Dépucelage mode d'emploi

The teenage son of a wealthy New Orleans couple endeavors to lose his virginity. This young man is Matt Bennett (as Matt), the last of his group of friends to get lucky. Offering the most help in his quest for sex is Matt's brother Zack Pearlman (as Zack). At one point, Matt receives a pair of his favorite pornographic star's panties for a birthday present. She also appears in the flesh. But, don't get your hopes or anything else up for this limp, sexless story. It could best be described as a home movie. If you are on the screen, or know one of the performers, it might be nice to have a copy. Otherwise, it's is a waste of time. By the way, "The Virginity Hit" title refers to the friends' pact to only smoke weed after one of them loses his virginity - these guys are clearly not thinking ahead.

* The Virginity Hit (9/10/10) Andrew Gurland, Huck Botko ~ Matt Bennett, Zach Pearlman, Jacob Davich, Justin Kline

Like most movies under the Ferrell/McKay brand, this one is immature, dumb, and worst of all boring. I saw it last night in Union Square in NYC, and even the usually forgiving audience there was silent through most of the movie. With the rare exception of a couple well-placed scatological jokes, there really isn't much to write home about. The archetypes from the famous teenage comedies are all there, but the film seem to borrow especially heavily from Superbad. It's shot in a Cloverfield-meets-road trip movie style, with the two main characters stuck in a Jonah Hill / Michael Cera roles, which is strange because there isn't one name actor in the bunch. It's surprising that they're pushing this for wide release, as the $2 million budget seems better suited for art houses. In all honesty, you could do a lot worse than this movie. But with 1.5 hours you could also do a lot better.

The virginity hit is like a string of youtube videos, or is supposed to be a string of youtube videos that chronicles the losing of the virginity of young high-school or college student named Matt. Zack and Matt are best buddies and adoptive brothers; and Zack is a video camera shutterbug and records everything. The entire movie is presented as a series of amateur videos shot by Zack, differing in quality from cell phone like grainy videos to high quality digital camera shots. This amazingly doesn't detract from the movie and gives the movie a real manic energy; though surprisingly the presentation doesn't lend well to being relatable and real (or fake as Youtube viewers would call it).

The cast form a tight cocoon around themselves and you get the feeling that you're watching them and their lives more than the story. There is only basic explanations to who they are and their backgrounds but as in a youtube video, it's like a slice of someone's life. Having said that, the jokes and events are hilarious and scripted well. Perhaps one of the greatest revelations of the movie is that it is possible to make a 2 hour youtube video and make one that is highly entertaining and that the usual teen comedy story can seem so fresh when presented this manner.

The "hit" in the title comes from the ritual of taking a hit from a bong after the loss of virginity. I found it a bit surprising that drugs and alcohol were so easily obtainable but sex wasn't but maybe that's just me. This is a must see movie if you like movies like American Pie. Overall, this is a very entertaining and funny movie.

I must say, I was really into The Virginity Hit after about the first 30 minutes. The beginning of this coming-of-age story was a little shaky (being filmed by an amateur with a hand-held camera) but eventually settled into a funny, "I can't believe that just happened" romp through the landscape of a young boy becoming a man. Matt Bennett was by far the best actor of the bunch portraying his character in a sensitive and realistic manner. Nicole Weaver and Krysta Rodriguez were very believable and likable as well. The friendship of the four male leads felt true. By the end of the movie I was feeling like I wanted to see more of the friendship. What now for the four, I wondered? I think the movie is very entertaining and encourage others to give it a chance!

Everyone keeps trying to compare this film to the Judd Apatow-era teen comedies, or the "American Pie" franchise. Thus, they are going into this with the wrong set of expectations. This isn't *that* kind of comedy. It has a lot more heart,for one thing, and it plays by a different set of rules. Apatow & Co., and "American Pie" come from the perspective of my generation (Gen X) projected on the current generation (Gen Y? The Millenials? Whatever we're calling them). This film comes more from the sensibilities of the current generation: sharing *everything* online, no such thing as TMI, no sense of privacy.

I tried to consider comparisons to other films. It reminded me a little, in spirit, of the recent little sleeper "Bart Got A Room." I also tried to approach it from the perspective of "'Porkys' made by kids who weren't born when the original was made." All of those fell short. Ultimately, it's its own film. Just like the kids it's about, it has a different set of boundaries and priorities; but underneath, the humanity is the same.