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{{Short description|1981 teen sex comedy film by Bob Clark}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Porky's
| image          = Porkys.jpg
| alt            = The arm and leg of a woman reaching to turn on a shower, an eye peeping through a hole in the wall.
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Bob Clark]]
| producer       = {{Plainlist |
* [[Don Carmody]]
* Bob Clark
}}<!-- producer only, not executive or associate producer -->
| writer         = Bob Clark
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Kim Cattrall]]
* [[Scott Colomby]]
* [[Kaki Hunter]]
* [[Nancy Parsons]]
* [[Alex Karras]]
* [[Susan Clark]]
}}
| music          = {{Plainlist|
* [[Paul Zaza]]
* Carl Zittrer
}}
| cinematography = [[Reginald H. Morris]]
| editing        = Stan Cole
| production_companies = {{Plainlist|
* [[Astral Films]]<ref name=afi>{{cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/members//catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=56863|title=Porky's|work=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]]|access-date=September 4, 2017}}</ref>
* [[20th Century Studios|20th Century-Fox]]<ref name=afi/>
}}
| distributor    = 20th Century-Fox<ref name=afi/>
| released       = {{Film date|1981|11|13|[[Columbia, South Carolina]]|1982|3|19|United States and Canada}}
| runtime        = 98 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 98:27--><ref>{{cite web|title=''PORKY'S'' (18)|url=http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/porkys-1970-0|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130722000500/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/porkys-1970-0|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 22, 2013|work=[[British Board of Film Classification]]|date=December 17, 1981|access-date=July 21, 2013}}</ref>
| country        = {{Plainlist|
* Canada
* United States<ref name=afi/>
}}
| language       = English
| budget         = $4–5 million<ref name="los">{{cite news |last=Brown |first=Peter H. |title=We're Talking Gross, Tacky and Dumb |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=January 20, 1985 |page=6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Aubrey|last=Solomon|title=Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History|publisher=Scarecrow Press|year=2002|page=195|isbn=9780810842441|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WIZwZOz8LHsC&pg=PA195}}</ref>
| gross          = $160 million
}}
'''''Porky's''''' is a 1981 [[sex comedy]] film written and directed by [[Bob Clark]] about the escapades of teenagers in 1954 at the fictional Angel Beach High School in [[Florida]]. The film stars [[Kim Cattrall]], [[Scott Colomby]], [[Kaki Hunter]], [[Nancy Parsons]], [[Alex Karras]], and [[Susan Clark]].

The film influenced many writers in the [[teen film]] genre and spawned two sequels: ''[[Porky's II: The Next Day]]'' (1983) and ''[[Porky's Revenge!]]'' (1985), and the followup ''Porky's: Pimpin' Pee Wee'' (2009). ''Porky's'' was the [[1982 in film#North America|sixth highest-grossing film of 1982]]. The film received generally positive reviews at the time of its release, but reviews have become more mixed-to-negative over time.

==Plot==
In 1954, each boy in a group of Florida Angel Beach High School students plans to lose his virginity. They go to Porky's, a [[strip club]] in the [[Everglades]], believing that they can hire a prostitute to satisfy their sexual desires. The club's proprietor, Porky Wallace, takes their money but humiliates the boys by dumping them into the swamp. When the group demands their money back, Sheriff Wallace, Porky's brother, drives them away but not before he extorts them for the rest of their money, further embarrassing them.

After Mickey Jarvis, who returned to Porky's for revenge, is beaten so badly he has to be hospitalized, the gang becomes hellbent on exacting revenge on Porky and Sheriff Wallace, eventually sinking Porky's establishment into the swamp. Porky and his men, joined by Sheriff Wallace, chase the group, but the boys make it across the county line, out of Sheriff Wallace's jurisdiction, where local police officers and the high school band meet them. One of the officers, Mickey's older brother, Ted, repeatedly damages Porky's [[Hudson Hornet]], promising to drop all charges against Porky for driving an unsafe vehicle if the night's events are forgiven. Because the boys are too young to have been allowed into Porky's legally, Porky and Sheriff Wallace agree.

In a subplot, the boys peep on female students in the girl's locker room shower, and Tommy Turner, Billy McCarty, and Pee Wee Morris see several girls showering. Pee Wee gives them away when he shouts at an obese girl, who has been blocking his view, to move so that he can see. While a few girls run out, most stay, finding the situation funny. To test their attitude, Tommy sticks his tongue out through his peephole but gets it smeared with soap. Infuriated, he drops his pants and sticks his penis through the opening just before female coach Beulah Balbricker, who has a running feud with Tommy, walks into the shower area. Spotting the protruding member, she sneaks up on Tommy, grabs his penis, and pulls with all her might. Tommy pulls free and escapes, but Beulah is determined to prove that the offending member, which has a mole on it, belongs to Tommy, going so far as to request that Principal Carter hold a police-type line-up of the boys in the nude so she can identify it. However, Carter balks at her request. As the other basketball coaches laugh, Coach Roy Brackett suggests asking the police to send a sketch artist and hang wanted posters around the school. When that suggestion gets even Carter laughing, Balbricker leaves in a huff. At the end of the film, she sneaks out of the bushes to ambush Tommy and actually drags his pants down, but she is pulled off him by police and dragged away screaming that she saw "it" and that she can identify its owner. Tommy breaks the [[fourth wall]], saying, "Jeez!" to the camera.

Another subplot involves Coach Brackett taking an interest in the attractive coach, Lynn Honeywell. Coach Fred Warren repeatedly refers to Honeywell as "Lassie" while pointing to the equipment room, much to Coach Brackett's confusion. He quickly finds out why when he and Honeywell hide out in the equipment room after an argument with Balbricker, and Honeywell becomes turned on by the scent of the room. This leads to the pair having [[Quickie (sexual act)|quickie sex]] in the room, as Honeywell begins loudly howling like a dog, thus revealing why she is called [[Lassie]]. Her orgasmic howls are heard throughout the entire school, much to the students' and Coach Warren's amusement, but not to Balbricker and head coach Goodenough. Brackett and Honeywell are eventually fired as a result.

==Cast==
{{castlist|
* [[Dan Monahan]] as Edward "Pee Wee" Morris
* [[Mark Herrier]] as Billy McCarty
* [[Wyatt Knight]] as Tommy Turner
* [[Roger Wilson (actor)|Roger Wilson]] as Mickey Jarvis
* [[Cyril O'Reilly]] as Tim Cavanaugh
* [[Tony Ganios]] as Anthony "Meat" Tuperello
* [[Kaki Hunter]] as Wendy Williams
* [[Kim Cattrall]] as Miss Lynn "Lassie" Honeywell
* [[Nancy Parsons]] as Coach Beulah Balbricker
* [[Scott Colomby]] as Brian Schwartz
* [[Boyd Gaines]] as Coach Roy Brackett
* [[Doug McGrath]] as Coach Fred Warren
* [[Susan Clark]] as Cherry Forever
* [[Art Hindle]] as Ted Jarvis
* [[Wayne Maunder]] as "Slime" Cavanaugh
* [[Alex Karras]] as Sheriff Wallace
* [[Chuck Mitchell]] as "Porky" Wallace
* [[Eric Christmas]] as Mr. Carter
* [[Jack Mulcahy (actor)|Jack Mulcahy]] as Frank Bell
* [[Bill Hindman]] as Coach Goodenough
* Pat Finn-Lee as Stripper
}}

==Production==
Bob Clark got the idea to make ''Porky's'' in 1972. It was based on his experiences with five high school friends in Florida in the 1950s.<ref name="los"/> He based the story on actual occurrences at [[Boca Ciega High School]] in [[Gulfport, Florida]], and [[Fort Lauderdale High School]] in the early 1960s, and on a venue called Porky's Hide Away in [[Oakland Park, Florida]].<ref name="miami" />

Clark teamed up with Roger Swaybill on a film, ''[[Breaking Point (1976 film)|Breaking Point]]''. When Clark fell ill with [[mononucleosis]] in 1979, he dictated the story of ''Porky's'' to Swaybill, who then wrote a draft of the script. Every studio in Hollywood turned down the project. Clark eventually obtained financing from [[Melvin Simon Productions]] and a Canadian firm, [[Astral Media|Astral Bellevue Pathe]]. The film had to be made in [[Canada]] to obtain government tax benefits. This meant Clark, who was an American, got sole screen credit as writer. However, Swaybill was reimbursed with a six-figure sum and was co-writer on the sequel.<ref name="los"/>

"It seems incredible to realize that ''Porky's'', which earned more than $200 million worldwide, was done as a tax shelter, but that's the way it was," Swaybill says.<ref name="los"/> [[Kim Cattrall]] took a small role in the film because she needed the money, and was horrified, at first, to see her name at the top of the poster: "People thought it was the end of my career".<ref>{{cite web |title=Kim Cattrall: On the Legacy of 'Porky's' | work=www.howardstern.com | date=27 April 2011 |url=https://www.howardstern.com/show/2011/04/27/on-the-legacy-of-porkysrsquo-rundowngallerymodel-2216/ |access-date=2022-01-29 }}</ref>

==Release==
''Porky's'' was released in [[Colorado Springs, Colorado]] and [[Columbia, South Carolina]], on November 13, 1981.<ref name="collections">{{cite web|url=http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/canadian-feature-film-database/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=991&DotsIdNumber=|work=[[Library and Archives Canada]]|title=Item |date=12 May 2015 |access-date=January 29, 2020}}</ref> It then received a wide release in Canada and the United States on March 19, 1982.<ref name="collections" />

In [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], the film was banned on February 1, 1982; the decision was overturned 19 days later.<ref name=boardsielist>{{cite web|title=Films banned in Ireland|url=https://www.boards.ie/b/thread/113288|website=boards.ie|access-date=4 March 2018}}</ref>

===Critical response===
Upon its release, ''Porky's'' was viewed as "a likeable [[wikt:lowbrow#Adjective|lowbrow]] coming-of-age comedy", but the critical appraisal has been more negative since then.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.popmatters.com/post/the-front-page-bad-with-the-good-bob-clark-1941-2007/|title=Bad with the Good - Bob Clark (1941 - 2007)|last=Gibron|first=Bill|work=[[PopMatters]]|date=April 4, 2007|access-date=September 4, 2017}}</ref> [[Review aggregation]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], which collects both contemporary and modern reviews, gives the film a score of 33% based on reviews from 39 critics and an average rating of 4.8/10. The consensus reads, "Gleeful in its [[misogyny]] and celebratory of bad behavior, ''Porky's'' is an intermittently funny farce that will leave audiences feeling in need of a shower."<ref>{{cite web |title = Porky's (1981) |url = http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1016561-porkys/ |work = [[Rotten Tomatoes]] |publisher = [[Fandango Media|Fandango]] |access-date = April 16, 2023 }}</ref> On [[Metacritic]] the film has a score of 40% based on reviews from 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".<ref>{{cite web |title=Porky's |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/porkys |website=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=2020-05-04}}</ref>

Film critics [[Gene Siskel]] and [[Roger Ebert]] in their syndicated ''[[At the Movies (1982 TV program)|At the Movies]]'' television series both expressed disdain for ''Porky's'' and later called it one of the worst films of 1982. In particular, they criticized the film for what they viewed as its objectification and degradation of women and the childish nature of its antagonists, and they disliked that the film took what they felt was a thin, shallow and off-color stance against [[anti-Semitism]].<ref>{{cite video | url = http://siskelandebert.org/video/N44N7DM9RKON/At-the-Movies-Stinkers-of-1982 | title = At the Movies-Stinkers of 1982 | work = At the Movies | access-date = 2013-04-23 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150224050612/http://siskelandebert.org/video/N44N7DM9RKON/At-the-Movies-Stinkers-of-1982 | archive-date = 2015-02-24 | url-status = dead }}</ref> In his print review for the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'', Ebert noted that the film's sexual content ''per se'' was not the film's failing, but rather the manner it was used: "Even in an easy scene like the one where the guys spy on the girls in the locker room, the director, Bob Clark, blows it. Peeping Tom scenes can be very funny (remember [[John Belushi]] on the ladder in ''[[Animal House]]''?) Here, it's just smarmy."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/porkys-1981 | title=Porky's movie review & film summary (1981) &#124; Roger Ebert }}</ref> Siskel would later go on to call it one of the worst films ever made.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/clip/80954901/gene-siskel-movie-reviewsthe-man-who/ |title='Man Who Wasn't There' would best be left unseen |access-date=January 3, 2023 |first=Gene |last=Siskel |author-link=Gene Siskel |date=August 17, 1983 |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |archive-date=January 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230103203334/https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/clip/80954901/gene-siskel-movie-reviewsthe-man-who/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Box office===
The film grossed $7.6 million for the weekend when it opened wide in 1982.<ref name=mojo>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=porkys.htm|title=Porky's (1982)|website=[[Box Office Mojo]]|access-date=October 26, 2019}}</ref> It grossed a total of $106 million in its initial release in the United States and Canada,<ref name=mojo/> including $12 million in Canada.<ref name=Var>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=November 24, 1982|title=Story Behind Making Of 'Porky's' Good Enough For Another Picture|page=36}}</ref> It grossed $25–30 million overseas, for a worldwide gross of over $130 million.<ref name=Var/> Although it was written and directed by an American and was filmed in [[Miami]] and [[Miami Beach, Florida]], ''Porky's'' was produced by the Canadian company Astral Media.<ref name="miami">{{cite news |first=Ily |last=Goyanes |work=[[Miami New Times]] |title=Celluloid City: Porky's Trilogy Filmed at Miami Senior High School and Greynolds Park |url=http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/cultist/2010/08/celluloid_city_porkys_trilogy.php |date=August 19, 2010 |access-date=August 19, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100828184235/http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/cultist/2010/08/celluloid_city_porkys_trilogy.php |archive-date=August 28, 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> As a result, ''Porky's'' can be classed as the highest-grossing Canadian film of all time in the United States and Canada, with a total of C$111 million by 1999,<ref>{{cite news|last=Steel|first=Suzanne|title=Field Notes|date=January 22, 1999|work=[[National Post]]|publisher=[[Postmedia Network]] Inc.|page=C06}}</ref> including $6 million from a 1983 re-issue prior to the release of the sequel.<ref name=mojo/>

Including the re-issue, the film grossed $160 million worldwide.<ref name="los"/>

===Home media===
{{Unreferenced section|date=December 2024}}
On May 22, 2007, [[20th Century Home Entertainment|20th Century Fox Home Entertainment]] released all three films in an "Ultimate Collection" [[box set]] on [[DVD]].

The DVD of the film from the "Ultimate Collection" was also released as a stand-alone release called the "One Size Fits All" Edition and includes a retrospective featurette with Bob Clark, a discussion on how ''Porky's'' is a comedy classic, movie commentary by Clark, the theatrical trailer, two television spots, trailers for ''[[Porky's II: The Next Day]]'' and ''[[Porky's Revenge!]]'', and the sales pitch for the [[Porky's (video game)|''Porky's'' video game]].

''Porky's'' was released on Blu-ray on September 25, 2012. The bonus material for the Blu-ray is the bonus material from the "One Size Fits All" Edition that focuses on the movie itself. The trailers for ''Porky's II: The Next Day'' and ''Porky's Revenge!'', and the ''Porky's'' video game sales pitch were not included as bonus materials for the [[Blu-ray]] release.

==Sequels and additional media==
The first two ''Porky's'' films were directed by [[Bob Clark]] and produced by [[Harold Greenberg]], who founded Astral Communications (now known as Astral Media). Following the success of ''Porky's'' in North America and Europe, a sequel, ''Porky's II: The Next Day'', was released in 1983. It was poorly received by critics and was less commercially successful than the original. Clark did not want to make another film in the series, so director [[James Komack]] made the third and last part of the saga. The third film, ''Porky's Revenge!'', was the worst-received of the series both critically and commercially. Although it was not originally part of the series, the film ''[[Hollywood Zap!]]'' was released as a ''Porky's'' film in Europe.<ref>{{cite web | title = Porky's 4 film poster | url = https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNjQ0NTk0ZDAtODk0MS00NjEyLWJlMGMtZGNhY2UyMTAyZTJjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzU0NzkwMDg@._V1_.jpg | accessdate = 2024-04-19 }}</ref>

A video game based on the film, also titled ''Porky's'', was released for the [[Atari 2600]] and [[Atari 8-bit computers]] by 20th Century Fox in 1983.<ref name="atarimania">{{cite web|title=Porky's|url=http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-porky-s_4068.html|website=Atari Mania}}</ref>

==Remake==

=== Howard Stern remake ===
In 2002, [[Howard Stern]] acquired the [[remake]] rights and has long hoped to produce a remake of the film. The potential remake ran into legal trouble in 2011 when two other production companies stepped forward claiming to own the rights.<ref name="reporter">{{Cite web |last=Gardner |first=Eriq |date=2011-03-28 |title=Will a Legal Fight Ensnare Howard Stern's Planned 'Porky's' Remake? (Exclusive) |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/will-a-legal-fight-ensnare-171863/ |access-date=2025-06-23 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2013, the parties reached a confidential settlement and agreed to dismiss a claim and counterclaim with prejudice. The terms of the settlement remain confidential, and to date, if it allows for Stern's remake to be made is unknown.<ref>{{cite web|title='Porky's' Rights Dispute Settled|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/porkys-rights-dispute-settled-574164|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=25 June 2013 |access-date=October 8, 2017}}</ref>

=== ''Porky's: Pimpin' Pee Wee'' ===
In 1994 Lontano Investments purchased the rights to ''Porky's'' and in 2001, the company signed a contract with Mola Entertainment, giving the latter the exclusive right to produce a ''Porky's'' film in exchange for 1.5% of the budget of the picture, less option fees. The agreement also gave Mola the right to produce another sequel if it satisfied the conditions of its deal, including completing the first picture within five years and paying the purchase fee in whole. This agreement was subsequently amended a number of times, extending the time and increasing the purchase fee from 1.5% of the budget to 2.5%. Mola originally wanted to make a film with a budget of around $10 million but were unable to raise the finance and created the film with a budget of approximately $500,000. It decided to make a film in 2009 for under $1 million before its rights expired. It was originally entitled ''Porky's: The College Years'' and was later retitled ''Porky's: Pimpin' Pee Wee''.<ref name="reporter" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Drees |first=Rich |date=2011-04-01 |title=PORKY'S Remake Hits Legal Snafu |url=https://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2011/04/01/porkys-remake-hits-legal-snafu/ |access-date=2025-06-23 |website=www.filmbuffonline.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

"As time was running out they thought let's whip up this cheap one and bury it," said [[Brian Trenchard-Smith]], who was hired to direct four weeks before shooting began.<ref>[http://blog.moviefone.com/2011/03/21/brian-trenchard-smith-interview/ "Interview with Brian Trenchard Smith"]. Movie Fone, March 21, 2011. Accessed February 8, 2013.</ref>

Shooting took place over 15 days on location in [[Canyon Country]], California, and at a studio in [[Simi Valley]], California, starting in October 2008. The director says the film was "designed as an homage to the 80's sex-comedies where there are raging hormones that cause characters to defy logic and moral scruples in the search for the Holy Grail, which is to get laid. A desperate attempt to get laid."<ref name="interview">Jason Bene (August 16, 2010). [http://www.killerfilm.com/interviews/read/whats-going-on-with-porkys-the-college-years-37177 "What's going on with ''Porky's: The College Years''?"] ''Killer Films''. Accessed February 6, 2010.</ref>

''Porky's: Pimpin' Pee Wee'' was released via [[video on demand]] but did not receive a release to DVD.<ref name="interview"/> Mola then claimed they had fulfilled their obligations under their contract with Lontano and retained rights to make another sequel. However, Lontano subsequently claimed that the film required a budget of $10 million to satisfy the arrangement. A lawsuit ensued, affecting plans by Howard Stern to make his own remake as Mola maintained it held rights on ''Porky's'' until April 1, 2014.<ref name="reporter" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|1980s|Film|United States|Canada|Comedy}}
* {{IMDb title|0084522}}
* {{AFI film|56863}}
* {{Mojo title|porkys}}

{{Bob Clark}}
{{Porky's}}

[[Category:1981 films]]
[[Category:1981 comedy films]]
[[Category:1980s American films]]
[[Category:1980s Canadian films]]
[[Category:1980s coming-of-age comedy films]]
[[Category:1980s English-language films]]
[[Category:1980s sex comedy films]]
[[Category:1980s teen comedy films]]
[[Category:1980s high school films]]
[[Category:20th Century Fox films]]
[[Category:20th Century Studios franchises]]
[[Category:American coming-of-age comedy films]]
[[Category:American sex comedy films]]
[[Category:American teen comedy films]]
[[Category:Canadian coming-of-age comedy films]]
[[Category:Canadian sex comedy films]]
[[Category:Canadian teen comedy films]]
[[Category:English-language Canadian films]]
[[Category:Films about pranks]]
[[Category:Films about prostitution in the United States]]
[[Category:Films about virginity]]
[[Category:Films directed by Bob Clark]]
[[Category:Films produced by Don Carmody]]
[[Category:Films scored by Paul Zaza]]
[[Category:Films set in 1954]]
[[Category:Films set in Florida]]
[[Category:Films shot in Florida]]
[[Category:Films shot in Miami]]
[[Category:Everglades in fiction]]
[[Category:Teen sex comedy films]]
[[Category:Teensploitation]]
[[Category:English-language sex comedy films]]
[[Category:Films produced by Bob Clark]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Bob Clark]]