Coups de soleil

Take a typical 80's B-comedy, and give the two male leads to two actors who would go on to awards and world fame.

Believe me or not, Depp and Morrow take two stock characters and make the material seem that much better; suddenly Jack and Ben hold the film together, rather than just reacting to everything within a narrow character description. Okay, so it's not art, but it's interesting from a film education perspective, if nothing else.

The script and direction aren't bad either, for a 1980's sex romp. Would have liked to see the director go on to better material. Ah, well.

7/10, for effort and sheer amusement value.

Private Resort is a wildly hilarious romp through the world of the vacation resort industry.

Johnny Depp shines in one of his earlier acting roles as Jack, a horndog who is out for tail at any price.

(It should be noted to any fan of the Depp that he shows his naked backside in this movie. Not that I enjoyed it or anything...)

This is a must see. Watch for the Jeff Spicolli-like character Mike. He has maybe 3 lines in the movie, but they have stuck with me since I first saw this movie in the seventh grade.

"Private Resort" is another fun little teen sex comedies that only the 80's could make. Its got the instantly watchable Johnny Depp and Rob Morrow in early roles, and they both have a good time with the slapstick of this film. This movie is almost entirely composed of physical gags, but it does deliver the laughs. The punchlines to every seen are blatantly obvious and easily predictable, but for some reason "Resort" has enough charm to subvert its cliches. Although not nearly as good as the teen comedy classic, "Spring Break", this is still a worthwhile 82 minutes for fans of the 80's teen comedy.

First of all, let's get something straight. This is in fact the best spring break comedy of the 80's. However, that means it is the best of the 4 or 5 spring break comedies that came out between 1983-1985, really the only two years of the 1980's that had spring break comedies. Therefore, I'm talking about movies like Spring Break, Where the Boys Are, Hot Resort, and Fraternity Vacation, so which also means this is pretty much just a sex comedy. Of all these, Private Resort is by far and away the best one. It follows two young guys, Depp and Morrow, who are just looking to get laid and in the meantime get in trouble with hotel security, Andrew Dice Clay, and Hector Elizondo before his Chicago Hope days. Also, not to mention the beautiful girls throughout the movie, but what else do you expect? As a result, this is a truly underrated sex comedy, but don't bother to watch it on Comedy Central, because like Casino and Goodfellas, it has to be seen uncut. **+ out of ****

BA,BA,BA, BA-BA-BA-BA-BA......

I knew nothing of this film before I saw it. It was a free "On Demand" film from Comcast. I didn't even know Johnny Depp was in it. I thought the plot description (which was vague) sounded like every other girl-crazy sex comedy released after "Animal House," and I got what I expected.

To be fair this is entertaining. No, it's not a great movie. It's not very well made. It's crude. It's sexist. It's all about sex.

But that's exactly what it's supposed to be. Graded by the standards of its genre, it works.

It's about two kids (one of whom is played by Johnny Depp) who gain access to a private resort in the middle of the Caribbean (presumably). There's no backdrop. We don't even know how they got in to the resort. And they look about 16, so it's odd to see them going after women in their 30s and 40s (sometimes succeeding).

Depp wasn't famous yet (correct me if I'm wrong but this was his first starring role in a film to speak of?) and this certainly didn't help boost his career (he took a considerably smaller role in Oliver Stone's "Platoon" the year after) but he displays charisma and good charm that would carry on into his later movies.

The film's take-it-as-it-is attitude makes it entertaining. It's a simple sex comedy with crude laughs and running gags, a lot of which aren't very funny, a few of which are, almost all of which are at the least amusing.

Worth catching if you see it on cable some time.