Porky's Academy

Here's a film that you'll only likely encounter if you're trying to work your way through the least appealing films on those Mill Creek box sets. It's a coming-off-age film set in Tel Aviv during the fifties, involving three teenagers (only it turns out they're in their early twenties – how long do people go to school in Isreal?) trying to get a bit while partying and etc.

It's been a few days since I watched this one so naturally I've forgotten all their names, but you've got your main character, Bon Jovi I think his name was, his fat sidekick Van Halen, and fanny rat Dave Lee Roth. After having all their clothes nicked by some Fonz types, Bon Jovi turns up at his home in the buff in front of all his conservative parent's friends, paving the way for a lot of male nakedness in the film.

You see, Bon Jovi is the lovable (you'll hate him) cute one of the trio, and he's trying to get into the pants of a certain lady who looks like Anne Hathaway, only attractive. He does this by stalking her until she gives in, much to the chagrin of Van Halen's girlfriend. Dave Lee Roth on the other hand is just trying to get into the pants of everybody, which leads to much interpersonal drama I'm guessing as I can't feel anything since I did three tours in 'Nam.

So if you want to reminisce about growing up in fifties Tel Aviv like a Glaswegian who grew up in the eighties in Scotland, you can't go wrong by this film. It's got big fat hairy man arses, a scattering of female nudity, a wee bit of how's your father, and much by way of drama and crappy comedy. Who am I talking to? No one's gonna watch this one!

The growing pains felt by adolescents are timeless and, as this hidden gem I found that was set in 1950's Tel Aviv shows, apparently universal. Thankfully this was tossed in a 50-film megapack, 'Drive-In Movie Classics'--otherwise, from the producers, director, and no-name cast involved, I would likely never have come across it. It's basically a mix of 'American Graffiti' and 'Porky's', but the script is the right mix of angst and humour, and the actors make a little go a long way with their charisma and chemistry. The 50's songs and complete lack of any sort of pretension are overwhelmingly refreshing and appreciated! I had no idea that this was in fact a sequel (another name for it is 'Lemon Popsicle 2') and part of a series. I would certainly love to track the other films down...

The main problem I had with the Israeli-made Lemon Popsicle-and its American remake The Last American Virgin-was that despite Benji in Popsicle and Gary in Virgin having a big crush on Nikki/Karen, he still went out with his friends to have sexual encounters with other women. So it's just as well that this sequel to Popsicle basically ignored pretty much all the events from its predecessor since here, their characterizations are a lot more consistent. This time, Benji's got the hots for a girl named Tammy, Bobby's going out with Shelly, and Huey's girl here is Martha who was in the last one as the best friend of Nikki who's nowhere to be seen this time. As before, Martha actually likes Benji and even tries to make the moves on him this time when Benji and Tammy have a fight. I'll stop there and just say because of the more consistent characterizations, I found myself laughing more than its predecessor got me to do and I also liked the way things went on sequentially especially the end which wasn't a sad one like the last one. Though I have a feeling Tammy will be gone by the next installment of the Lemon Popsicle series but for now if there's an entry that I feel works best for me right now, it's this one. So that's my recommendation of Going Steady.

Rated R for Language and Sexual Content

Going Steady aka Lemon Popsicle 2 is the sequel to the 1978 Isreali film Lemon Popsicle.As of October 28 2007, the first three lemon popsicles are available to watch on youtube dubbed in English and the fourth one is coming soon.The original Lemon Popsicle was remade in the United States as The Last American Virgin which I have yet to see.Anyway Going Steady is better than the first film in my opinion.The first film had some funny parts but it was mostly depressing(especially the ending).The sequel is much funnier but also has plenty of drama as well.One problem I have with the sequel was that it never explains how Benji and Bobby became friends again.After the events of the first film, I would think that their friendship was over but the second film shows them as friends as if none of the events of the first film happened.That's my only problem with this sequel.The film is about three friends in the late 50's or early 60's and their misadventures with sex.If you like teen sex comedies, I suggest looking for the Lemon Popsicle series.

"Going Steady", as it's called here in North America, is actually the second entry in the Israeli "Lemon Popsicle" film series. I have seen several other entries in the series before this one, and I think I can safely say it's one of the lesser entries. The movie is not without merit. There is a great soundtrack of '50s hit songs (how was this low budget movie able to afford all of them?), the period detail is acceptable for the most part, and while the cast is too old to be playing teenagers, they do bring in some instant likability. Which is good, because some of the characters engage in some really cruel and selfish behavior, which taints the movie significantly. A bigger problem with the movie, however, is that the movie has little plot, and seems content to frequently spin its wheels for a long time. That might have been forgive had the movie been funny, but it isn't - the comic situations are lame and predictable. How this disappointing movie didn't finish the series right there is beyond me - maybe something got lost in the translation to English in the dubbing room.