Loose Screws

The original Screwballs seemed to be beloved, however found it to be not great and quite overrated. Now this follow up two years later (since the original was apparently a success, a sequel would occur) was lesser in several ways.

The humor is just as bad and the over the top gimmicks don't exactly hit. One better aspect somewhat is that there are four main characters opposed to five. There were more focus on each individual which gave for a better story arc. The women were just as good, if not better. Lead by young French teacher Mona Lott- whom was the primary focus of the guy's attention.

This film follows similar gags seen in the original such as one of the characters dressing up as a woman to sneak into the women's area. A similar school swimming scene. Also the ending is very similar and predictable- the ultimate payoff occurs again and everyone seemed pleased.

Perhaps not as good or memorable as the original, though neither are great and essentially just films to watch not to deep think but to see skin. This is a slight downgrade.

Hey, this was one of a line of random movies we rent at parties. We didn't even know that it was the sequel to some other movie, maybe that's a good thing from what I've read. But all I know is that we laughed our heads off the whole movie and has been the best random movie that we rented so far. Now we'll have to go back and try to find that other movie before it.

Loose Screws (1985)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Sequel to SCREWBALLS finds four perverted guys getting sent to a school with plenty of women where they decide to play a rating game. For every girl they score with they get ten points but the main prize is a French teacher with big breasts. I'm still a little confused as why they'd punish perverts by sending them to a school with nothing but women. Anyways, this 80's teen-sex comedy is pretty bad no matter how you look at it. It's clear that the original movie made some money so this thing was rushed into production without much of a screenplay. Instead of any type of story we're just graced with scenes where one of the four men will be making out with a number of women who find them desirable. None of these scenes are all that erotic and it's rare for me to say this but even the nudity gets boring after a while. There's also very few laughs to be found here as the "stunts" and "games" played by the guys are all rather lame. The film tries hard to recapture the spirit of the first movie but it pretty much fails on all levels. Even the ending tries to copy the one in the original but it just doesn't work. The performances are certainly below average but I'll overlook this since we really don't come to these movies to see Oscar-winning performances. The characters aren't all that likable and it's really hard to care about anything going on. LOOSE SCREWS is a pretty poor movie that was made just to try and get some extra bucks off the first film's success.

LOOSE SCREWS reminds me of other lame sequels to sex romps. HOLLYWOOD HOTTUBS 2, BIKINI CAR WASH 3, EMMANUEL 34...the list goes on and on. And this film is no exception.

I liked the original film, SCREWBALLS. It was a silly comedy about five teen boys trying to get laid, and the many loose women and wacky adventures that the high schoolers encounter. It was a take on PORKY'S, but a much funnier one. There is genuine joy in SCREWBALLS, which is sorely lacking in LOOSE SCREWS.

Once again, we have characters trying to have sex, but the results are less funny this time. There's the fat guy, the nerdy guy, the womanizer: all of the cliches of the genre we have now come to expect. But, the cast is different, and the women are not the same ones from the original. While SCREWBALLS bordered on soft-core (granted very fun soft-core), LOOSE SCREWS is neutered. Nothing worse than a sex romp without sex.

Still, there are a few moments that made me laugh in this film, and maybe if you're feeling less discriminating one night, it's possible to enjoy the movie. Yet, after seeing SCREWBALLS, this film is a very pale second.

"Loose Screws" is a radical party movie with an awesome, quasi-new wave & "fake rock" soundtrack. The lead actors are older, sleazy guys playing sex-crazed teenagers. When it comes to the females in this film, obviously "loose" is the operative word. This film delivers non-stop idiocy and perversion in a way that "Preppies" and other teen sex comedies of the day fail to live up to. There is no attempt to be sentimental or involve the characters in an annoying action sub-plot.

One of the best moments of the film occurs during the climax scene at the graduation assembly. The 4 main guys kind-of magically become a new wave-ish rock band and turn the entire ceremony into a party. Disregard other reviews that peg this film as garbage; those people JUST DON'T GET IT! This film delivers non-stop idiocy in a way that "Preppies" and many other teen sex comedies of the day fail to live up to. "Loose Screws" is truly unhinged!

FYI: The Summer school exteriors were filmed at St. Andrews College in Auroura, Ontario. Pay special attention to the scenes shot on a chilly, dismal Toronto "beach". There is also a great second-story-window-fall which looks really quite painful (couldn't afford a stunt man?). The soundtrack was never released, but one of the musical highlights is available on used vinyl: "Circular Impressions" by The Extras.