Orgazmo (1997)

Orgazmo is the kind of movie that is cheesy to the point that it's obviously meant to be that way. You can't watch a movie like this and think even for a second that it is meant to be taken seriously, or even that it takes itself seriously. And all of this is clear just from looking at the cover box, so you know from the minute that you pick the movie up that you are about to watch an extremely goofball comedy. With that in mind, you can really appreciate Orgazmo for what it is.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the famous creators of South Park and the hilarious BASEketball, have returned with another comedy, this one with much less taste but at least as many laughs. Orgazmo is the story of a Mormon missionary who inadvertently winds up starring in an adult film in Los Angeles, but who never seems to lose his faith. Trey Parker plays Elder Young, the above-mentioned missionary, and also writes and directs this unusually amusing b-movie.

Orgazmo is a straightforward film that has a very obvious intent. It is aimed at the same audience as other infinitely inferior movies like Scary Movie and Scary Movie 2, but it actually succeeds because its creators have some filmmaking talent that goes beyond a simple purge of every disgusting joke that they learned in fourth grade. Parker and Stone are just naturally funny guys, as has become obvious by now, which is why they have managed to take the potential-free combination of the porn industry and a tiny budget and make it into a hilarious comedy.

Trey Parker plays Elder Young, a missionary assigned to do his mission work in Hollywood, and in a hilarious run-in with porn director Max Orbison, he ends up defending himself against a gang of thugs and thereby earning a high paying position as the leading man in Orbison's newest porno. Seduced by the offer of a huge amount of money, which he plans to spend on a house for himself and his ridiculous girlfriend (`Jesus and I love you!'), Young agrees to take on the role, provided he doesn't have to do any actual intercourse. Sound like the makings for a great comedy? No? Exactly! That's what makes it so good! This material is total crap, but that's where the comedy comes from! This is a spoof of lots of different types of films, not the least of which are martial arts films, for reasons which you'll just have to watch the movie to see, and it succeeds on many different levels.

The characters are hilarious (there is a truly classic moment when Choda Boy explains to Young that, believe it or not, he doesn't get a lot of action from women. The fact that he's strapping a dildo to the top of his head might have something to do with that.), and there are just some great scenes. The movie is aware of its place, and it doesn't try to pretend that it is something that it's not. Get a bunch of your buddies together and have a couple beers while you watch this movie, you'll love it.