Loverboy

One of several 80's comedies that are still fresh today, and one of my favorites. Patrick Dempsey (as Randy) showed some amazing talent in this film and played the role perfectly. I had forgotten the film was released in '89; it has the spirit of many of the films from earlier that decade but without much of the trashiness and better writing.

This was one of three romance comedies (along with In The Mood and Can't Buy Me Love) that Patrick Dempsey starred in around '87 and '88 about a young guy who knows who he wants to be with, he just can't seem to figure it out at first.

Loverboy, actually, is a plot very similar to In The Mood because it deals with a young man "wooing" older women and eventually, they teach him something about love that he will help appreciate a young girlfriend, when he finds one.

Loverboy concerns the story of hot shot Randy Bodek (Dempsey). Things aren't going well. His girlfriend, Jenny (Nancy Valen), thinks he's ashamed of her because he won't tell his parents that he's living with her. But Randy doesn't want to bring up live-in girlfriends to his folks yet because they're about to be baffled by a near flunking report card. So needless to say, Randy is on the brink with both his girlfriend and his parents. His dad refuses to pay Randy's tuition for the next semester, so, as Randy says, "I'm going to start me real life, how hard can that be?" But Randy is in for a rude awakening.

What started out as a pizza delivery job at Senor Pizza turns into Randy's goal to earn enough cash to get back into school and patch things up with Jenny. Things aren't so simple once Randy meets Alex Barnett (Barbara Carerra) an elegant, but mysterious woman who Randy spends some time with. Randy Bodek suddenly becomes "the love doctor of Beverly Hills" (according to his goofy friend, Sal) because now he is being personally called on to deliver anchovi pizzas (the codeword) to the rich, lonely housewives. It seems quite shallow, but Randy's agenda hardly ever includes sleeping with the women. They just want a guy to spend time with them and get some affection from when their work-a-holic or cheating husbands have neglected them. Randy gets an unusual education in, pardon the cliche, what women want.

It's a pretty funny movie because Randy has to hide his new reputation from his parents and nearly everyone else, so it leads to some hastily investigated conclusions as to what Randy might be up to. Plus, Randy, a pretty wimpy looking guy, must also hide from eager husbands looking to put the kid out of business, just as soon as they can figure out what it is that is making their wives all of sudden cheerful.

It's good stuff, lazy Saturday afternoon type comedy with a good cast--Patrick Dempsey, Barbara Carerra, E.G. Daily, Kirstie Alley, Carie Fisher, and my favorite Bernie Coulson (he plays Sal). It is a funny movie about one guy's strange attempt to show his girlfriend that he cares about her. But in all honesty, I would recommend watching 'In the Mood' first, as that is the better of these two similar stories.

Some of this wouldn't fly in today's world, like the subplot where the dad is worried that his son is gay, but the overall plot is very much like a Three's Company episode on steroids. Sure it all wraps up WAY too neatly, but there's a solid progression and a few good laughs. Overall a decent underrated 80's sex comedy.

This movie was unjustly dismissed when it came out. It's no classic, but has many genuinely funny moments. It has playful fun with sexual roles in our society, and its positive message seems to be that friendship and caring are more important than sex. Patrick Dempsey showed a real flair for physical comedy that hasn't been utilized since, and the supporting cast, especially Kirstie Alley and Carrie Fisher, seem to be having lots of fun. Worth a look!

While not doing anything particularly well, Loverboy won me over by the sheer lunacy of the plot. Guy breaks up with girl, needs money, delivers pizzas, becomes male hooker.... You get the point. It's so dumb that I love it. Patrick Dempsey is surprisingly good in this movie playing the naive, bumbling gigolo who stumbles into his new job. It's worth watching on cable.