Gorp

I never went to camp as a kid, but I still have an affection for a lot of these "summer camp movies" of the late 70's/early 80's. This one, however, is pretty worthless. It's not funny like "Meatballs". It's not politically incorrect like "Little Darlings". It's not nudity and sex-saturated like "Summer Camp" and "The First Turn-On". And unlike "Friday the 13th", "The Burning", and "Sleepaway Camp", it doesn't even have Jason or somebody like that around to kill off these unfunny and irritating characters and put them out of my misery. The only innovative aspect to it is that it's supposedly set at a Jewish summer camp (even though half the cast is obviously not Jewish).

The director Joseph Ruben generally had an impressive exploitation career aside from this, directing everything from "The Pom-Pom Girls" to "The Stepfather", and he later found some mainstream success in the 1990's. This is probably his worst movie though (OK, "Sleeping with the Enemy" might have been worse, but THAT had Julia Roberts in it). As for the cast, this does include early career missteps by such notables by Dennis Quaid, Roseanne Arquette, and Fran Drescher (although the latter's entire career was pretty much a misstep). Quaid, like all the male characters here, is flat-out annoying as a military-obsessed weirdo. Roseanne Arquette is very cute and adorable in her first role, but she has virtually screen time. Drescher meanwhile, while she has never been unattractive and is not nearly as annoying here as she would become some years later, plays the camp nympho who "does" everybody (including a rabbi!) without actually ever taking off her clothes. I would have vastly preferred this role had gone to some anonymous bimbo who was willing to disrobe. And speaking of bimbos, Debi frickin' Richter is also in the cast. She was "Miss California 1975" and had one of the best bodies around back then (see her in the movie "Hot Moves"), but you get to see exactly none of it here.

I almost never COMPLETELY pan movies because I almost never watch movies in the first place if I have any inkling that they're going to COMPLETELY suck. I was fooled by this one though. Don't make the same mistake. See any of the movies I mentioned above (well, except maybe "Sleeping with the Enemy") instead.

Imagine someone right next to you jumping up and down while screaming non-stop into your ear, with plenty of vulgar words peppered in his speech, and you will have an idea of what it's like to watch GORP. You might think that with all that energy put forward there would at least be a few laughs, but think again - there's not one laugh here! There isn't even a jovial spirit on display, just a feeling of mean-spiritedness and even pure rage. Not only that, its sense of "humor" is downright offensive at times. The only bit of interest it offers is a display of yet-to-be-famous talent. (P.S. - For some reason, my original post of these comments was taken down since someone thought it was "abuse". It's not abuse - I'm simply telling it like it is.)

I remember seeing this when it first came out in 1980 when I was around 16. It was torture sitting through the whole movie (even as a teen), and couldn't believe how bad this was and why a studio would waste so much time and money into total garbage as this. The only memories I have of the film are a young Dennis Quaid dressed as a GI driving some tank, exploding poop, and 1st grade humor from beginning to end (a precursor of today's comedy, perhaps?). Just saw it's available on DVD and blu-ray(!) on Amazon. Hard to believe they'd put this on disc when there are so many other films much more worthy. But again, much of today's comedy is pretty much on this level, so I can understand. $$ for the studio.

"Gorp" (1980) is a comedy film that's set mostly in a camp cafeteria, but it misses the mark on humor. It's really not that funny and it's actually pretty disgusting, especially with the way food is defiled. The film relies on outdated ideas that haven't aged well. Most of the jokes fall flat, and the setting doesn't help. It's not particularly risqué, except for a projector scene that's totally NC-17. Overall, "Gorp" feels very average and boring, not warranting much attention. While it has a few moments, it ultimately fails to deliver a memorable or enjoyable experience. Also, Dennis Quaid is in it.

It's a good thing I was only 16 the summer this came out. Me and my buddies, all of us the same age, got such a kick out of this Animal House ripoff only because we were as horny and mischievous as the characters. It's interesting to see the subsequent accomplishments of some of the stars. I don't think I'd waste much time watching it again, even to reminisce. It is exactly what it was, a teen-target capitalizing on our adolescent urges: plenty of girl-spying and bragging about what you want your buddies to think you've done. I remember being excited that school was letting out soon for the summer, so we were all planning our own GORP adventure, which of course never happened (but told everyone it did). Fun, but absolute crap.