. And best yet, they actually had nudity that you’d hope to see in a teen sex comedy. (I know, this makes me a pig, but check out the name of the film!)

The biggest problem with “Porky’s Revenge” was that it used the same cast from the first film, which is usually a joy. However, while the kids were a little too old for the first film, they were way too old for “Porky’s Revenge,” which was made three years later. If you can handle 30-year-old high school students, you should be okay with the film, though.

The box set “Porky’s: The Ultimate Collection” contains all three films together for the first time. The first film has all the special features, including a commentary and retrospective featurette. The subsequent films are left with nothing more than a couple trailers.

Fans of 80s films or the teen sex comedy genre will love this box set. It’s an affordable way to check out all three films – even if the second one isn’t quite worth it.



Specifications: Dolby Digital 2.0 Sound. Widescreen (1.85:1). Spanish language track. Spanish subtitles. English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.