The Last American Virgin (1982)

That was an excellent one.

Thanks for the memories!

Pretty Good

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Early on in The Last American Virgin there are some clever instances of the film tapping into its kind of teenage humour. Gary, Rick and David have invited three girls back to Gary's house in an attempt to score. Naturally, Gary, the film's protagonist and the only virgin of the three, is stuck with the most frigid of the girls. But she is a teenager too, and so the shirt comes off, in the midst of her half-heartedly attempts to deflect him with a bowl of cold popcorn. Gary quickly goes for the bra, which to the teenage boy is like the last barrier to the holy grail, but its a clunky, unsexy contraption (form matching its owner). Their end position that his parents stumble onto is something of a masochist's fantasy; Gary, in his enthusiasm to unsnap the bra, has her in a makeshift choke-hold while she fidgets and shifts around in her seat. Before that the boys nervously offer the girls high-grade 'cocaine' in an attempt to impress them, without revealing it is merely powdered artificial sweetener. Davidson reaches for the natural humour that is squeezed out of the self- consciousness of the scene; the boys are trying to play it off like hotshots, and the girls pretend like they know what they are doing and have done it all before. It's sweet because neither side is willing to admit just how inexperienced they really are. We all know how the scene ends, of course. The film is from a period of teen sex comedies that advertise raunchiness for raunchiness' sake, so the outcome must be having everyone rush into the room at the same time half naked to the shock, horror and heart attack of the prudish mother. If there is any other dimension of these characters, it is not even slightly explored. Davidson sets up the film to subvert via its ending, by having Gary's hopes crash down and mar what the conventional audience expects. But nobody learns anything from this ending. It's been praised widely for its 'realism', but it just beats the poor idiot relentlessly with the close-up of his teary face. Every facet of the film is constructed to serve Gary's misery, but Davidson has missed the step where he acknowledges exactly where it was he went wrong and how he will move forward. Without this, it's so easy for a viewer to veer in the wrong direction after those credits. It is supposedly built on the destruction of what would later be dubbed the 'friendzone'. We see this in Gary, in the way he swoops in as the nice guy after Rick, and how he is suddenly donning leather jackets and brimming with confidence once he has found his girlfriend. The crux of it is that this is all based on his initial attraction to Karen, and his desire to have sex with her, which makes his crusade hardly more noble that Rick's. But this message isn't earned because the women in the film are all terrible caricatures. Of course Gary is stuck with the dumpy third girl, and then coveted by Karen's heavily bespectacled friend Rose. Karen herself is this fuzzy, vague bundle of characterisations brought in to service the plot. See Davidson's treatment of her abortion, as some sinister, defiling procedure, urgently cross-cutting between the two as if they share a special bond because he helps her get through the ordeal. And then a day later she is back to being the bouncing, smiling Diane Franklin. The whole plot falls apart because she isn't a character that forces Gary's hand, but merely a device to rip out his heart. Davidson relies so heavily on the shocking treatment of Gary's ending that he forgets to separate these characters from the wild, irrational sphere of the teenage period where anything goes and rational thought is succeeded by passion and desire. This conclusion would work better if these characters had the agency that they deserve, and instead of the soppy, sugary kiss in the bathroom, Gary heads to the party with the expectation and anticipation of that kiss. Then the blow is valid, and his demise is a piercing and justifiable critique of his mindset. But there is none of that, and there is no moment of post-realisation ala 500 Days of Summer that enables growth. So all in all, it's barely an upgrade from the formulaic happy ending, which makes a lot more sense from Karen's perspective anyway.

I was 15 years old when cable TV came out and one late night I was in my parent's basement and this movie came on. Being a teen I was happy of course to see the comedy hi-jinx along with the nudity (I was 15 OK?!)Halfway through the movie though, everything changed. It got REAL!Without spoiling the movie the ending was one that has stayed with me all these years! I had not really thought about the movie but I stumbled upon a clip on Youtube and the memories (and emotions) all came flooding back! I had to buy and watch it again!I actually fast-forwarded to about the halfway mark of the movie and was just as enthralled with it as I was as a teen.This has to be one of the best teen flicks ever made for it's stark realism! If parents can get past the 1st half of the movie with the nudity, I think it could be an educational opportunity for their teenagers.

A trio of sex-obsessed high-school lads—nice guy Gary (Lawrence Monoson), stud-muffin Rick (Steve Antin), and lard-arse David (Joe Rubbo), spend their spare time trying to get laid as often as possible. Their friendship falls apart, however, when Gary falls for the new girl at the school, Karen (Diane Franklin), who unfortunately for him, has the hots for Rick (ain't that always the way?).If I had already gotten around to reviewing Israeli teen sex comedy Lemon Popsicle, it would make writing about The Last American Virgin a whole lot easier, for the latter is a virtual scene-for-scene remake of the former. Having already made a fortune with Lemon Popsicle (and its subsequent sequels), producers Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus targeted the US market by taking the main elements from their proved hit—the dynamics of the main characters' friendship, their sexual escapades, and the ultimate outcome of the movie—and relocating them from 50s Israel to 80s America. The result: The Last American Virgin, and a whole load of dollars to go with their already massive pile of shekels!Being a huge fan of Lemon Popsicle since the early 80s (I saw it many times as a teenager, there not being much to choose from at my local video rental shop), I personally wouldn't class The Last American Virgin as an 'essential' teen sex comedy, however I still found it very entertaining stuff, with impressive performances from its young cast, a wonderful pop/rock soundtrack (R.E.O. Speedwagon rule!), and some very welcome female nudity, particularly from the oh-so-cute Franklin (who has been a favourite of mine since seeing her way back when in Amityville II: The Possession).Before watching The Last American Virgin, I strongly suggest checking out the original (and in my opinion, superior) Lemon Popsicle, but if you're absolutely sure that a Middle Eastern rock 'n' roll sex comedy won't be your cup of Café Afuch (yes, I had to look that up!), then definitely give this one a go—it's still one of the better films the genre has to offer.

Most of the movie is just like all the other high school dating B movies with nudity to keep guys glued to the screen. You have the typical nerd who likes the pretty girl who likes the handsome/cool guy who is a jerk. In this movie though the jerk, and the leading "hero" are actually friends which is something different. Towards the end of the movie though the movie becomes more serious. I have never seen a movie where the tone switched so dramatically. I gave the movie a six at first(20 minutes before the end), but after seeing the ending I moved it to a 7. I will admit the movie as a whole is not a 7. Not including the ending it is a 5 or 6, but the ending was so great to me that I pushed it to a 7.