The First Turn-On!!

Even though this movie is an "80s" movie, it still stands out a bit on its own. It's a raunchy sexually charged teen flick that has grown adults who are hard pressed to pass as teenagers, well, acting as teenagers.

This flick is a mindless, offbeat teen entertainment sprinkled with sexual stimulus throughout. It does what it does. They don't hand out Academy awards for this type of movie.

This was probable the 1st rated R movie I ever saw. I was about 9 years old at the time. And cable tv then had a button on the remote that would unscramble whichever 'Pay Per View' movie you wanted to see and it charge your monthly bill. However, I had discovered if you didn't watch more than 30 seconds at a time, you would never get charged. This movie had me coming back in 30 second bits until I saw it all. My only complaint was how they got out of the cave. Just when things were getting the most interesting. I the movie could have been 5 minutes longer at the end.

I see a few reviewers mentioning how ugly the women are in the movie. Not only do I disagree, I find that just an excuse to be mean to people. These women rock it on camera. This movie holds a special place in my erotic comedy heart. And I come back to it from time to time. I don't do that with a lot of movies.

The First Turn-On!! (must have the two exclamation points there because, hey, more stuff on the poster!!) is a sex-romp where we get to see the inside scoops on what the "first time" was like for a few ass-wipes and two stuck up chicks (to speak in Beavis & Butt-head tongue), and they all beef up their stories that they tell in the cave after an avalanche makes the cave impenetrable... he-he, impenetrable, is that a funny? Well, no, on to the movie itself, one of the early collaborations between Troma founder/bad-taste pioneers Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman, who share producer/director credits here.

Their game, if one can't tell from their other movies, is intentionally hitting the lowest common denominator. They do have a tongue-in-cheek through most of it- that is when the misogyny doesn't scream out like a young lady's first or almost orgasm- and at least they're not trying to be offensive... actually, no, that's a lie. If you got offended by this, they won half the battle (and if you paid for the whole DVD- as opposed to, with some wit, getting it off of Netflix instant-view, they won the other half).

I would like to try to look deeper into some of the psychological ramifications of what the campers and camp-leader with the frizzy 80's hair and wide blue eyes go into, but does it matter? Whenever Kaufman and Herz try to get on with a story it makes so many detours it threatens to jump off a cliff with two boobs in your face. This said, throughout the raucous and stupid and juvenile and just flat-out gross and 11-year old humor wedged into a very-R-rated sex comedy, I actually did laugh at a few lines like "This would be easier than (bleeping) a tomato", and there were a few sight gags that did make me chuckle loudly. I could probably count those times on one hand. And I guess there are some nice bosoms, to note once again. The rest of it is obnoxious crap-comedy, the kind where you roll your eyes or just sit in momentary stunned silence and go "really, you had to go there?

It's a Porky's knock-off at camp that unfortunately doesn't go far enough to anticipate 127 Hours. Now if they had to cut off some genitals to stay alive (mostly testicles) it might be a better night out.

My interest in this film was purely as a fan of Vincent D'Onofrio..and this is his first ever movie made at the tender age of twenty four. His role is small however, but his character is actually quite funny. He plays a psychotic,brainless teenager called Lobotomy..and oh, how his acting improved over the years! The film itself is a carry on movie meets Airplane! lots of silly humour and innuendo. It's set at a kids summer camp with dubious members of staff and centres around four teens and a dizzy blonde staff members stories of their first seductions..it is funny in parts but also very silly. It's not a bad film, just a piece of inane fluff.

J. Canker Huxley doesn't know what he's talking about. American Pie is garbage. It isn't funny. The First Turn-On is a classic from the days when there were such things as "teenage sex romps." It has no aspirations other than to amuse and to exploit. Movies like Road Trip and American Pie want to have their cake and eat it too---they try to be lewd and crude, yet still contain a "message" or be moral. The First Turn-On has no morals and therefore succeeds in being entertaining.

This is the last straight comedy produced by Troma before they found their niche in action/horror spoofs and the only film directed mostly by Michael Herz. Its a very sophomoric and amateur take off on Porky's and Meatballs 2 designed to be zany and irreverent. Troma's early comedies all suffer from sleaze, grime and laziness, but they usually have a redeeming sly sense of satire and a fun cartoon logic thanks to Lloyd Kaufman. "Turn On" then is very interesting Troma fans as they can see just what Herz' contributions were before he stopped teaming with Kaufman. Herz directs "Turn On" with a humanist energy. His actors are happy and free and he pays no attention to blocking or coverage. He's all about performances. The later Troma films are missing this naturalistic acting style and the sensuality Herz seems obsessed with. Kaufman is definitely a better director of action and comedy but maybe Troma would've grown stronger with Herz's style still complimenting Lloyd's.