Squeeze Play!

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Squeeze Play!
Directed by	Lloyd Kaufman
Produced by	Michael Herz Lloyd Kaufman
Written by	Lloyd Kaufman Charles Kaufman Haim Pekelis
Starring	Jim Harris Jennifer Hetrick Rick Gitlin Helen Campitelli Al Corley
Cinematography	Lloyd Kaufman
Distributed by	Troma Entertainment
Release date(s)	January 1983
Running time	88 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$115,000
IMDb profile

Squeeze Play! is a 1979 comedy film from Troma Entertainment directed by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz. It was Troma’s first major hit before The Toxic Avenger, and the first in a line of four "sexy comedies", followed by Waitress!, Stuck on You!, and The First Turn-On!.

1 Plot
2 Production
3 Reception
4 External links

[edit] Plot

A group of New Jersey girls, upset over their boyfriends' tendency to pay more attention to softball then their love lives, decide to beat them at their own game...literally. The girls form their own softball team and challenge the men to a match out on the field. The men initially scoff at the idea, but soon grow nervous when they worry that they'll lose face if they refuse to play.

[edit] Production

The idea of Squeeze Play! came from one of Troma’s distributors, who suggested that Kaufman and Herz should make a movie about a women’s softball team and their amorous adventures. Kaufman added the comedy element, and along with his brother Charles and screenwriter Haim Pekelis, a 75-page sceenplay was finally worked out; the Kaufmans provided the ideas for sight gags and jokes, and Pekelis worked out the plot.

Financing the production was relatively simple, but the production proved difficult: several of the actresses, who had earlier agreed to participate in nude scenes, backed down at the last minute, resulting in the trimming of several T&A shots.

[edit] Reception

Once Squeeze Play! was completed, the reactions were almost unanimously negative. Major studios refused to distribute it, and two of the film’s executive producers demanded to have their names taken off of it.

Squeeze Play! finally made its theatrical debut as a double feature with The In-Laws in Norfolk, Virginia to tremendous success. The film built up a steady following in Virginia before being widely distributed nation-wide. The film was constantly in Variety’s top 50 list and received excellent reviews from both The New York Times and The New York Daily News.

The profits made from Squeeze Play! alone helped Kaufman and Herz buy the "Troma Building", their Manhattan offices, where they did business for 24 years before relocating to Long Island City, Queens.