Orgazmo (1998)

Superhero movies are big business nowadays. Even the mediocre ones can make a respectable amount of money. But before they were guaranteed successes, it was harder to find a successful superhero movie. The only A-list heroes who could get their movies released theatrically were Superman in the '70s and Batman in the '90s. The rest — based on relatively unknown properties like Howard the Duck, Judge Dredd, Barb Wire, Tank Girl, and Steel — were critical and financial failures. But among these terrible movies, there was a flick that was actually good.

Conceived by South Park co-creator Trey Parker, Orgazmo was an attempt at spoofing both superheroes and pornography. But the movie, released in only ninety-four theaters thanks in large part to its NC-17 rating, only managed to gross 600,000 dollars at the box office. Despite Orgazmo's financial failure, Parker's second live-action movie (following his student film Cannibal! The Musical) is actually an entertaining flick that should receive more credit than it does.

As the movie begins, we're introduced to Joe Young (Parker), a Mormon missionary from Utah spreading the good word throughout Hollywood. One day, he stumbles across the home of famous porn director Maxxx Orbison (Michael Dean Jacobs), who tries talking Joe into appearing his newest movie. Joe is reluctant due to his religious beliefs, but when Orbison promises a $20,000 paycheck and the use of a body double for the sex scenes, he agrees. After all, he needs the money if he's going to give his girlfriend, Lisa (Robin Lynne), her dream wedding.

Joe takes on the role of a superhero named Orgazmo, who fights crime alongside his sidekick Choda Boy, played by Ben Chapleski (Dian Bachar). The movie proves to be so popular that it becomes a mainstream blockbuster, a success that Orbison capitalizes on by announcing that a sequel will begin production immediately.

Things get hairy, however, when Lisa comes to Los Angeles to visit Joe. She is disheartened to learn that he'd been lying to her about the acting job he'd gotten, and to make it up to her, Joe tries quitting the sequel and leaving the porn world behind. But Orbison refuses to let him go, going as far as kidnapping Lisa to ensure his participation. That just pushes Joe to his breaking point. He and Ben team up to become Orgazmo and Choda Boy for real, and are going to take Orbison down by hook or by crook.

What is there to say about Orgazmo? Just that title and the plot synopsis are probably more than enough to convince you whether or not you want to see it. I guess the only thing I can do with this review is tell you what you're in for if you do give the movie a shot.

Writer/director Parker had only one million dollars with which to make the movie. Such a low budget actually works in his favor, as it helps make the movie look like the cheesy sex flicks it's parodying. The costumes look like they were made from scraps from a thrift shop, the sets look like they were borrowed from a local college's theater department or were donated by people who wanted their locations in a movie, the props look homemade, some moments feature obvious stuntmen (or stunt dummies), and the explosion at the end of the movie is clearly a miniature house set on fire.

But that's all part of Orgazmo's charm, though, because it just wouldn't have worked any other way. The sheer absurdity of it all makes it hard to take seriously, which I'm sure Parker had in mind all along. It's not great direction, but for the sake of Orgazmo, Parker's all aces.

Next on my list is Parker's screenplay. If the plot synopsis didn't really sound up your alley, then the humor won't be for you either. I say that because it's raunchy to a nearly unconscionable degree. The MPAA gave the movie an NC-17 based on sex jokes alone, after all. Even the title of the movie tells you what kind of comedy to expect.

The thing about the script is that not every joke is laugh-out-loud funny. Some of them just fall flat, if I can be perfectly honest with you. Where the real humor lies is with how utterly ludicrous everything is. A straight-laced Mormon cast in a porno movie as a superhero whose sidekick's costume is basically just a jockstrap and a helmet with a large dildo on it? A porno movie so popular that it inspires a line of action figures, plays in theaters as a triple feature with E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial and Citizen Kane, and so financially successful that it rivals Jurassic Park and Star Wars? Yeah, that happens here.

The good thing is, though, that it is stays lighthearted about everything. It may tease the porn industry, the state of Utah, and Mormonism, but the jokes never get mean-spirited. It's irreverent and immature, but never mean. Knowing how South Park can be sometimes, you might go into Orgazmo expecting the targets of its lampooning to be absolutely ripped to shreds. But no, Parker is more good natured in his ribbing. Yeah, the movie can be offensive in some places if you're a bit on the uptight side, but I didn't think it ever got outright insulting. And that's not a bad thing at all.

All that's left for me to break down is the cast, a mixture of "legitimate" actors and such porn luminaries as Ron Jeremy and Juli Ashton. The acting isn't really anything to write home about, but before you go thinking that's a bad thing, you should remember what movie I'm talking about. The acting being cheesy or over the top was probably the intent all along, considering the subject matter. And you know what? It works.

In the lead role is Parker, essentially playing the straight man surrounded by the wackiness of a world he isn't accustomed to. He plays Joe as unassuming and innocent, with a charming naïveté that makes him both amusing and endearing.

Playing our antagonist du jour is Michael Dean Jacobs, whose overacting knows no bounds. He screams practically every line of dialogue he's given, and goes through the whole movie with a perpetual scowl on his face. But it works for the character. You'd expect him the character to be like that if he existed in real life. If I met a porno director named "Maxxx Orbison," I would actually be upset if he wasn't a total sleazeball that was always screaming at everyone. So I guess Jacob's performance was exactly what it needed to be.

Rounding out the movie's major players is Dian Bachar as Joe's faithful sidekick. Bachar is perhaps the most entertaining member of the cast, mainly due to how much enthusiasm he shows. He looks genuinely excited to be there, even if he has to wear a ridiculous costume and beat people up with sex toys. That excitement is evident, and it makes Bachar a lot of fun to watch.

So that's my review of Orgazmo. Like I said, you probably already made up your mind about the movie before you even started reading this review. But should you choose to check it out and you have the right sense of humor, you hopefully won't be disappointed. Granted, Orgazmo is not a perfect movie, but it's serviceable enough for what it is. The movie never tries to be more than the sum of its parts, and that's really all you can ask for sometimes. My final rating is three and a half stars and a recommendation. If you're a fan of South Park or even just Team America: World Police, Orgazmo will probably be up your alley. If not, you more than likely wouldn't be watching it anyway.

Final Rating: ***½