Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Virgin High Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf October 1, 2023

1991’s “Virgin High” is a little late to the party, but director Richard Gabai is determined to participate in the teen horndog cinema gold rush of the 1980s, offering his take on the undersexed antics of young men trying to terrorize/enchant the young women they’re lusting after. The setting is familiar, with boarding school high jinks the name of the game here, but there’s a slightly religious curve to the material, with the screenplay laboring to pants Catholic control as it faces the all-powerful ways of horniness. Gabai looks to infuse a little “Airplane!”-style humor into the endeavor, but he’s mostly stuck with low-budget shenanigans, which are largely uninspired and weirdly chaste for this type of entertainment. Gabai leads the thespian charge as well, also falling short of subgenre needs, delivering an awkward performance as the top party animal on a mission to force his object of desire to bend to his will while making life hell for an assortment of nuns, security types, and parental figures.

Jerry (Richard Gabai) is a man in lust, working to get past his girlfriend Christy’s (Tracy Dali) defenses when she won’t grant him sexual release. He’s desperate and deceptive, putting Christy in a tough spot with her father, Dick (Burt Ward), a rich man with defined morals, unwilling to allow his daughter to be corrupted. To help protect his teenager, Dick sends Christy to the Academy of the Blessed Virgin, a Catholic school with struct rules and a roving bully in Kathleen (Linnea Quigley), who demands submission and a weekly offering of cash to satisfy her craving for power. While Christy finds her footing at the school, which is run by principal Sister Felicia (Cathrine Grace), Jerry makes a plan of attack, teaming with pals Zoomer (Jeff Bowser) and Theo (Kent Burden) as they cook up ways to infiltrate the building. Jerry is determined to reunite with Christy, using his natural way with dishonesty to get past security guard Derek (Christopher Dempsey), learning more about Kathleen’s plan of torment as the school counts down to formal dance night where all will be revealed.

The subgenre doesn’t have a history of pleasant male characters, but a certain affability doesn’t have to be sacrificed in the pursuit of cheap thrills. Jerry is generally devoid of kindness, presented here as a wacky jester and determined sexual predator, introduced to viewers as a guy looking to disrobe his date in secret. His efforts are quickly rejected, but that doesn’t stop him, implausibly contributing to a situation where Christy’s bare breasts are exposed to her father, who elects to shut down all access to his child by sending her to Catholic school. It’s a classic set-up for a raunchy teen comedy, and “Virgin High” shows surprising interest in Christy’s journey, with the character exposed to the Blessed Virgin routine, which involves being tormented by Kathleen. A dorm monitor putting on a good girl show for authority figures, Kathleen is a monster, taking money from students for her “Poor Pagan’s Children Fund,” and she has sex with Derek to maintain access to anything she wants. She also loathes Christy, making it her duty to terrorize the new kid in class.

“Virgin High” also deals with Jerry and his never-ending assortment of bad ideas. Long stretches of the movie are devoted to his time with pals Zoomer and Theo, with the latter a more mindful stooge aware of all the stupidity Jerry is planning. The gang bomb around town together, they go to the bathroom as a unit(!), and Jerry finds support from his buddies as he forms a plan to slip past Derek and visit Christy in her dorm. Gabai introduces more sitcom-ish experiences as Jerry disguises himself as “Father Guus,” with the teen finding himself teaching a class on theology, also ending up in a confessional booth to hear the sins of women he’s hoping to grope. It’s all very hoary and flatly staged by the helmer, who’s looking to coast on the debatable appeal of the characters, ultimately setting up Jerry as a type of lovable “Dennis the Menace” figure, only without the rascally charm.

“Virgin High” is R-rated entertainment, but Gabai doesn’t put in much effort to earn the restrictive rating. The endeavor is fairly limited when it comes to saucy high jinks, as nudity is a rare occurrence, along with strange sexuality, which is mostly limited to the unleashing of Dick’s wife, who’s finally cleared for S&M antics when her daughter is sent away. There’s mildness throughout “Virgin High,” extending to a bikini car wash and Kathleen’s scheme of seduction, leaving most of the feature’s potential allure to Gabai, who isn’t a compelling screen presence, especially when he pushes Jerry’s troublemaking ways, which only makes the movie more unpleasant.

Virgin High Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation secures mild detail for "Virgin High," delivering softer skin particulars on the cast, who range in age and stages of undress. Costuming is acceptable, exploring religious uniforms and cotton-y California clothes. School interiors preserve decorative additions, and exteriors carry a bit of depth. Colors are active, with the production working with distinct lighting choices, and greenery is vivid. Fashion selections are also alert, with secure primaries. Skin tones are natural. Delineation is satisfactory. Grain carries a slight processed look. Source is in decent condition, with some wear and tear noticeable on the left side of the frame.

Virgin High Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix shows some signs of age, but intelligibility isn't threatened, preserving broad performance choices. Music supports as expected, with milder comedic support from scoring efforts. Soundtrack selections carry a defined rock beat, with crisp instrumentation. Sound effects are blunt but effective.

Virgin High Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Intro (3:37, HD) is a welcome to the Blu-ray experience from director Richard Gabai, who was inspired to make "'Fast Times at Ridgemont High' at catholic school" with "Virgin High." Impressing investors with his previous work, "Assault of the Party Nerds," Gabai was handed a larger budget and the chance to make a 35mm movie. Execs were happy with the results, ordering a sequel while selling the home video rights to "Virgin High" to Columbia Pictures, which gave the film a large presence in the marketplace.

• Commentary features director Richard Gabai.

• Image Gallery(11:00) collects BTS snaps.

• And a Trailer (1:47, HD) is included.

Virgin High Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Virgin High" struggles to find funny business, with most of the laughs coming from unintentional sources, including two references to the then-hot lambada dance craze, though Gabai stops short of actually putting on a physical display of seduction. He keeps everything pretty basic instead, fumbling one-liners and clinging to lame ideas, forcing co-star Ward to constantly reference his role on the "Batman" T.V. show, unwilling to let the actor simply inhabit a different part. "Virgin High" crawls to a formal dance showdown, uniting all the characters as Kathleen plans to disrupt the evening with explosives and whipped cream, but there's no sense of escalation, comedic or otherwise. It's all just very unremarkable, with Gabai weirdly passing on more salacious happenings the subgenre is known for, electing to concentrate on his performance instead of boosting the bawdiness fans expect from their naughty entertainment.