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A Good Old Fashioned Orgy is a spectacularly unfunny comedy that is either intended to capitalize on the latest fashion in raunchy humor or reach back to 80s hits like Porky’s. Either way, it doesn’t work and the movie simply becomes a parade of raunchy gags that are almost as embarrassing to watch as they must have been to stage. The movie arrives on DVD with a few extras, including a director’s commentary and some deleted footage, but it’s hard to imagine people making it through the movie and then wanting to spend another couple of hours going through it again.
A GOOD OLD FASHIONED ORGY
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (Samuel Goldwyn Films/Stage 6 Films)
Release Year: 2011
Length: 1 hr 28 mins
Genre: Raunchy Comedy
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audio: English, French 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
Film Rating: Unrated (Pervasive Strong Sexual Content, Graphic Nudity, Language)
Release Date: December 27, 2011
Starring: Jason Sudeikis, Leslie Bibb, Lake Bell, Michelle Borth, Nick Kroll, Tyler Labine, Angel Sarafyan, Lindsay Sloane, Martin Starr and Will Forte, with a brief appearance by Don Johnson
Written and Directed by: Alex Gregory & Peter Huyck
Rating: ¼
The rating above for A Good Old Fashioned Orgy probably sums the situation up best. The basic story of the movie revolves around a group of friends planning a final blow-out party at a house in the Hamptons before it is sold. The audience is first asked to believe that the characters, who are presented as relatively adult in the first moments in the film, would be willing to repeatedly throw out-of-control parties like this. Then the audience is asked to believe that these characters would plan the title event and voluntarily participate. The genesis of the idea – that a Hollywood party degenerated into mayhem and all sorts of uncomfortable situations, is an understandable one. But the execution simply doesn’t make any sense, and the story quickly lurches into very strange territory. Somebody clearly thought this would be a funny scenario for a movie. It is unfortunate that nobody talked them out of it. I’ll be clear here – I have no problem with edgy comedy. It’s when the situation is repeatedly taken into the area of toilet humor that it just stops being funny and is simply adolescent. So this is material that would be funny to a teenager – except that I don’t know anyone who would want to show this to a teenager.
VIDEO QUALITY 3/5
A Good Old Fashioned Orgy is presented in a 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer that looks like it accurately reflects the grungy intentions of the filmmakers. Black levels look solid enough, and the variety of environments look good.
AUDIO QUALITY 3/5
A Good Old Fashioned Orgy is presented in an English Digital 5.1 Dolby Digital Mix which mostly lives in the front channels. But there’s enough loud music to fill the surrounds and occupy the subwoofer at multiple points during the film. A French 5.1 mix is also available on the disc.
SPECIAL FEATURES 2 ½/5
A Good Old Fashioned Orgy comes with a directors’ commentary, some deleted footage, a gag reel and a quick featurette.
Commentary with Directors Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck, and Jason Sudeikis – The directors and Jason Sudeikis talk through the film, sometimes addressing the specifics of the shoot. For the Don Johnson scene, Sudeikis recalls being a fan of Miami Vice, while the directors point out that Johnson only gave them a few hours to shoot his scene before he caught a plane and left the area.
Deleted Scenes (16:21 Total, Non-Anamorphic Letterbox) – Ten deleted or extended scenes are included here, in case the material already in the movie was not enough for the viewer.
Gag Reel (4:56, Non-Anamorphic Letterbox) – Five minutes of blown takes are presented here, including multiple tries by Will Forte to get one line out without muffing it.
How to Film an Orgy (8:28, Anamorphic) – A quick featurette is shown, with the usual assembly of cast interview bits and on-set video.
Subtitles are available in English, French and Spanish for the movie, but not for the special features. A standard chapter menu is also present.
IN THE END...
A Good Old Fashioned Orgy is, to be blunt, an attempt at adolescent humor, but laced with so much adult material that it cancels itself out. I honestly can’t recommend this title even for rental. Fans of the cast should think carefully before parting with coin here.
Kevin Koster
January 2, 2012
