The Party Animal

In the vast realm of teen-sex comedies, The Party Animal is an anomaly. Opening with a thunderous bolt of lightning, the film's soundtrack pounds out The Buzzcocks' song, "Why Can't I Touch It," while the camera pans across one of the most hauntingly beautiful faces ever sculpted on a teenage girl. The ominously beautiful girl stands high above a winding road in which a pick-up truck loaded with turnips is seen cruising with the soon-to-be (Party Animal) lounging on top of the edible roots. So begins one of the greatest drive-in comedies ever made.

The story follows the exploits of twenty-two year old freshman college student, Pondo Sinatra, an obnoxious imposing blunderer whose only desire in life is to get laid and his studly buddy, Studly who tries to help him achieve that goal. I know, I know, this sounds like the premise for every teen comedy made, but believe me, this is where the similarities end and a twisted Faustian tale begins.

One day while Pondo and Studly are scheming on the campus grounds, Pondo announces that he would sell his soul for a piece of tail. The hauntingly beautiful girl from the first scene appears and seems to acknowledge Pondo's request - though his wish is not granted until much later in the film. The girl, Mephistopheles incarnate, appears throughout the film, taunting and haunting Pondo.

Before Pondo's wish is granted, he is dragged through some of cinema's most hilariously torturous vignettes. In one scene, Pondo tries to impress the ladies at a punk rock party by taking so many drugs (pot, pills, cocaine and LSD) in one sitting, that even Keith Richards would cringe. In another, Pondo decked out in 1970's New York City pimp gear, crashes an African-American party that is not exactly white-friendly and ends up with a hair pick stuck in his forehead.

This is a seriously twisted dark comedy and may not be for all tastes but over-all the cinematography is excellent and the acting is fair. Jerry Jones III, who has performed in all of Rudy Ray Moore's Dolomite films, provides an exceptional performance as Elbow, the school's janitor, who doles out sage-like advice to Studly and Pondo. The Party Animal features an amazing soundtrack whose artists include The Buzzcocks, The Fleshtones, R.E.M., New Marines, Chelsea, Dream 6, Gazmo, and The Untouchables who appear as themselves in the film. Also, there are many semi-clad beauties to keep your eyes busy even if your mind wanders.

As a film, The Party Animal does not play by any standard "teen sex comedy" rules set up by the Hollywood cookie cutter machine, and it certainly doesn't cop out by giving the us the same old crappy "nerd saves the day - nerd gets the girl" happy ending. I won't give up the finale, but let's just say that Pondo gets what he deserves.

The Party Animal only played a short time in theatres in 1983 (not 1984) and now can only be seen if your video store carries the long out-of-print Pan-Canadian or Lightning video releases. A trivial note: This is one of only a few movies that Cineplex Odeon Pictures produced and released.

The Party Animal is the funniest movie I have ever seen. I feel this movie is destined to be a cult classic. This movie by far surpasses classics like Animal House and Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke with curbstone humor.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to locate this movie in any of my searches. If anyone knows where, how and for how much I could purchase this movie, please E-mail me at victorr6000@aol.com. I would really appreciate the assistance.

I forgot to mention that this movie is not family oriented in any way, shape or form. The movie does contain a short scene involving drug use. It also has sexual innuendos and overtones with some nudity.

Desperate to lose his virginity, a youth from rural Canada goes to extraordinary lengths to get laid in this wacky college comedy with a difference. While the film is let down by annoying stereotypes and too many flatulence gags, it is boosted by a pseudo-documentary narrative style. The film opens with multiple interviews as various individuals comment on how they knew the protagonist when he was still a fumbling fool and before he became famous, which adds a nice sense of mystery to the proceedings as we wait to see what exactly brought about this fame. It is an up and down ride; lead actor Matthew Causey is downright annoying at times with his over-the-top awkwardness around women, but he is very funny at other points (look out for an extended segment in which he is made up to look like a punk rocker). His ventures in an adult shop also lead to some truly uncanny moments as the toys there baffle him and as the shop owner has a penchant for speaking like Marlon Brando. Some of the dialogue is highly memorable too; "get used to it!" exclaims one young woman after Causey pounces on her, crying "but I'm a virgin". And there is the line "hound dog's gonna eat that pussy!" - which really needs to be heard in context to be appreciated. 'The Party Animal' is certainly a bit of a mixed bag, but the highlights are ultimately what stick around in the mind.

This movie has more laughs than nearly any I have seen. A collection of scenerios, this movie moves fast and you can hardly catch your breathe between laughs. My favorite scene? Has to be the fart potion. Trust me, if you don't about die from this one your already dead.

Cult classic film. This is not a "chick flick". It's really goofy and is pretty much a waste of a couple of hours; however, in this day and age where we are spending more and more time in stressful situations (work, school, etc.), this a a perfect film to watch to relieve ourselves of some of that stress. You'll either love it... or hate it. I happen to be one of the viewers who loved/loves it!