ORGAZMO Directed and written by Trey Parker Starring – Trey Parker, Dian Bachar, Masad `Maki' San Running time – 94 min. (may be cut for R rating)
Reviewed by Mike Babitsky
3.75/4
PLOT: Parker plays Joe Young, a naïve Mormon who cheerfully goes from house to house hoping to spread the word of Christ. He soon finds himself at the house of porn director, Maxxx Orbison (Michael Dean Jacobs). Joe gets into a fight outside the house, and Orbison is so impressed with his skills that he persuades him to play the super hero, Orgazmo in his new movie… Orgazmo. Hesitant at first, Joe accepts because he needs the money to get married to his fiancé.
CRITIQUE: Parker's first feature, with his partner Matt Stone, was Cannibal: The Musical, a hilarious, low-budget film made for Troma (and the reason Parker left college). Orgazmo shows Parker's growth as a writer and director, and proves to be one of the funniest comedies to come... echem...along in awhile.
Parker and Stone's careers basically began because of the intense bootleg distribution of their vulgar, 5 min., animated masterpiece, ‘The Spirit of Christmas', which had Jesus fighting Santa Claus over the ‘true' meaning of Christmas. This short spawned the animated phenomenon known as South Park. ‘Mere shock value' is a phrase that is often used to describe the reason behind the popularity of their program. Perhaps the same words will be used by critics to describe this picture.
The problem with the term ‘shock value', is that it often suffocates the true comedic value and reduces the picture to nothing more than outrageousness. It's a knee-jerk label that many easily offended people give when viewing work that deals with subject matter that they'drather not view. This is fairly evident as the film received an NC-17 (which would pretty much butcher it's distribution potential, so it must be cut to make the R).
However, despite the subjects Parker has chosen to tackle as backdrops for his comedy, his wit and originality is always present in all he's worked on and hopefully will get noticed moreso than his subjects.
The main strength of the comedy is its lack of ‘duds'. Just about every joke Parker goes for works, and every now and then he gets something that ‘really' works. Few of those latter jokes could be described in this review without lessening the impact of an actual viewing, however one physical gag sticks out in my mind and involves a character named T-Rex…That is all I will say.
An interesting Parker used a few actual porn stars in the film, either as an inside joke for those of us who know who Ron Jeremy (of Anal Al's Adventures fame) is, or to instill an important sense of realism that can only be achieved by porn stars playing porn stars. Also adding some Spice in the film is Chasey Lain and Boraca the Brazilian Bombshell.
The film has a simplicity about it, and perhaps that is it's biggest forte. Many comedies try to be big, with the misconception that bigger is better, and while I'm sure many actors in this film would hold that belief……, it is my experience that forced and unnecessary grandeur often obscures pure comedy and its subtleties. Then again, perhaps the simplicity is due mainly to budget restraints… well, whatever the reason…it works. It is not the most satirical, nor the most intelligent script ever written, but it did it's job…it was funny. Parker obviously has confidence in his work and sense of humor. As a result, the pacing never becomes flaccid. It may be somewhat immature, it may contain some mediocre choices in running gags, and maybe an elderly lady humping her walker could be considered in bad taste…but it's all in good fun.
Another interesting character assignment is Dian Bachar as Ben Chapleski (aka Choda Boy). In Cannibal: The Musical, Dian played a virgin whose main hope in life was to get laid. In Orgazmo, as Ben, Dian finally gets to see some action. Another character returning from Cannibal is Masad "Maki" San, who impeccably portrays G-Fresh...
As a side-note, the hilarious theme song, `Now You're a Man' is performed by Parker and Stone's band DVDA (the meaning behind which will be explained within the film.)
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