G.O.R.P. (1980)
#147 of the 150 Movies of 1980
Gross, Offensive, Rude, and Pathetic, G.O.R.P. is a 1980 summer camp comedy film from filmmaker Joseph Ruben and American International Pictures. It's such a horrible movie that it was actually the final AIP production, complete with offensive and unfunny humor galore. Yet it still manages to come out more coherent than Terror on Tour, and it's got an actual plot, unlike Serial. Albeit a dumb one.
Good Ol’ Raisins and Peanuts, yeah that's what it actually means, stars actors Michael Lembeck and Philip Casnoff, the sometimes funny Dennis Quaid, and the queen on the scene, Fran Drescher, in only her second role. Just a few years before This Is Spinal Tap. And it was released to theaters nationwide on May 1st, 1980.
Get ready for a zany romp where the kooky camp counselors of a Jewish summer camp in the Catskills turn the summer upside down. Led by the prankster duo of Kavell and Bergman (Lembeck & Casnoff), the teens wage war on the cooks, chase after girls, and make life miserable for the camp director. Every corny cliché is present: food fights, skinny dipping, drugs, and enough '80s raunchiness to make you blush. It's sort of like a carbon copy of Meatballs without the passable comedy.
You would expect a few chuckles or laugh-out-loud jokes, but the film is just not that funny. The slapstick is awful, and the dialogue is about as tropey as can be. But there is a charm—a very small charm that probably lies in the David Huddleston cameo alone. I mean, hell, it’s always a pleasure to see The Big Lebowski himself on screen. And it’s great to see Kavell run down Walrus (Huddleston). And it was cool to see Rosana Arquette as one of the girl campers.
Should you save this one from shelf rot? I don't really see why. I find it to be beyond salvage. It’s hard to find, the comedy isn’t very funny, the subject matter is out of touch, and it’s a rip-off of a far better film. A ton of marks against it. Some casual viewers may be turned off by the rampant sexual misconduct, rape, and assault cases, case after case. But it’s okay because they are all played for chuckles. The eighties was funny in that way. Check it out if you have to.
GORP
First Screening: May 1st, 1980
RottenPop Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ (1 Star) Beyond Salvage
Director: Joseph Ruben
Writers: Jeffrey Konvitz & A. Martin Zweiback
Starring: Michael Lembeck, Dennis Quaid, and Fran Drescher
Studios: Independent
Country: USA
Genres: Slapstick Camp Comedy