In high school, four friends Zack (Zack Pearlman), Justin (Justin Kline), Jacob (Jacob Davich) and Matt (Matt Bennett) make a pact to get together and have a celebratory hit from a special bong when each of them loses their virginity (hence “The Virginity Hit”). They also document every aspect of their daily lives with video cameras and upload all of the funny and nerdy things that happen to them onto YouTube. We see Zack, Justin and Jacob quickly move into “manhood,” sitting around discussing their conquests. That just leaves Matt, the shy one of the group still left to finish off the pact.
Matt’s been dating Nicole (Nicole Weaver) for the past two years and they have been taking it slow. But just as Matt has finally decided to take their relationship to the next level, he hears some distressful rumors about Nicole’s unfaithfulness. Then, in an effort to get even, he plans a videotaped break on their anniversary. As you can guess, things go awry and Matt and his three amigos are then on the quest to help him lose his “V Card.” With lots of embarrassment, family drama, public ridicule, rejection from girls and even involvement from Matt’s favorite adult film star, this is sure to be a messy ride.
Directed by Huck Botko, a man who has specialized in short films, and produced by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay (the creators of “Funny or Die”), this coming-of-age tale is not like its predecessors. Although “American Pie” and “Super Bad” helped make the genre of a teen sex romp a hit, they are about the journey of the characters with lots of laughs in between. In the case of “The Virginity Hit,” we see the story through many different mediums of camcorders, camera phones and other recording devices and although the clarity of the videos differ, they all seem to have one purpose — to show the most intimate details of the characters private lives to the world through the internet and more specifically YouTube.
There are laughs constantly throughout the film. Most of them come at the expense of the main character, Matt. Showing us how his mother died of cancer and his dead-beat dad stole his college fund for drugs; I was more inclined to feel his pain in the videos then to laugh at them. Matt’s friends are trying to help heal his broken heart through getting him sex, but I ask myself “Would I want friends like that?” Made as a showcase for today’s youth and our connection to the online community, you just have to ask yourself, “Why would anyone allow their friends to put this on the internet?” Matt is too well-developed to be a punch line, although I did laugh a lot at the situations they got themselves into, and I could relate to a few, but the majority of the shenanigans that they found themselves in were pretty over the top and downright wrong.
Being raunchier and more sexually explicit in its dialogue and actions, “The Virginity Hit” mixes a teen comedy with more adult selections like “Knocked Up” and “Pineapple Express.” For instance, they go in search of Matt’s favorite porn star, Sunny Leone, and try to pay her to sleep with him. Also, in a drunken stupor, he tries to sleep with his adoptive sister Krysta (Krysta Rodriguez) and attempts to have a sexual rendezvous with an online girl that doesn’t end so well for him.
What I liked most was that there wasn’t a script — there was only an outline of what the scene needed to do and the young actors improvised the majority of the movie. This, in my opinion, is one of the hardest things to do, but they were able to make genuine dialogue of how today’s teens speak and act.
Most of the actors created likeable characters onscreen and it’s an entertaining movie overall, but this is not a movie for everyone. This is the “Blair Witch Project” of teen sex comedies and there is a certain type of movie aficionado who will like and appreciate the humor of this film.
Lastly, I will say that I am glad these types of low budget and independently-sponsored films are being made. Hopefully, one day there will be just as many of these in theaters as there are huge blockbusters and the movie-watching public will be able to expand their tastes.
“The Virginity Hit” opened in limited release Sept. 17 and will expand into more theaters Sept 24. It is rated R for: strong crude and sexual content, nudity, pervasive language, drug and alcohol use.
. . .
Follow Adam Poynter on Twitter at http://twitter.com/CCWGGuy.
I’m glad you took the hit, Adam, because I am afraid I won’t be.
Great review just from reading it I’d go see it if I haven’t already seen it =)