Tasty Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Tasty Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf May 25, 2025

The radio game isn’t easy, with 1985’s “Tasty” a study of on-air personalities joining together to battle potential unemployment in their own special way. It’s an adult production from co-writer/director Bud Lee, while star Hyapatia Lee takes some control of the effort, enjoying co-scripting and possessory credits, making her the focal point of the endeavor. “Tasty” is a comedic look at professional desperation and mischief, offering a lighthearted view of happenings at a radio station, putting the Lees to work as they dream up carnal events and silly business, looking to create a fun ride for viewers while still delivering the basics in adult entertainment.

Business isn’t booming at KNUT FM in Los Angeles. Manager Gary (Jesse Eastern) is stressed to the max, dealing with an incompetent staff and plummeting ratings, also facing a threat from advertising giant Watermelons and Rhines, who are about to pull their commercials from the station unless a major boost in listenership occurs. DJ Tasty Tastums (Hyapatia Lee) recognizes the end of her employment is near, encouraging a new plan to turn KNUT into an all-sex radio station, putting carnal events and songs on the air to help attract attention. The staff is enthusiastic, putting Legman Mack (Steve Drake), Dr. Fermento (Steve Powers), and Dodger Dee (Buster Cherry) to work, joining Tasty as they go wild with on-air content, capturing the imagination of their growing audience.

Distractions are plentiful in “Tasty,” especially for the staff of KNUT. Introductions deliver an understanding of the oversexed employees and their disregard for work, as Legman is too busy with his girlfriend (Kristara Barrington) to even provide an accurate traffic report, which enrages Gary, who’s already burning mad about everything he has to deal with. Personalities are successfully defined in the picture, finding Tasty a capable on-air talent trying to maintain some professionalism in the workplace. She’s joined by Dodger, who’s often more interested in her than DJ demands, and Dr. Fermento is mostly motivated by a future date with a contest winner, welcoming Kathy (Karen Summer) to the station. There’s a lot happening at KNUT, and the writing introduces a point of pressure in Judd (Bud Lee), a rep from Watermelons and Rhines arriving to threaten the station manager, demanding an immediate rise in ratings or he’ll ruin the business.

Facing the imminent loss of their jobs, a plan is created to radically alter the listening experience at KNUT. Sex is the future for the station, and “Tasty” hits some amusing highs as the staff sets out to transform programming, cooking up ads for adult products (selling “Peter Popper” gel), offering prostitution reports, and taking phone calls from the public. This includes a couple eager to replicate the buttery ways of “Last Tango in Paris,” disregarding the violent severity of the scene to experiment in the bedroom with Tasty’s help. The running gag of “Tasty” involves Gary’s avoidance of his own station, unaware of what’s going on, preferring to spend time lusting after a few of his employees when he isn’t completely melting down about financial issues.

Tasty Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation for "Tasty" is listed as "newly scanned and restored in 2K" from its "35mm original camera" negative. "Tasty" is mostly a set-bound picture, following the brightly lit antics of the radio station. Detail is strong, preserving a look at ample skin particulars and fine hair. Costuming is fibrous, examining period outfits and the sheerness of lingerie. Exteriors are limited, but retain dimension. Interiors maintain depth, sometimes exposing the cardboard limitations of the sets. Color is defined, examining period style, including hotter lighting and clothing choices. Primaries are powerful, and skin tones are natural. Delineation is satisfactory. Grain is heavy and film-like. Source is in good condition.

Tasty Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix delivers clear dialogue exchanges, but some stretches of sibilance are present. Performance choices are understood in full, along with carnal activity. Music is consistent throughout the listening event, maintaining decent instrumentation and sharp vocals.

Tasty Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview (10:39, HD) is a video conference discussion with director Bud Lee, who recalls a 1978 trip to a strip club to watch a good friend's little sister on the stage. That woman turned out to be Hyapatia Lee, who embarked on a career in adult movies to help boost her income as an exotic dancer, making her debut with 1983's "The Young Like it Hot." Bud and Hyapatia elected to take care of their own scripts, including work on "The Ribald Tales of Canterbury" and "Tasty," while Bud launched a directorial career, eventually claiming credits on hundreds of projects. "Tasty" is examined, tracking the development of the idea and management of the actors, with some unable to spit out their lines. The genesis of the song, "Hit Me With Your Wet Shot," is shared as well. "The Ribald Tales of Canterbury" is briefly covered, with the period sets quickly changed into a radio station for "Tasty." Bud shares his fondness for San Francisco as well, happy to make movies there during the 1980s.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (4:02, HD) is included.

Tasty Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Tasty" is out to have some fun, and achieves most of its creative goals, extending to the late-inning addition of a music video from Tasty Tastums and the Secrets, who hope to take MTV by storm with their song, "Hit Me With Your Wet Shot" (let's hope Pat Benatar never sees this movie). Performances are what they are, but Eastern is actually quite good as Gary, portraying boiling rage with some comedic skill. And the feature is a breezy sit, out to deliver a mild ride of shenanigans and sex, keeping the carnal action plentiful as the staff goes to extreme lengths to provide the listeners of KNUT with interactive programming that takes L.A. by storm.