Porky's
is a comedy film about the escapades of teenagers at the fictional Angel Beach high school in Florida in 1954. [1] It was released in the United States in 1982, and spawned two sequels: Porky's II: The Next Day
(1983) and Porky's Revenge
(1985) and influenced many writers in the teen film genre.
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PORKY'S TICKETS
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Plot summary
The film concerns the efforts of a group of high school students to lose their virginity. The group travels to the eponymous Porky's bar located outside of town on the basis of a rumor that if one pays Porky, one can hire a prostitute. Porky takes the kids' money and promises them "a night to remember", then humiliates them. When the group seeks revenge, the sheriff arrives to drive them away, but not before extorting the rest of their money and causing them more embarrassment. The remainder of the story follows their efforts to get revenge on Porky and his corrupt sheriff brother.
Cast
- Dan Monahan – Edward 'Pee Wee' Morris
- Wyatt Knight – Tommy Turner
- Mark Herrier – Billy McCarthy
- Roger Wilson – Mickey Jarvis
- Tony Ganios – Anthony 'Meat' Tuperello
- Cyril O'Reilly – Timmy Cavanaugh
- Kaki Hunter – Wendy Williams
- Scott Colomby – Brian Schwartz
- Nancy Parsons – Ms. Balbricker
- Boyd Gaines – Coach Brackett
- Bill Hindman – Coach Goodenough
- Eric Christmas – Mr. Carter
- Kim Cattrall – Ms. Honeywell
- Chuck Mitchell – Porky
- Art Hindle – Ted Jarvis
- Alex Karras – Sheriff
- Susan Clark – Cherry Forever
- Rod Ball – Steve
- Jack Mulacahy – Frank Bell
- Lisa O'Reilly – Ginny
History and significance
Although it was written and directed by an American and was filmed in
Miami,
Florida,
Porky's
was funded by a Canadian production company, which means that it is classified as a Canadian film.
Porky's
is the highest-grossing Canadian film of all time in domestic box office. In October 2006,
Bon Cop, Bad Cop
appeared to surpass
Porky's
in nominal box office revenues, but as of the end of its theatrical run,
Bon Cop, Bad Cop
had not surpassed the inflation-adjusted revenues for
Porky's
. Taking inflation into account,
Porky's
has grossed more than twice what
Bon Cop, Bad Cop
has earned to date.
Porky's
is also the highest-grossing Canadian film of all time
internationally
.
The first two
Porky's
films were directed by
Bob Clark and produced by
Harold Greenberg, who founded Astral Communications (now known as
Astral Media).
James Komack directed the third film,
Porky's Revenge
. Clark based the original "Porky's" on actual occurrences at
Boca Ciega High School in
Gulfport and
Fort Lauderdale High School in the early 1960s, and on a joint called Porky's in
Oakland Park, Florida.
The first movie featured Canadian actors
Art Hindle,
Doug McGrath, and
Susan Clark. Another Canadian,
Kim Cattrall, appeared in one of her first major roles in a sex scene in the boys' locker room. Her character's nickname was "
Lassie" due to the way she howled during intercourse.
The
Porky's
films have been popular because of their
humour and depictions of sexual situations. However, the movies also dealt with serious social issues such as
anti-Semitism,
racism,
religious fundamentalism,
political dishonesty,
police misconduct and
censorship.
In
2002, talk show host
Howard Stern's production company acquired the rights to remake the film. On May 22, 2007,
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released all three films in an "Ultimate Collection"
box set.
In May 2008, American Pie 2 co-writer David H. Steinberg announced through his MySpace page that he had turned in his draft of the script and had received word from the studio that it would be made the following year.
Footnotes
- Porkys - Questions, Answers, Fun Facts, Information