In the vast realm of teen-sex comedies, The Party Animal is an anomaly. Opening with a thunderous bolt of lightning, the film's soundtrack pounds out The Buzzcocks' song, "Why Can't I Touch It," while the camera pans across one of the most hauntingly beautiful faces ever sculpted on a teenage girl. The ominously beautiful girl stands high above a winding road in which a pick-up truck loaded with turnips is seen cruising with the soon-to-be (Party Animal) lounging on top of the edible roots. So begins one of the greatest drive-in comedies ever made.
The story follows the exploits of twenty-two year old freshman college student, Pondo Sinatra, an obnoxious imposing blunderer whose only desire in life is to get laid and his studly buddy, Studly who tries to help him achieve that goal. I know, I know, this sounds like the premise for every teen comedy made, but believe me, this is where the similarities end and a twisted Faustian tale begins.
One day while Pondo and Studly are scheming on the campus grounds, Pondo announces that he would sell his soul for a piece of tail. The hauntingly beautiful girl from the first scene appears and seems to acknowledge Pondo's request - though his wish is not granted until much later in the film. The girl, Mephistopheles incarnate, appears throughout the film, taunting and haunting Pondo.
Before Pondo's wish is granted, he is dragged through some of cinema's most hilariously torturous vignettes. In one scene, Pondo tries to impress the ladies at a punk rock party by taking so many drugs (pot, pills, cocaine and LSD) in one sitting, that even Keith Richards would cringe. In another, Pondo decked out in 1970's New York City pimp gear, crashes an African-American party that is not exactly white-friendly and ends up with a hair pick stuck in his forehead.
This is a seriously twisted dark comedy and may not be for all tastes but over-all the cinematography is excellent and the acting is fair. Jerry Jones III, who has performed in all of Rudy Ray Moore's Dolomite films, provides an exceptional performance as Elbow, the school's janitor, who doles out sage-like advice to Studly and Pondo. The Party Animal features an amazing soundtrack whose artists include The Buzzcocks, The Fleshtones, R.E.M., New Marines, Chelsea, Dream 6, Gazmo, and The Untouchables who appear as themselves in the film. Also, there are many semi-clad beauties to keep your eyes busy even if your mind wanders.
As a film, The Party Animal does not play by any standard "teen sex comedy" rules set up by the Hollywood cookie cutter machine, and it certainly doesn't cop out by giving the us the same old crappy "nerd saves the day - nerd gets the girl" happy ending. I won't give up the finale, but let's just say that Pondo gets what he deserves.
The Party Animal only played a short time in theatres in 1983 (not 1984) and now can only be seen if your video store carries the long out-of-print Pan-Canadian or Lightning video releases. A trivial note: This is one of only a few movies that Cineplex Odeon Pictures produced and released.
