Peter Conrad Movies
- 1983
- R
The real world once more takes a back seat to a caricature of itself as the same Florida high-school teens who grossed profits in Porky's by grossing out, have to band together to stop their Shakespeare festival (!!) from being cancelled, due to a crusading, right-wing reverend's attack on the bard's "lewd" content. The reverend is joined by Miss Balbricker(Nancy Parsons) the girls' gym teacher and also the Ku Klux Klan who object to Romeo being played by an Indian. These unlikely allies come up against the libido-laden teens who strip the Ku Klux Klanners and send them running through town naked. Similar styles of revenge are taken to handle Miss Balbrick and the right-wing reverend -- apparently all's well that ends well at the box office. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dan Monahan, Mark Herrier, (more)
- 1983
- PG
In this plotless, mindless chase movie, papa Big Enos and son Little Enos (Pat McCormick and Paul Williams) hire Cletus (Jerry Reed) to haul a Jaws-replica shark from Miami to Texas to advertise their new seafood restaurant. There is big money in it for Cletus if he can get to Texas on time. Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason) mistakes Cletus for his old nemesis the Bandit (Burt Reynolds, who only appears briefly at the end of the film), postpones his retirement, and with his inept son Junior (Mike Henry) in tow, chases Cletus across the South for a disconnected series of misadventures and bad jokes. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, (more)
Love it or loathe it (and there are a goodly number of people on either side), Porky's was one of the most successful comedies of its day, spawning two direct sequels and inspiring an incalculable number of lowbrow teen comedies, most recently including American Pie (1999). Pee Wee (Dan Monahan), Billy (Mark Herrier), Tommy (Wyatt Knight), and Mickey (Roger Wilson) are four painfully horny high school kids growing up in South Florida in the 1950's. Desperate to rid themselves of their cumbersome virginity, they head out to a sleazy bar near the swamps called Porky's, where local legend has it that the owner will fix you up with a prostitute for a reasonable fee. After Porky takes their money and dumps them in the swamp, the guys vow to get revenge. Meanwhile, Pee Wee has to deal with his shrinking penis, someone drills a hole in the wall of the girl's shower, the guys encounter a prostitute named Cherry Forever, and anti-Semitism rears its ugly head. Cheerfully rude in a manner few mainstream films had achieved at that time, Porky's, for better or worse, changed the standard of what was acceptable in a screen comedy. Remarkably enough, two years later director Bob Clark made the holiday favorite A Christmas Story, which displayed his considerable range, if nothing else. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dan Monahan, Mark Herrier, (more)
This low-budget horror film about teenagers trapped in a carnival funhouse with a freakish monster is pretty standard stuff. Director Tobe Hooper manages a few shocks and includes some typically peculiar supporting characters, but this film is less entertaining than either of his previous excursions into such territory. Not as scary as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) nor as bizarre as Eaten Alive (1976), The Funhouse may as well have been directed by an anonymous hack as one of the foremost names in the genre. The movie tie-in novel, penned by Dean R. Koontz under the pseudonym "Owen West," is actually far more frightening than the film on which it was based. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Berridge, Cooper Huckabee, (more)
- 1979
- PG
In this comedy a trio of undercover government cops in Miami decide that it would be a good idea to open a bogus fencing operation so they can trap criminals. When the crooks find out, trouble ensues and the fun begins. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dom DeLuise, Jerry Reed, (more)
- 1974
The made-for-TV Stowaway to the Moon may be regarded by some as an excellent argument for birth control. Michael Link plays E.J., an 11-year-old boy fascinated by manned space travel. While visiting Cape Canaveral, E. J. accidentally finds himself on board a space missile. By and by, he is accidentally launched to the moon. But don't despair--this is a kiddie movie. Also in the cast is Lloyd Bridges, Jeremy Slate, and, in the role of a TV commentator, real-life former astronaut Pete Conrad. Curiously, the full-color Stowaway to the Moon was often telecast in black and white when it went into local syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
