The success of Porky's in 1982 opened the floodgates for a large number of copycat movies throughout the decade. This was the golden age of the teen sex comedy and many people from my generation remember this period fondly. While on a quest for boobs and fart jokes, kids of that era had many options for variations on the central theme of getting laid. In all of the sex comedies that I have seen, none of them can compete with the sheer randomness of The Party Animal. The many set pieces in this movie literally come out of nowhere and are often staged like a bizarre drug trip rather than the simple locker room hijinks that we had come to love. I'm not complaining as this certainly kept me on my toes but I did keep wishing that the lead character was more than just a second rate Booger-wannabe. Well, at least he got some action.

Matthew Causey stars as Pondo Sinatra, a loser who arrives at college in the back of a turnip truck and repels pussy faster than a pack of dogs in a rainstorm. A fellow student named Studly (Tim Carhart) takes Pondo under his wing and attempts to teach him the art of wooing girls but every approach results in failure. Pondo tries everything from getting direction from Studly through a headset to crashing a party full of black people while wearing a pimp outfit to getting a punk makeover that somehow turns him into Quasimodo complete with a torch-wielding lynch mob. He eventually resorts to spending time in the chemistry lab where he concocts a aphrodisiac potion that he uses on various women. Unfortunately, this comes across more like a rape spray and makes the character seem even creepier than he already is. Eventually, Pondo drinks the chemical waste and becomes irresistible to women to a degree that we are supposed to walk away from this with the message that you should be careful what you wish for and sometimes having hot chicks chasing you around campus is not all that it is cracked up to be.

All that I remembered from this movie from when I saw it as a teen was the "I'm a Party Animal" song that Pondo sings in a dream sequence. This is odd because there are a number of other scenes that should have stuck in my head much more than this. For starters, there is an old black janitor (Jerry Jones from Dolemite) who tries to guide Pondo into the ways of a hound dog by having Pondo chant "hound dog gonna eat some pussy". There is also a strip poker scene where Pondo dresses in drag and plays one-card poker with a bunch of bimbos who like to do aerobics while wearing lingerie. In fact, it seems that wherever you look on this amazing college campus, there are hot girls either stretching or doing aerobics. It is pretty unbelievable that this guy could not get any action in this setting and if this school existed now, I would quit my job and immediately enroll. Another bizarre scene is a black and white sequence in a sex shop where Pondo purchases a missile-sized vibrator from a dude that is doing a Marlon Brando impression while trying to explain the cold war arms race. By far the funniest scene is where Pondo is on a date with an Italian woman after he accidentally force feeds her a fart pill. Call me a simpleton but it was pretty hard not to laugh at the bum burps that this girl was letting rip.

This movie would never fly in today's politically-correct climate. Most of the women are portrayed as vapid and racial stereotypes abound. The black dudes are all wearing what looks like traditional African garb (either that or they were all fans of Rockne Tarkington's lead role in Black Samson). There is a stereotypical gay assistant to the dean and also some male strippers (who are clearly based on Siegfried and Roy) that have moves that must have been put in for the small female audience of this flick. On the plus side, the soundtrack features a number of tracks from The Buzzcocks as well as songs from The Fleshtones and a live performance from L.A. ska/mod band The Untouchables at a party. Overall, this is a strange entry in the sex comedy subgenre that does not follow conventions and is good for a laugh and a fair amount of boobs. Director David Beaird went on to make My Chauffeur. Tim Carhart has had minor roles in numerous movies and TV shows including the nasty dude in Thelma and Louise who attempts to rape Geena Davis. Causey went on to become an established drama professor in Ireland. (Josh Pasnak, 6/11/14)

Directed By: David Beaird.
Written By: David Beaird.

Starring: Matthew Causey, Tim Carhart, Jerry Jones, Robin Harlan.