A Good Old Fashioned Orgy has the title, idea, and premise that seems like either a straight-to-DVD film or a Netflix: Watch Instant bound film. Shockingly enough, this film had a limited theatrical run but failed to gross any movie. It concludes the long, wet, hot summer we've had of crude, bodacious comedies and very unorthodox setups in a loud and memorable way.
The film greatly reminds me of the original American Pie film because its characters are nice enough to like, sentimental enough to believe, and quirky enough to remember. It is hard to believe they'd all agree so broadly to take part in an orgy when they've all been friends for so long. Putting plausibility behind me for just a few small circumstances I can say that I laughed longer and louder at A Good Old Fashioned Orgy than many films this past summer.
Eric (Sudeikis) is an adult who never grew up. He continues to have loud and lewd parties at his father's beach house where odd antics and scantily clad women flood the place. When his father announces plans to place the house on the market, Eric devises a plan with his seven buddies to have one final event Labor Day weekend to conclude the house's legacy.
They come up with the idea to have an orgy. The plan is suggested by Eric and his best-friend Matt (Labine) who gives a likable Chris Farley performance as the off-the-wall, rowdy man who knows how to have a good time. At first, the group of guys and gals, which include Lake Bell, Nick Kroll, and Angela Sarafyan, are disgusted at the idea of having limitless sex in a room together, but slowly adapt to the underlying positives of the idea.
Still, the concept of the orgy never made any sense to me. Taking part in the even with strangers is dangerous and doing it with friends could have some unintended consequences, which is why the idea of them all agreeing to the event, especially the guy with the girlfriend, is a little far-fetched.
Apparently, from my research and understanding, directors and writers Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck have been working on this idea since 1997. Surely if picked up by an ambitious studio, this would've done pretty well in the late nineties since many late night comedies, such as American Pie and Dazed and Confused, were hitting the scene. Sadly, in limited release in 2011, it won't due too much good.
One other minor quibble is the film seems to have neutered itself. I'm not sure if this was because the writers were so happy to get this picked up they decided to water it down as much as possible so as not to cause controversy or because of its fear of getting an NC-17, but for whatever reason, despite the title, A Good Old Fashioned Orgy doesn't pack in the sex and nudity you'd believe. It seems kind of odd that a film with such a broad and daring title wouldn't want to take advantage of the possibilities and potential behind it. I think the film sort of makes up for it with the number of discussions on "new positions," "sex swings," and toys though, so it pays big in the dialog field.
A Good Old Fashioned Orgy is sort of like good old fashioned comedy from the nineties revived in 2011. I've always enjoyed juvenile, sophomoric humor in the vein of films like Bruno and Grandma's Boy. They're a hard thing to accomplish since humor is a tricky thing to achieve. I've said it before and I'll say it again; this doesn't score well in the highest denominator of comedy, but it succeeds in the denominator it is in.
Starring: Jason Sudeikis, Leslie Bibb, Lake Bell, Michelle Borth, Nick Kroll, Tyler Labine, Lindsay Sloane, Lucy Punch, and Will Forte. Directed by: Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck.
