Following hot on the heels of Porky's and The Last American Virgin, the 1983 release of Screwballs continued the "dirty" attraction every young male has toward female nudity. Sporting a shoestring budget courtesy of the Canadian government, and introducing an extensive cast of unknown actors, the film has acquired a cult following since its introduction, though it will always remain overshadowed by superior sex-comedies of the 1980's. Presented for the first time in high-definition, the film certainly won't have the same impact on a new generation of sex-crazed youngsters, but it still likely holds a nostalgic place in the hearts of long-time fans.
For the youngsters at T&A High School, every day offers a new opportunity for hormonal mischief. The boys dream of "making it" with the cheerleaders, and the girls concoct elaborate plans to tease their sex-crazed counterparts. Within this familiar setting, five gentlemen (note the sarcasm) land themselves in detention for lewd behavior. Stuck together for five full days, the misfit crew of screw-up's enter into a pact to individually or collectively view the exposed bosoms of the school hottie/virgin, Purity Busch (Linda Speciale). They might not be the smartest lads on the block, but there's something to be said for persistence, and that's exactly what it will take to achieve their goal.
At the time Screwballs was released, my young mind wasn't mature enough to process an attraction for nude female anatomy. As such, I never received much exposure to the sex-crazed comedies of the early 1980's, which likely provided the easiest outlet for the perverted minds of young teenage males. One of the more intriguing interviews provided within the special features on this release, is with Mr. Skin (a huge fan of sex comedies and film nudity), who explains that porno was extremely difficult to obtain back in the early 80's when internet was still in its infancy. In modern society we're surrounded by depictions of nudity, with countless outlets available to the vast majority of the population (likely one of the greatest struggles of modern day parenting). Whether you agree with film nudity or not, the attraction to that type of film within the comedy genre has dwindled over the years. Sure, we had American Pie in the late 90's, as well as countless knockoffs hoping to ride the marginal success of the original, but sex-comedies without heart seem a bit unnecessary in modern filmmaking.
Since this is my first viewing of Screwballs, I don't claim to have the same level of respect or admiration for the production that someone would have with the added benefit of nostalgia. As such, I honestly didn't find much redeeming value in the film. Granted, the names of the main characters are somewhat hilarious (Bootsie Goodhead, Melvin Jerkovski, Rhonda Rockett, Principal Stuckoff, Miss Boudoir, and Purity Busch), but the actual construct of the film is entirely disjointed. It's almost as if you're watching 82 minutes of sketch comedy with a common underlying theme. There's literally no connection between scenes, as we skip from one failed attempt to the next outlandish scenario. As much as the structure grew tiresome, the worst element in the film is simply its low-budget nature. The production values are similar to what you'd expect from an amateur director in his first year of film school. That's not a bad thing if you simply want to see boobs, but most viewers probably won't find that element enticing enough to spend 82 minutes watching low-budget comedy gags.
If female nudity is your main goal, then at least Screwballs does one thing right. I didn't count the number of chest shots included in the film, but I'd guess there are at least 6 or 7 scenes that sufficiently glorify the upper section of the female anatomy. I can definitely understand the attraction teenage viewers must have had back in 1983, and I'd imagine the wear and tear placed on VHS rentals led to store owners buying multiple copies over the years (back in the days when we were forced to rewind and fast-forward those annoying tapes).
Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 21Mbps), Screwballs offers an atrocious visual experience that rarely surpasses the quality of a weak DVD presentation. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say my jaw hit the floor within the opening minutes of the film, at the realization I was about to witness one of the weakest transfers to hit the Blu-ray format. For a taste of what I'm referring to, take a gander through the various screenshots included in this review, which offer an accurate representation of the video quality. Fine object detail is completely non-existent, as if the film was shot with the camera purposefully out of focus. There's still plenty of film grain present in the picture, so I'm not worried about the use of DNR, but the source material definitely hasn't held up well over the years. In addition to the lack of clarity, black levels never descend below dark gray, contrast is extremely weak, and the color spectrum remains drab through the duration of the film. Add in the disappointing appearance of drastic print damage, and there's little redeeming value in the overall presentation.
Despite my extreme disappointment with the video quality of Screwballs, a large portion of the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of the source material, which likely never looked good in the first place.
Likewise, the audio portion of the technical presentation is a tremendous letdown. Listening to the lossy, front-heavy track reminded me of listening to an old warn out record player that consistently produces hissing and popping sounds not present in the original recording. The worst offender out of the various elements in the track is the dialogue between characters, which often contains dropped lines (due to volume variance) or crackle when voices are raised. A portion of the problematic audio mix is related to deficiencies in the sound equipment at the time Screwballs was filmed (given the budget), but that doesn't change the fact that this is a below-average presentation, which lacks a single proficient element. Fans of the film with fond memories of Screwballs journey through the VHS days, will likely be the only viewers capable of appreciating the audio on this newly minted release.
Interviews (1080p, Dolby Digital 2.0): The primary extra included on the disc is a collection of interviews with various individuals involved in the film, who discuss the origins of the production; the budgetary limitations the crew worked within; and provide a brief history of the sex-comedy genre that blossomed during the early 80's. Capping off the interviews are two segments with self-proclaimed experts in the genre. The following list breaks down the separate interview segments, which each run approximately ten minutes in length.
Director Rafal Zielinski Co-writer/star Linda Shayne & co-writer Jim Wynorski Star Kent Deuters Special effects artist Gerald Lukaniuk Canuxsploitation scholar Paul Corupe Mr. Skin talks sex comedies of the 80's
Deleted Scenes (1080p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 21:05 min): It appears as though a major glitch made it through the quality control team at Severin during the creation of this Blu-ray release. The quality of the footage is rough already, but from the opening text explaining the origin of the footage throughout the entire runtime, the picture jitters left and right creating an effect that's truly hard on the eyes.
Rounding out the extras, we're given a high-definition trailer for Screwballs, and a feature-length audio commentary with director Rafal Zielinski.
Screwballs is one of the stranger entries to hit the Blu-ray format, since it offers little technical improvement in the transition to high-definition. As always, I commend Severin on their dedication to releasing lesser-known titles that won't appeal to a huge market, but given the multitude of better films out there (both in content and quality), I simply can't recommend this latest offering. Those with a nostalgic gravitation toward the film will likely disagree with my assessment of the content, but even long-time fans should weigh their adoration for the film against the technical deficiencies on display.
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