LA TIMES
The Fat Lady Not Only Sings...
by Jack Mathews, For The Times
IRREVERENCE ALERT: People who find
no humor in the mocking of religion, particularly those who might
feel personally assaulted by the line "I'm no superhero, I'm
a Latter-day Saint," are advised to skip this review and its
subject, Trey Parker's "Orgazmo."
Morality Alert: People repulsed by the very idea of porn movies,
even if the industry is being playfully spoofed, must avoid going
any farther here, or risk being turned into pillars of salt.
Taste Alert: If your ears burn at the use of the F-word as a
noun, verb, adjective, pronoun or stage direction, save your
ears. And if the thought of seeing a nearly naked 400-pound woman
simulating sex disgusts you, save your eyes, too.
For those readers still with me - adults only, please - get ready
for a good time. "Orgazmo" is a riot of bad taste and
impropriety, and destined for the pantheon of midnight movie
classics.
Written and directed by Trey Parker, co-creator of TV's
scandalously popular "South Park" show,
"Orgazmo" manages to send up Mormonism, pornography and
the Batman franchise all at once. It's also a rather sweet love
story, a buddy movie and a loving homage to the films of Ed Wood.
Parker stars as Elder Joe Young, a Mormon missionary who, while
proselytizing door-to-door in suburban Los Angeles, happens onto
the set of a porn movie where some goons commence to punch him
out. In defending himself, Joe shows such spectacular skill at
martial arts that the smarmy porn director (Michael Dean Jacobs)
offers him $20,000 to take over the role of the film's title
character, Orgazmo.
This dime-store Batman wears a pink outfit with a massive crotch
bulge, and rescues women from thugs by zapping them with his
Orgazmorator, a ray gun that disables humans (and watchdogs, as
we'll see) by turning them orgasmic. The reward for the good
efforts of Orgazmo and his Robinesque sidekick Chodo-Boy (Dian
Bachar), a diminutive fellow festooned with phalli hiding a
Batcave's worth of rockets and techno-gadgetry, is a roll in the
hay with the victims.
Assured that a body double will take over for the close-ups, Joe
accepts the role, figuring the quick payday will cover the cost
of his wedding to fiancee Lisa (Robyn Lynne Raab), who's waiting
for him back in Utah. But things get complicated when Orgazmo
becomes an overnight cross-over sensation, and the porn ring
kidnaps Lisa to force Joe to star in a series of sequels.
Now, it's up to Joe, as Orgazmo, with an operational
Orgazmorator, and Chodo-Boy at his side, to rescue a real damsel
in distress.
If this sounds deliriously sophomoric, Parker would no doubt
accept it as a compliment. It's like a Harvard Lampoon movie,
done on a classmate's inheritance. It's well-shot and edited,
even though its effects are meant to look cheap, and its actors,
the fat lady included, have a perfect grasp of the film's deadpan
humor.
The real surprise here, though no practicing Mormon is likely to
agree, is that Joe and Lisa remain pure and uphold the church's
core values. There are huge laughs at their expense, but at the
end of the day, they are "Orgazmo's" true heroes.