Review: Loose Screws Screwballs II DVD

STUDIO: Severin | DIRECTOR: Rafal Zielinski | CAST: Bryan Genesse, Lance Van Der Kolk, Alan Deveau, Jason Warren
RELEASE DATE: 7/27/10 | PRICE: DVD $19.95, Blu-ray $24.95
BONUSES: commentary, interviews with producer and production manager
SPECS: NR | 77 min./88 min. | Comedy | widescreen | Dolby Digital 2.0

RATINGS (out of 5): Movie | Audio | Video | Overall

Cult DVD label Severin has done a pretty nice job of issuing not-quite-classic cult movie favorites on disc over the past four years — Enzo Castellari’s The Inglorious Bastards, Lucio Fulci’s The Psychic, Joe D’Amato’s Papaya: Love Goddess of the Cannibals and, yes, maybe even the 1983 T&A sex comedy Screwballs by Rafal Zielinski. But Loose Screws: Screwballs II, the 1985 Zielinski-directed sequel?

We can’t agree with them on this one. Yeah, we understand that they have a release slate to fill, but if Screwballs barely makes it as a not-quite-cult favorite, then Screwballs II ain’t even close.

Not that Severin hasn’t done a nice job on the DVD…

In addition to a restoring the Canadian production to its original splendor courtesy of a freshly unearthed 35mm print, Severin also has included the international cut of the film, which was taken from a European VHS tape (hence the box art proudly boasting that it’s presented in “authentic VHS-Vision!”). And that version of the movie provides an extra 11 minutes of the kind of material that fans of the Screwballs series are looking for.

And speaking of the material, Screwballs II’s silly story revolves around four horny screw-ups (Bryan Genesse, Lance Van Der Kolk, Alan Deveau, Jason Warren) and their educational experiences at Coxwell Academy. Said “sexperiences” revolve around amateur breast exams, bikini parties, aerobics classes, strippers, co-eds and whipped cream, all served up cheaply and predictably.

Oh, and Alan Deveau’s character’s name is “Hugh G. Rection.” Had enough?

More fun than the feature are the new interviews with producer Maurice Smith and production manager Ken Gord, the former fondly reminiscing about the production and the latter not really remembering it all that well apart from revealing that he “learned to take lunch” while working on the film.

 

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About Laurence

Founder and editor Laurence Lerman saw Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest when he was 13 years old and that’s all it took. He has been writing about film and video for more than a quarter of a century for magazines, anthologies, websites and most recently, Video Business magazine, where he served as the Reviews Editor for 15 years.