Joy of Sex

Not the best, but I am a fan of Michelle Meyrink. She was so cute and innocent.

This film's low rating is not surprising, exactly, but it deserves better. Granted, it has suffered on several levels, from being tied to a title of a book that it had nothing to do with, to John Belushi's death prior to filming. All of this is unfortunate, as a lot of people go into this film expecting something that it was never meant to be. Plus, as someone noted, the poor editing certainly doesn't help.

All that aside, what we're left with is a pretty decent 80's teen comedy along the lines of Better Off Dead, Weird Science and The Last American Virgin. Though not as classic as the above titles, it shares a lot of the same elements, and has plenty to offer to fans of the genre: some great lines, some genuinely funny scenes, a flashback to that 80's American high school experience that's embarrassingly perceptive enough to still ring true, and the great underrated Michelle Meyrink.

It is seriously overdue for DVD release.

This movie has several scenes that are very funny to watch interspersed with a lot of chaff. The director attempted to juggle far too many subplots, many of which are given short shrift in the mixed-up editing. In the end, it looks like one person directed about two films' worth of footage which was then thrown in a blender by another person to create the finished work. Names change from one scene to another, subplots are forgotten, characters are introduced only to be left by the wayside. All that aside, however, there are a few very funny scenes; the two main characters, both of whom spend the entire film trying to get laid (you'll never guess what happens at the end) are appealing.

No surprises… typical bubblegum teenage sex comedy of the times by the director (Martha Coolidge) who gave us the romantic teen flick "Valley Girl" the year before. "Joy of Sex" must have slipped by, as I've never even heard of it but it amusingly delivers in what makes these films work. Raunchy (without really going all the way), crude and randomly madcap with its slim story cobbled together by running gags and visual humour aplenty… namely sexually orientated and being a virgin lusting for one thing. While not always funny, it remains engagingly bouncy. Thanks to some memorable support roles. A boisterous Christopher Lloyd is fun as the school's coach, Colleen Camp goes oddball, but with a feisty edge as the new student, Joanne Baron is simply eccentric as an uptight teacher and Ernie Hudson frowns his brows as the stern principal. Cameron Dye and Michelle Meyrink are likable enough as the leads… looking to fulfil their urging hormones. Also the lovely Lisa Langlois appears.

Leslie Helenberg has just entered senior year, but going to the doctors to get a moll checked out she mistakenly believes she hasn't got too long to live and goes about trying to lose her virginity. However it's quite hard when her father is the school's PE coach. While on the other side of the coin is Alan Holt whose pals brag about their sexual encounters, which leaves him rather frustrated as he can't stop thinking about sex as he goes about trying to loose his virginity anyway possible.

Quite juvenile with a stereotypical script, however some serious issues are brought up (teen pregnancy), but the focus never stems away from the upfront humour. Undemanding teen fodder.

If one sat down to watch a movie called "The Joy of Sex", you'd at least think there were some steamy sex sequences therein. Surprisingly, that is the main thing that's missing from the film. Look quick and you may catch one topless girl in a mob running by toward the end of the picture, the film's sole nude sequence. The sex scenes we do see are obscured from view half the time and most of which is left up to imagination. And surprisingly the film still bares an "R" rating, primarily for language and content. But what would be considered as the naughty sexual content in this film is no more risque that what I've seen in other PG and PG-13 rated films currently in the theater and in new release at the video store. Boy the times have changed. Suddenly in the late 90's and the new millennium we can almost get away with just about any innuendos these days.

Not too many highlights in the film. The laughs are few and far between. The film features the attractive Colleen Camp who is squandered in this opportunity. She receives far little film time as an undercover cop masquerading as the new hot girl in class at the high school where the film is based. Robert Prescott ("Bachelor Party" and "Real Genius") has a few humorous moments as a class clown, but not enough. The only real bright spot of the film is Christopher Lloyd as Coach Hindenberg. Lloyd's deadpan delivery never fails to win a laugh or two, but Lloyd can't support what is an unremarkable cast and a less than average teen sex comedy. The film is also known as "National Lampoon's: The Joy of Sex." Save you money and time. Rent "Animal House" instead.