Dom Robinson reviews
- Cert:
- Cat.no: 16350 DVD
- Running time: 187 minutes
- Year: 1981/1983
- Pressing: 2001
- Region(s): 2, PAL
- Chapters: 20/15 plus extras
- Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0
- Languages: English
- Subtitles: 11 languages available
- Widescreen: 1.85:1
- 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
- Macrovision: Yes
- Disc Format: 2 * DVD 5
- Price: £19.99
- Extras: Trailers
Director:
- Bob Clark
(Baby Geniuses 1 & 2, The Emperor’s New Clothes, From the Hip, Loose Cannons, Porky’s 1 & 2, Turk 182!)
Producer:
- Don Carmody and Bob Clark
Screenplay:
- Bob Clark / Alan Ormsby and Roger Swaybill
Music:
- Paul Zaza and Carl Zittrer / Carl Zittrer
Cast:
- Pee Wee Morris: Dan Monahan
Billy: Mark Herrier
Tommy Turner: Wyatt Knight
Mickey Jarvis: Roger Wilson
Wendy Williams: Kaki Hunter
Miss Honeywell: Kim Cattrall
Beulah Ballbricker: Nancy Parsons
Cherry Forever: Susan Clark
Porky Wallace: Chuck Mitchell
Porky’sis one of the funniest comedies ever made and centres around Pee Wee Morris(Dan Monahan) and his attempts to get laid, but he’s a rather sadcharacter spending every morning measuring his penis and finding that “it’sgetting shorter”.
Set in the 1950s at Angel Beach High, the film also follows the (mis)fortunesof Billy (Mark Herrier), Tommy Turner (Wyatt Knight), MickeyJarvis (Roger Wilson), Meat and school bike Wendy Williams (KakiHunter). Pee Wee had a bad experience after being set up with Wendy, butnow gets a chance at losing his cherry as the lads are off tonight to visitthe whorehouse “Porky’s”, but after being thrown out they’re seeking revengeand that’s not easy given that the owner’s brother is sheriff.
Classic moments in this film include Miss Honeywell (Kim Cattrall)getting turned on in the boys’ locker room, the appearance of Cherry Forever(Susan Clark), the time when three of the lads peek into the girls’shower room and discover the disgusting PE teacher Miss Balbricker(Nancy Parsons) and the resultant scene in the office when what wasexposed gets discussed in length, much to the amusement of everyone butBalbricker…
Sadly, the same cannot be said of the sequel, subtitled “The Next Day” becausethat’s when it happens. The students decide to stage “An Evening with Shakespeare”,but Balbricker views the bard’s works as obscene and it is shut down withthe help of corrupt politicians seeking re-election. However, there’s barelya laugh to be had and when it sinks into the nadir of showing off a load ofnaked old men, it’s just pitiful.
I haven’t seen the third film in the series – Porky’s Revenge – and since it’s not included here I don’t know if it’s a blessing or not,but the plot finds Porky (Chuck Mitchell) reopening his club in aMississippi riverboat.
Kim Cattrall in your changing room:
something to think about.
Both films are presented in their original 1.85:1 widescreen ratio and areanamorphic, but both look very soft and have a number of minor print glitchesthroughout. As for sound, both were made in mono and are presented in DolbyPro Logic here, but it makes no difference since they’re hardly effects-ladencomedies.
There are 20 chapters for the first film and 15 for the second, menus arestatic and silent and the only extras given are Trailers (16:9 anamorphicwidescreen) for each film. Subtitles come in 11 languages: English for thehearing-impaired, Czech, Danish, Finnish, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic,Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese and Swedish.
Again, with this double-bill there’s no reason to issue the films on twoseparate DVD 5s, since they would both have easily fitted on a single DVD 9.
Porky’s 2
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS
OVERALL
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.