O Mundo Dos Jogadores

Okay, so Joysticks is poorly made. But I for one find it rather nostalgic. This movie has something about it. Whether it's the fact that it takes place in the summer (which gives it a relaxed feeling) or that it displays a culture I never knew, I find this film totally addictive. I suppose it's just that it's different from most comedy's you see today (they definately don't make movies like they used to). Something like that could only happen on film in the 80's.

Anyway, if you were around when all this was really going on, I really reccommend you see this. Trust me, you'll love it!

Thank you all for your support of this wonderfully perverse piece of classic entertainment! When Mickey Epps and I wrote the original screenplay we never thought it would turn into a piece of movie memorabilia. Sex comedies in the 80's will never return (that could be good or bad), but nonetheless, playing video games topless or in your underwear is now done in the privacy of the home and no longer in video arcades. So, worry not, you naysayers of this pulchritudinous adventure in film-making, you will not see a sequel to this movie. But because of it, I'm sure you've created a number of memorable moments in your own personal histories at various drive-ins and the back rows of the movie theaters! Long live teen sex comedies... long live perverted, out-of-work, over-aged, have nothing better to do writers... like myself!!!!!

I love eighties movies of all kinds, yet I have been neglecting the great eighties sex comedy for a while. I decided to finally catch up on some of them, and I figured JOYSTICKS wasn't a bad place to start.

The local video arcade is the greatest hot spot in town for the teens, but it's not too popular with the richest man in town. Can the manager's grandson (who runs the place, since his grandfather is out of town), his nerdy co-worker, and the arcade's gaming champion stop him from shutting it down for good?

Even if it's not the greatest, JOYSTICKS still manages to entertain despite itself. It's your stereotypical eighties comedy, with lots of sex jokes, boobs, and all the caricatures you'd expect to find (the fat guy, the nerd, the suave guy, the punk, etc.). This kind of familiarity gives JOYSTICKS a very comfortable feeling, like homemade cooking.

Fans of eighties nostalgia will have a lot to love as well, with a classic soundtrack filled with cheesy tunes (including a title song), as well as all (or at least most of) the arcade games you can remember. The film does have its funny parts, and they're funny in the "that's-so-stupid" kind of way.

However, for every funny part, there are at least two jokes that fall flat on their face. This leads to some groan-worthy moments where you wonder why they would even put a joke like that in the film. For one, there's the rich guy's daughter, who they try to make funny by making her voice squeaky and making every third word she says, "Like." There are also the bumbling nephews who go into the arcade incognito with one of them dressed in drag.

JOYSTICKS really isn't that great, but it provides for a fun night of late twentieth century nostalgia. I'm being really generous by awarding it a 7/10, but no one can deny how fun it is.

There are obviously better eighties comedies out there, but this one will still entertain in a C.H.U.D. II: BUD THE C.H.U.D. kind of way.

It was that bad. I've occasionally rented a video that I fell asleep during and didn't bother to rewatch, or just didn't finish watching--period. But this was the only movie I ever paid admission to see that I didn't finish watching--and that's saying a lot for me. Joe Don Baker must have really needed some quick money to star in this stinker.

A beautiful majestic and taut thriller set against the backdrop of a suburban video arcade. Joe Don Baker gives us a towering performance as the cliched angry parent wanting to shut the arcade down. It's amazing that even now, 20 years later, the film still inspires, still excites and still amazes even the most jaded movie viewer. If there is a God, I know that even he must get a smile on his face from the pointless nudity and hours upon hours of video game playing that this movie portrays with such raw tenacity and such POWER! 10/10. Long live "Joysticks!"