HOMEWORK (1982) (Unearthed Classics Blu-ray Review)

HOMEWORK (1982) 

Label: Unearthed Classics

Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R

Duration: 89 Minutes 5 Seconds

Audio: English PCM 2.0 Dual Mono, Dolby Digital Stereo with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1) 

Director: James Beshears

Cast: Joan Collins, Erin Donovan, Michael Morgan, Lee Purcell, Wings Hauser, Carrie Snodgress

 

Teen-sex comedy / horny coming-of-age flick Homework (1982) is directed by first-time and final-time director James Beshears, and is produced Max Rosenberg, the co-founder of Amicus Films. and is one in a long line of Porky's knock-offs. This horny teen flick follows the exploits of frustrated highschool senior Tommy (Michael Morgan, TV movie Midnight Offerings), a sex-obsessed teen who is so put-off by the fact that he is still a virgin that he seeks out psychiatrist Dr. Delinguato (Carrie Snodgress, The Fury) to awkwardly spill his guts to. She tells him to channel his energies into something he loves, so he forms a garage band with his pals Ralph (Lanny Horn, Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo) and Mix (Mark Brown), layter recruiting arrogant French exchange student Gilles (John Romano). He initially wants his girlfriend Sheila (Erin Donovan) to front the group but she's too busy trying to be a swim-jock to dedicate anytime to his band. He then turns to Sheila's best friend Lisa (Shell Kepler, TV's General Hospital), but when it turns out she cannot carry a tune so they put her on bass, and they end up with Mix's gal Cookie (Renee Harris), who after years singing in the church choir turns out to have a decent set of pipes. They start practicing in hopes of blowing away the hometown crowd at the upcoming highschool talent show.


While this is going on we get a series of Tommy's male sex fantasies playe dout, scenes of a girl posing for nudie pics, another scene of Tommy being prepared for a electric shock therapy by a pair of busty nurses played by Annie Ample (Delta Pi) and Mary McKinley (Boardinghouse), and a rock star fantasy with groping groupies played by Michelle Bauer (Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama) and Lindsay Freeman (Fairy Tales).

As Tommy tries to lose his virginity to Shelia and strikes out he hits the Hollywood streets eventually settling on an unsatisfactory romp with a hooker, figuring he might never get a proper lay, that is until his girlfriend's sexy mother Diana (Joan Collins, Tales from the Crypt) has him perform some chores around the house and finds herself attracted to his tight teen ass, deciding to make a man of him on her pool table. Collins prominent inclusion in the film's advertising campaign, despite it only being a small role, lead to a lawsuit. She was also apparently quite unhappy about a body double used during the sex scenes and in the advertising for the film where they pasted her head atop the body double's body. Other notable names include Wings Hauser (Mutant) as local rockstar Reddog who Lisa is totally obsessed with, she eventually gets an audience with him under the auspices of scouting her talent, but in the end all she gets is gonorrhea! Also on board is Lee Purcell (Eddie Macon's Run) as highschool French teacher Ms. Jackson who Gilles is crushing on, only to be rebuffed when he misinterprets her intentions during after hours French tutoring at her house, which just seems weird, inviting teen boys to your home after hours.

The coming-of-age, teen-sex story is very much in the vein of Porky's, Little Darlings, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and The Last American Virgin, we even get Mel Welles (The Little Shop of Horrors), the druggist from Last American Virgin in a similar role, as an OBGYN at the VD clinic, but it's a little bit trashier and more ineptly assembled. Both the director and editor were quite green and it shows, neither did much work afterward in their credited roles, the edits and transitions in the flick are truly horrendous, there's a bizarre use of still frames and frame speed changes I think they were trying to use to cover up technical shortcomings here, it just feels very amateurish. The story itself, while nothing special, and a lot of the young cast are amateurish, but there's a heart that shines through on this one; sure it's somewhat inept and totally derivative, but still pretty entertaining stuff. I also like the hard rock/new wave soundtrack with tunes by Renee Harris, Brian Cadd, The Naughty Sweeties, Moon Martin, Wipp, and Tony Jones, I thought some of the tunes were pretty catchy, most of all "Totally Hip" by Wipp was a bit of an earworm.

Audio/Video: Homework (1982) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Unearthed Films as part of their Unearthed Classics line-up, this having spine #15, presented in 1080p HD framed in 1.85:1 widescreen. The film looks terrific, the source showcases some minor speckling and debris but the colors are well-saturated, black levels are pleasing, and the film grain is well-managed. Audio options comes by way of uncompressed English PCM 2.0 dual-mono or Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles. The mono track sounds good but I will have to give the edge to the fuller sounding stereo track even though it's lossy Dolby Digital, the songs particularly have more depth to them.

Extras include an archival 27-min Interview with legendary producer Max Rosenberg in which the usually quite candid producer dishes on Joan Collins quite a but and how the film was a financial disaster, plus a 1-min Photo Gallery, and Unearthed Trailers for Homework, Full Body Massage, Tokyo Decadence, and Nightwish.

The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a Single-Sided Wrap featuring the illustrated movie poster of Joan Colins' character admiring Tommy's firm teen ass, but unfortunately not the original one that got them sued, featuring Collin's head pasted onto a double's body! We also get a First-Pressing Only Slipcover with the same artwork and numbered spine.

Special Features:
- Interview with legendary producer Max Rosenberg (27:20)
- Photo Gallery (1:18)
- Trailers: Homework (1:25), Full Body Massage (1:26), Tokyo Decadence (1:13), Nightwish (1:38)

If you have an affinity for early 80's sex comedies and trashy coming-of-age flicks Homework (1982) like I do this release is a must-own, capably delivering on the sleaze, humor and heart the sub-genre was known for. Unearthed have put together a solid release, and the dishy interview with the late producer Max Rosenberg is a fantastic extra.

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