Film

Screwballs

Name: Screwballs
Genre: Comedy
Released: 1983
Cast: Peter Keleghan, Kent Deuters, Linda Speciale, Alan Deveau, Linda Shayne

Gross-out comedy
Light-hearted
Strange

A gloriously trashy 1983 sex comedy that doesn't bother pretending it's about anything other than getting laughs from adolescent chaos and nudity. It's broad, anarchic, and deeply stupid in exactly the way early-80s comedies knew how to be—nothing here is subtle or clever, but the shamelessness is oddly refreshing. Pure id on celluloid.

TMDb rating

2.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy crude, gleefully juvenile sex comedies where the jokes come fast and the set pieces get sillier by the minute, and you're happy to laugh at the characters rather than with them.

Skip it if you need a plot or characters to invest in, since the story is a loose run of gags leaning on the same sexual punchlines.

What it asks of you: Eighty minutes, mostly brisk, with little patience for slow build-up; it wants you to switch off your expectations and let the chaos come.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Porky's1981

The gold standard of high-school sex comedies: faster, meaner, and far more inventive than its imitators. It influenced everything that came after, including this.

But The humour is aggressively juvenile and the attitudes toward women are, shall we say, of their era. It's also genuinely mean-spirited in ways that can wear thin.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High1982

A sex comedy that actually gives a damn about its characters. Warm, funny, beautifully cast, and it finds genuine moments between the comedic setpieces that make you care.

But It swings wildly between tones—some scenes are serious in ways that undercut the anarchic energy. Some viewers find that jarring.

Revenge of the Nerds1984

Similar era, similar DNA, but with a surprisingly affectionate core. It's dumb, but it's rooting for the underdogs, which gives it heart that *Screwballs* doesn't pretend to have.

But Once you see the formula—nerds triumph through tech and schemes—there's not much surprise left. The sexual politics haven't aged well either.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Screwballs

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Porky's Revenge1985

Same director, same universe, same commitment to the bit—but where *Screwballs* is pure chaos, *Revenge* adds narrative structure and shows what the series could be when it actually builds toward something.

The third film in the trilogy goes harder on plot than its predecessors—there's an actual revenge scheme involving a mystery villain—while keeping the anarchic energy intact. It's where the series finally has something to say beyond 'boobs are funny.'

But By the third instalment, the formula is utterly exhausted and the novelty is completely dead. It also loses the meaner edge that made the first two work, replacing it with something safer and softer.

Animal House1978

The blueprint for comedy chaos. It's got the same anything-goes energy and the same 'let's see what we can get away with' attitude, but John Belushi's performance gives it an unforgettable centre.

But It's now a comedy classic people feel obligated to like, which can make rewatching feel like homework. Some jokes land harder than others.

Zapped!1982

A goofy sci-fi sex comedy with Scott Baio as a teen who gets telekinetic powers. It's unambitious and completely fine with that, which is oddly liberating.

But It coasts on its single premise and doesn't develop it in any interesting direction. Also wildly pervy by today's standards, even for 1982.

Losin' It1983

Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, and pals head to Mexico to lose their virginity. It's got a road-trip momentum and genuine chemistry between the leads that keeps it afloat.

But The plot is thin and the whole thing feels like it's just waiting for the next sketch to start. Some jokes land on the wrong side of creepy.

The Last American Virgin1982

Surprisingly sweet coming-of-age story wrapped in a raunch-comedy package. It's genuinely touching underneath all the crudeness, with a terrific '80s soundtrack.

But The shift toward sentimentality near the end feels unearned. And the central romantic plotline involves a girl coming off an abortion, which the film handles clumsily.

Porky's II: The Next Day1983

More of the same as the original, which for fans is exactly the point. It's got the same anarchic energy and a genuinely funny subplot about a gun-toting widow.

But It's essentially a repeat of the first film without adding much new. The novelty factor is already gone, and diminishing returns set in fast.

Private School1983

Phoebe Cates is charming and there's a silly yacht-club-versus-boarding-school energy that's harmlessly dumb. It knows what it is and doesn't apologize for it.

But The humour is aggressively bland and repetitive. You'll spend long stretches just wishing someone would say something funny. It's a slog.

Up the Academy1980

Both are proudly formless comedies that value gags over narrative, and both were made by people who understood that teenage comedy didn't need to make sense as long as it made you laugh.

A deliberately anarchic sketch-comedy film that predates *Screwballs* and influenced it directly. It's even more chaotic, with fewer coherent scenes and more pure nonsense—genuinely weird in ways that caught studios off-guard.

But It barely has a plot and some sketches are aggressively unfunny. It was a box-office bomb for good reason. You might find yourself waiting for something to land.

Phantom of the Paradise1974

Both are 1970s-80s adolescent-comedy products that embrace the id over realism, but *Phantom* proves you can be trashy, unserious, and visually inventive all at once—a reminder that silly doesn't have to mean stupid.

A glam rock opera-horror-comedy that shouldn't work but absolutely does. Brian De Palma made something genuinely artful that's also wildly entertaining, nasty, and funny in unexpected ways.

But It's genuinely weird and the tonal shifts can be jarring—one moment it's a rock musical, the next it's a slasher. It demands patience and some comfort with strangeness.