Private Resort

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.

This is a lesser member of the 80s sex romp genre. It's the second film of the yet unknown Johnny Depp. That's the only reason I checked it out. It's a T&A romp in a Florida resort and hotel. Confident Jack (Johnny Depp) and his more reserved friend Ben (Rob Morrow) have fun and hijinx trying to hook up with all the hot young women. They constantly run into jewel thief 'The Maestro' (Hector Elizondo), the resort manager, and the jerk Curt (Andrew Dice Clay).

Girls, I'll tell you up front that you absolutely see Depp's butt. He struts around naked and so does Morrow. Clay slaps the guys around. There are some slapstick. It's exactly what you expect and none of it is terribly funny but it is somewhat cute. It's all very silly and stupid.

The only thing to raise this above all the other pointless '80s sex romp is the combo of Johnny Depp and Rob Morrow. They are a couple of fun guy buddies. They are a likable charismatic duo. Without them, I couldn't possibly give this a 6/10.

I watched this in 2022 as one of the last films to complete my attempt to watch all Johnny Depp's films, something I started about 20 years ago when i was a kid, but at the time these old low grade films were impossible to find, it was probably only available on VHS and too expensive to be worth my buying at the time. Now, we have access to everything with the internet, which is a blessing as well as a curse. Anyway this film was so bad it was actually good. They don't make films like this anymore. Films that are really trying to be good but actually are really bad. The only films you will watch that have this energy now are films that are intentional pastiches like the Scary Movie films and that sort of stuff. Films that are aware that they are using all the stereotypes and having fun with it. This film uses all these cheesy stereotypes but legitimately tries to be a good film, which is hilarious. Kind of like Birdemic. So for this awesome nostalgia from a time when some innocent people were still able to buy into this kind of stereotypical filmmaking, you can watch this. There are some legitimately funny set pieces with Johnny and Hector Elizondo too. Its like the type of movie I would expect to get from Poundland in a 2-in-1 DVD special buy.

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 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.