Joysticks

As a matter of fact, go back to when comedy movies were really meant to be goofy, such as "Joysticks"! I feel this may be an overlooked rarity in the not-so-distant future, as it shows why there hasn't been films made in years that combine twisted humor with videogames as a cultural standpoint. Like other raunchy films in the '80s, this one mimics "Porky's". The acting is strange, but acceptable. This is one of those movies containing sick, ballistic weirdness that tends to grow on you. Another film that has this kind of quality is "Wacko". Both are genuine Greydon Clark comedy masterpieces not to be missed. It's too bad these movies have been way past their prime, though.

Funny how things change decade to decade. Pac Man was once thought to be the pinnacle of video games. The punk look was once very popular. And "Joysticks" was once thought topical humor. Sometimes, once is too much. "Joysticks", at times, can be considered too much of many things: a waste of time, for one. As well as too many horny kids, outdated video games, blustering adults, flatulence jokes, kids in punk makeup, Joe Don Baker and, naturally, big hair. Lots of that in the '80s, too. Nothing much more than a nostalgia trip. And a bad trip, to boot. One star. Save your money for more important things than "Joysticks". Like, say, a new Nintendo set?

Video games and topless girls. On paper, that's a blue medal idea, especially in the early '80s. But as teen sex comedies go, JOYSTICKS is as cheap as they come. There's not really a plot here so much as a series of raunchy scenes mixed in with goofball hijinks; think ANIMAL HOUSE with coin-op (right down to a low-rent Belushi). But the laughs are nowhere to be found. I tried to put myself back in a teenager mindset, but no chuckles. Make no mistake, there's no high-and-mighty here; if it were just 70 minutes of jiggly ladies playing Pac-Man, this rating would be a lot higher (and I'm all for seeing an arcade being used as a setting). But there's way too much time devoted to flat actors and lame material. 4/10

You either "Get it" or you don't. Of course when this film first hit the theaters it was just a film about the current fads of the day. If you were a kid going to arcades in the early to mid 80s this will be very nostalgic. If games like "Zaxxon" or "Galaxian" don't mean anything to you then this film will seem ridiculous. And to answer the question, "were arcades really like this?"...Oh yeah, this portrays the arcade "scene" in the early 80s pretty well. This is a have fun, so bad it's funny movie. It could be thrown in with the "sex-comedies" of the 80s- and there were a lot of them. I believe this is coming out on DVD soon (Summer/Fall 2006).

JOYSTICKS is an amusingly cheesy teen sex comedy from cult director Greydon Clark. The setting is a videogame arcade, where various cool and geeky characters hang out and just try to have fun while punk rivals and some adult bigwigs try to shut them down. It's a rather mindless affair that nonetheless captures a little bit of the madness of ANIMAL HOUSE, and there's an absolute ton of nudity from endless blonde actresses for those who enjoy that sort of thing. Joe Don Baker plays the antagonist of the hour and is quite fun, although not as much fun as the '80s trappings (check out those outfits!) and, for nostalgia lovers like myself, the glimpses of the big hit games of the era, Pacman in particular.

A beautiful majestic and taut thriller set against the backdrop of a suburban video arcade. Joe Don Baker gives us a towering performance as the cliched angry parent wanting to shut the arcade down. It's amazing that even now, 20 years later, the film still inspires, still excites and still amazes even the most jaded movie viewer. If there is a God, I know that even he must get a smile on his face from the pointless nudity and hours upon hours of video game playing that this movie portrays with such raw tenacity and such POWER! 10/10. Long live "Joysticks!"

Thank you all for your support of this wonderfully perverse piece of classic entertainment! When Mickey Epps and I wrote the original screenplay we never thought it would turn into a piece of movie memorabilia. Sex comedies in the 80's will never return (that could be good or bad), but nonetheless, playing video games topless or in your underwear is now done in the privacy of the home and no longer in video arcades. So, worry not, you naysayers of this pulchritudinous adventure in film-making, you will not see a sequel to this movie. But because of it, I'm sure you've created a number of memorable moments in your own personal histories at various drive-ins and the back rows of the movie theaters! Long live teen sex comedies... long live perverted, out-of-work, over-aged, have nothing better to do writers... like myself!!!!!