Orgazmo

Orgazmo

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Trey Parker
Produced by
Written by Trey Parker
Starring
  • Trey Parker
  • Matt Stone
  • Dian Bachar
  • Robyn Lynne
  • Michael Dean Jacobs
Music by Paul Robb
Cinematography Kenny Gioseffi
Edited by
  • Michael R. Miller
  • Trey Parker
Production
companies
Distributed by Rogue Pictures
(PolyGram Filmed Entertainment)
Release date
  • September 6, 1997 (1997-09-06)
Running time
94 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $1 million
Box office $602,302[2]

Orgazmo is a 1997 American satirical sex comedy film written and directed by Trey Parker, and produced by Matt Stone. It is Parker and Stone's second film, following 1993's Cannibal! The Musical, which received distribution from Troma Entertainment in 1996.

Plot

Everyman Mormon missionary Joseph Young (Trey Parker), assigned with his mission partner to Los Angeles, finds the city to be a hostile and unenthusiastic place for their work. The problems worsen when they knock on the door of sleazy porn director Maxxx Orbison (Michael Dean Jacobs) and several security guards are sent to dispose of them. Joe defeats all of them single-handedly with a variety of martial arts skills. Impressed by his performance and bored of his current project’s lead actor, Orbison attempts to hire Joe to be the title character and lead of his pornographic superhero film, Orgazmo. Joe is conflicted because of his beliefs but the salary offered would pay for a wedding in the temple in Utah where his fiancée Lisa (Robyn Lynne Raab) has expressed a strong desire to wed. Joe reluctantly accepts despite being given a sign from God.

Joe finds the crew of the film intimidating but manages to befriend co-star Ben Chapleski (Dian Bachar), a technical genius and graduate from M.I.T. who works in the pornographic industry to satiate his overactive sex drive. He plays Orgazmo's sidekick Choda Boy, who assists Orgazmo with specially designed sex toys, including Orgazmo's signature weapon, the Orgazmorator, a ray gun that forces orgasm upon whomever it is fired. Ben invites Joe to his home later on and shows Joe a real, working Orgazmorator Ben has built, and he and Joe spend an evening using it on unsuspecting citizens for amusement.

At a sushi bar owned by Ben’s Japanese friend G-Fresh (Masao Maki), the two witness a group of thugs vandalizing the bar in an attempt to force out G-Fresh so their dance club next door can expand. Later on, when Ben and Joe are not present, G-Fresh is coerced to leave. Upon finding this out, Joe and Ben don costumes and use their film props and the Orgazmorator to sneak into the club and steal back the contract G-Fresh was forced to sign. Joe is agitated after nearly being shot in the head but Ben is excited by finally getting to be a real superhero.

Orgazmo becomes an amazing success, both financially and critically, and Orbison withholds Joe's paycheck to keep him in town long enough to announce a sequel, and asks Joe to reprise his role. Tempted with a doubled salary, Joe is confronted by his fiancée who has found out what he has been doing and leaves him. Facing production difficulties and harassment from Orbison’s unsympathetic nephew A-Cup (David Dunn), Joe tries to back out of the project but Orbison refuses. When Joe stands up to him, Orbison has Lisa kidnapped to force Joe into agreement. When Ben finds out the thugs who assaulted G-Fresh are also working for Orbison, he joins Joe in storming Orbison’s mansion before Lisa can be forced to perform in one of Orbison’s films.

Fighting through Orbison’s group of henchmen, Joe and Ben meet their match in A-Cup. Joe helps Ben overcome a mental block from childhood that forced him to repress the Hamster Style discipline of martial arts, allowing Ben to beat A-Cup. After repairing his damaged Orgazmorator, Joe repeatedly shoots Orbison with it, incapacitating him and capturing all the henchmen. Ben blows up the mansion with another device, the "Cock Rocket", destroying Orbison's base of operations. Joe and Lisa reconcile and she gives him her blessing to remain in Los Angeles and continue being a hero alongside Ben.

As the film ends, Orbison is seen in a doctor’s office being told that after so many orgasms in a row, his testicles have swollen to the size of oranges and that surgical removal is the only option. A now insane Orbison declares revenge on Orgazmo as he will now be the personification of A-Cup's character and Orgazmo's nemesis who is immune to the Orgazmorator: Neutered Man.

Cast

Release

Rating

The Motion Picture Association of America gave the film an NC-17 rating, resulting in a very limited release in the US. There is an 'Unrated' version that was released on the 2-disc DVD set along with the theatrical version; it runs two minutes shorter than the original 94-minute release.

Critical reception

The film received a 50% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes based on 32 reviews (16 positive, 16 negative).[3] Roger Ebert gave the film half a star out of four, arguing that Orgazmo had little of the clever wit Parker and Stone brought to South Park, and furthermore describing the film as "callow, gauche, obvious and awkward, and designed to appeal to those with similar qualities".[4]

Its reception and rating by the MPAA is discussed in the 2006 documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated.

Home media

The film was released via Blu-ray on May 12, 2015 and included both versions of the film as well as all the features from the 2-disc DVD.

Legacy

See also

References

  1. "ORGAZMO (18)". British Board of Film Classification. 1998-04-07. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  2. "Orgazmo (1998)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. November 26, 1998. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  3. "Orgazmo". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  4. Ebert, Roger (October 23, 1998). "Orgazmo". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
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