5.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
The naughty high schoolers of Angel Beach High now seek revenge on a group of KKK religious fanatics and corrupt politicians who want to shut down their Shakespeare production after they cast a Seminole transfer student in the lead.
Starring: Dan Monahan, Wyatt Knight, Mark Herrier, Cyril O'Reilly, Kaki HunterComedy | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 1.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Every film year, there are a few movies that emerge from out of nowhere to become not only top-grossing hits, but miniature phenomenons as well, commanding attention from a public that’s responding to something primal about the pictures, while entertainment press spends countless hours trying to decode impossible allure. In 1982, “Porky’s” was one of the chosen few, emerging as a tiny production only interested in bawdy behavior and a few moral lessons, and ending up one of the biggest successes of the year. No one saw it coming, and many wished it never happened, but “Porky’s” managed to capture the imagination of its audience, using a blend of nostalgia and lewd behavior to entice ticket-buyers into return trips, essentially legitimizing the teen hornball subgenre that eventually plagued the moviegoing decade. Bare breasts and bad pranks made up writer/director Bob Clark’s formula, and he wasn’t about to let a good thing go unmolested, getting the band back together in quick fashion for the 1983 sequel, “Porky’s II: The Next Day,” which isn’t truly a continuation of the Angel Beach High saga, but more of a remake, only with more sermonizing and less nudity. Apparently Clark wasn’t paying attention to his initial achievement.
Making its Blu-ray debut, "The Next Day" isn't refreshed for HD enjoyment, with the disc providing a fairly fatigued AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation. While the feature is shot softly for period recreation purposes (and to hide the age of the actors), detail still feels unsatisfying, missing a fresh scan to bring out the best of the effort's visuals, including its reliance on animated facial responses for everything presented in front of the cast. Some texture remains with costuming and set decoration. Colors are muted, lacking primary vibrancy, with only extreme hues making a proper impression. Delineation is adequate. Source is in passable shape, but speckling and some wear and tear is detected.
The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix handled very sharply, with crispy highs during dialogue exchanges. Dramatic intent isn't harmed, but voices sound a bit thin, and hiss is detected throughout the listening experience. Scoring cues aren't special, becoming more functional than commanding, barely making an impression. Atmospherics also lack oomph, delivering only the basics in group dynamic and rural Florida visits.
Clark keeps "The Next Day" in primary colors, depicting good versus evil in broad chunks of madcap antics. He also imagines his grand finale as an homage to the Marx Brothers, with the Angel Beach High gang using sudden surges of cleverness to challenge white supremacists with one-liners, while Pee Wee and Wendy go the theatrical route, with the young woman dressing up as a bosomy floozy to embarrass Gebhardt at a fancy restaurant, though, again, the production doesn't take time to think about what it's committing to film. It simply splatters bizarre slapstick on the screen and moves on to the next dreary bit. Perhaps "Porky's II: The Next Day" didn't have to try to fill studio expectations, only requiring focus and a run time over 90 minutes to meet contractual needs. Not that "Porky's" is any type of classic, but for such a significant hit, it's a little crazy that Clark and Co. didn't put in the effort to do something with the follow-up, with their main concern being the limitation of nudity, not the quality of stupidity.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Porky's 3: Revenge
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