Orgazmo [Import]

Well written, very funny stuff! Saw it on TV late night and just had to own it! Well worth the money!

The careers of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creative geniuses behind South Park (the funniest, most daring, satirically sharp-witted television show in history), actually go back farther than many fans are probably aware. In 1997, not long before South Park premiered and became an instant phenomenon, Trey Parker gave the world a new superhero: Orgazmo. He wrote, directed, starred in, and even sang the opening song to this film. Matt Stone puts in a hilarious performance of his own in a relatively minor role, but this is clearly Trey Parker's baby. Most actors would run screaming from anyone who so much as mentioned the fact they appeared in a film as crude and ridiculous as Orgazmo; Parker, of course, embraces this sort of weird, over-the-top, controversial humor, and his singular daring and utter shamelessness in the interests of making people laugh are the keys to making a movie such as this work so amazingly well. Naturally, the standard Parker-Stone rules apply, so let it be known that anyone who is easily offended will not enjoy this brand of comedy. As for the state of Utah, I doubt you can even find a copy of Orgazmo anywhere.

Trey Parker plays Joe Young, a clean-cut Mormon nearing the end of his proscribed time of mission work, looking forward to the day he can leave Los Angeles to return home to his fiancé and get married in the Mormon Tabernacle – if, that is, he can somehow earn enough money to pay for it. As luck would have it, an adult movie is being filmed in one of the houses he visits; a bunch of big guys, unappreciative of the spiritual zeal of the Mormon faithful, deal with him rather roughly, and he basically opens a can of whup-ass on them. The director, having seen the fight, insists that Young play the role of the superhero Orgazmo in the film he is shooting. Young doesn't really want to have anything to do with this type of movie, but he reluctantly agrees to do it for three reasons: 1) he could make enough money to give his fiancé the wedding she wants, 2) he doesn't think anyone will ever find out (he is a masked hero), and 3) he has a no penetration clause in his contract (there's a double for that). Well, this stupid adult film about Orgazmo and his sidekick Choda Boy saving gorgeous and very appreciative women from evil (and ugly) bad guys crosses over to mainstream success and becomes one of the highest-grossing films of all time. There must, of course, be a sequel. Young finds himself increasingly ensnared in this embarrassing situation that has the potential of costing him his fiancé and/or landing himself a new role "sleeping with the fishes, see." The bad guys are really bad, even in real life; clearly – need I say it? – this looks like a job for Orgazmo!

Let's talk about the cast. Parker is great as the naïve young Mormon, and it's rather strange to see him portray a character who remains clean-cut and, in a weird sense, pure from start to finish. Dian Bachar is hilarious as Orgazmo's sidekick and Young's new friend. Michael Dean Jacobs is perfectly oily and crude as Maxxx Robinson, the adult film director who threatens to ruin Young's life. Matt Stone steals every scene he is in, but his role should be seen and not discussed (especially since it is sort of hard to describe). Let us not forget Sancho; what can you say about Sancho except that, well, he is Sancho. There are also, I should mention, some actual adult film stars in this film – including Ron Jeremy, who is, in my opinion, the most disgusting man to ever live. Luckily, some of the horror Jeremy inspires is assuaged by the addition of gorgeous starlets such as Juli Ashton, Chasey Lain, and Jill Kelly. Oddly enough, there is no female nudity in this film at all; the only nudity you get comes in the form of male hinders (and it ain't pretty) – the only thing that can explain the film's NC-17 rating is the barrage of sexual references and sex implements that are on display here.

Make no mistake about it: this is a crude film that many individuals will disapprove of (particularly members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints), but it really doesn't go as far as I expected it to. Take away a few "unusual" outfits, and this thing becomes a rather tame R rated movie. If you love South Park, you'll appreciate the humor of Orgazmo, but those who cannot stomach our little friends in Colorado would do well to duck and cover if they ever see this movie coming. I would love to give this film five stars, but I can't: the story's engine loses a cylinder or two before the end, and – more importantly – no movie that makes me have to look at Ron Jeremy will ever get a perfect rating from me.

Orgazmo will never win any awards. It will never teach you anything meaningful about the world or life or mankind's eternal struggle to achieve greatness. It is crude, intolerant and years from now it is definitely not a movie you'll want to share with your kids (at least not while they're young). And yet, it is without a doubt one of the funniest movies I have ever seen.
A movie of decidely more than its constituent parts, Orgazmo is pure comic genius in the inimitable (if critically under-rated) Parker-Stone style. Irreverant is too easy a term to describe it, as it implies a playful distance or better-than-thou attitude with regards to their subject. Anyone who has seen interviews with the terrible twosome will know by now that they aren't just playing at low-brow humor, they're really just pleasantly low-brow (and they would be the first to admit it). And that is a subtle, but meaningful, difference that shows in how they approach their work. The key to both their humor and their appeal is not to be found in insightful wit, catchy phrasing or even a unique perspective (although you will find a surprising amount of all of these things in their work), their secret can be found in dirty, poorly lit apartments and basements the world over. They're just two normal guys. Two normal guys who happen to be really, really funny. They talk like us, they think like us, and you get the feeling from watching movies like Orgazmo or Basketball or Cannibal: The Musical that if they just showed up one night in your own dirty, poorly lit living room and snagged a beer or two, they would fit right in. You'll recognize them immediately as people you know, but still be amazed at how funny that voice is when played out with reckless abandon and no pride or misplaced ego, on screen. Parker and Stone aren't stupid, quite the opposite you'll find, but they aren't afraid to do or say anything (really...anything) for a laugh and that is honestly refreshing. And really, if you can't laugh at Mormon pornstars, G-Fresh - a thugged out old Japanese guy (one of the highlights of the whole movie), Chasey Lain in a lobster costume or a tiny man in super-hero tights doing "hamster style" kung-fu with a dildo strapped to his head, you're trying way too hard to be intellectual. Come at it with an open mind and I promise you, you will find one of comedy's all-time under-appreciated gems.