Porky's / Porky's II: The Next Day
Before John Hughes put the sensitive teen film on the map, Bob Clark led another teen revolution in 1982 with his release of Porky's. Based upon his "real" experiences as a teen growing up in the 1950s, the film grossed a staggering 105 million in US rentals and secured its place as one of the most successful comedies of all time - it came in second to Tootsie that year. This DVD release restores the film to its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio and provides a rich new print for future generations to enjoy. While not the first film in the teen gross out "genre" - it was certainly a defining film, and its easy to see why. At the time it set the standard for "gross" far outpacing the envelope pushing "Animal House" in terms of bad taste. Much like the influence American Pie had on nineties teen cinema, the influence of Porky's was far reaching.\nIt's sad then, that the sequel wasn't quite up to par. Clark insisted that the sequel was funnier than the first in interviews at the time, adding that the sequel was dealing with important issues while still maintaining the integrity of the original. Alas, while the morality of the first film remains - this time centered around miscegnation and indecency in a production of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream (the correlation to be made between the character's defense of the Shakespeare play against the upset moral majority and Clark's defense of the original Porky's is hard to miss) - the T & A that the first film deftly delivered to the pimply masses is missing. Subsequently, the moral message makes the film more preachy than fun, and the normally acceptable carbon copy sequel strategy doesn't work as a result. However, for the low price of 14.99, the DVD is worth purchasing for the guilty pleasure provided by the original - and the sequel can be enjoyed if only as a way to pass the time until the third film (a decent third entry in the tired series directed by newcomer James Tomack) is released.