Orgazmo: Unrated Special Edition DVD Review

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Title: Orgazmo: Unrated Special Edition

Region: One

Genre: Comedy

Stars: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Dian Bachar, Robyn Lynne, Michael Dean Jacobs, Ron Jeremy, Juli Ashton, Chasey Lain, Shalya Laveaux, and Lloyd Kaufman

Writer: Trey Parker

Director: Trey Parker

Theatrical Version Feature length: 93 minutes

Unrated Version Feature Length: 95 minutes

Extras: Three Audio Commentary Tracks, Deleted Scenes, “The Book Of Orgazmo” Documentary, Behind-The-Scenes Featurette, Interviews, Outtakes, Trailers, and Photo Gallery

Languages: English Dolby Surround Sound

Subtitles: English Captions and French and Spanish Language Subtitles

Packaging: Keep Case

Chapter Stops: 12

Sound: Dolby Surround Sound

Year of Theatrical Release: 1998/DVD Release: 2005

Home Video Distributor: Universal Studios Home Entertainment

MPAA Rating: NC-17/Not Rated

Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera

It is fitting in a way to bookend my review of Showtime Entertainment’s “Family Business: The Complete Second Season” with Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s “Orgazmo: Unrated Special Edition” because in a way both present a skewed view of what the Adult Film Industry is like, but reality television is as much about drama as fiction is, much like when one reads an autobiography and must understand that what they are reading is one person’s point of view and not necessarily a true historical document. The same can be said about just about anything we experience in life I suppose because in the end we each have our own personal experience of what life is and obviously that differs from person to person throughout time. Yet in the end when people go back and look at old films, TV shows, books, newspaper articles and now internet posts, they will be left with only an impression that will define how they perceive something. Thus when I think of the cliché “Life imitates art and art imitates life,” I think a third line should be added because more and more from my point of view it seems to be true and that is “Art defines life.” Granted it is all highly subjective and who is to say that Robert Altman’s big screen adaptation of “The Player” is more accurate than Trey Parker’s juvenile comedy “Orgazmo” or Adam Glasser’s reality series “Family Business” for that matter? In the end we can never know for certain unless we experience it for ourselves and even then it’s all really a perception of reality as subjective as someone trying to answer the question “What is the Matrix?”

I can guess that some of you are asking yourselves, “Well yeah, but what’s with all the philosophical crap when I came here to read a DVD review?” because as I am writing this I am asking myself the same question. The truth is (from my point of view) that I am amazed at what a difference even a little time can make. When I first saw “Orgazmo” on video years ago I thought it was an inept comedy at best. Even today I see the little turkey image next to it in home video guides, but now for some reason I think it is at the very least inspired of not borderline brilliant. The film still has a few flaws, which Writer and Director Trey Parker will point out in a sobering moment in the feature length “Drunken Commentary” that is included on this DVD, but there is something about it that I find hilarious. For a film that spoofs the adult film industry and caused some public controversy upon the initial theatrical release, “Orgazmo” seems rather innocent. Following up on their previous cult success “Cannibal The Musical,” Matt Stone and Trey Parker had not yet created their biggest success to date, the hit Comedy Central animated series “South Park,” and I am guessing they were still largely unknown at the time at least to mainstream Hollywood.

I add to this some interview clips and comments I have heard Parker and Stone give and despite whatever public persona these guys might give out, I have to say that I think these guys are a lot more insightful than one might give them credit for. For example, in the feature length “Drunken Commentary” Parker will parody filmmakers who take their work a bit too seriously by hamming up the DVD commentary, but in between the satire he does give valid points regarding story structure in a film and I think he is absolutely right. Personally the standout in the film is not the porn starlets playing… “porn starlets,” but rather it is Dian Bachar, who plays Orgazmo’s sidekick on and off the film within the film. The guy is hilarious and he’s even hilarious on the commentary when he gets frustrated at Parker and Stone teasing him and curses at them. During the “Drunken Commentary” the participants are supposed to be taking a drink every time the word “Jesus” is said in the film since Parker’s character is supposed to be a Mormon who unwittingly becomes an adult film superhero both on and off screen in the movie. It is suggested in the Cast Commentary that if you don’t have a drink then you should remove an article of clothing while watching the film.

It is also interesting to note how the faces of adult films have changed in the last few years if one compares Showtime’s “Family Business” to “Orgazmo” or just looks at the Adult On Demand channel on their cable or satellite provider. While some people are still around and probably will be forever, others have moved on to who knows where? It just amazes me to see how quickly the faces change not just in adult films, but in other industries like the music business and so on. “Orgazmo” features appearances and cameos by adult film stars Ron Jeremy, Chasey Lain, Juli Ashton, Shalya Laveaux, Jill Kelly, Max Hardcore, Jeanna Fine, Jaclyn Lick, Melissa Hill, Kristy Lake, and Serenity among others.

For whatever the reasons have been, this DVD edition of “Orgazmo” was delayed for awhile so not surprisingly some of the comments made by the filmmakers are a bit dated, but for the quality of the extra features alone, I would have to state that Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s “Orgazmo: Unrated Special Edition” is a must-purchase for fans of the film and one of the best special edition DVD releases I’ve seen released so far this year, even if it was originally supposed to be released a few years back. In addition to the Drunken Commentary, there is a Cast Commentary with Lloyd Kaufman, Shalya Laveaux, and others and then there is the Wild Commentary with the South Park writing staff, Weird Al Yankovic, and Kevin Smith, which at times is pretty hard to follow and was the least enjoyable of the three for me. “Orgazmo” is presented in a bright anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) aspect ratio with an English Dolby Surround Soundtrack and English Captions for the hearing impaired as well as French and Spanish Language Subtitles. The commentary tracks are only available as an option for the theatrical version of the film, which is just two minutes shorter than the unrated version. Before the 1960s “Batman” TV series style animated main menu runs, a reel of preview trailers that include “Half Baked: Fully Baked Special Edition”, “Seed Of Chucky”, “Assault On Precinct 13” and “Unleashed” appears (6:08).

The balance of the extra value materials are on the flip side of the DVD and they include a hilarious reel of deleted scenes (29:21) made funnier by the optional audio commentary track provided, the retrospective documentary “Legend Of Orgazmo” (39:10), an interview with Trey Parker at Dragon Con (33:46), the theatrical trailer (2:13), and original 16mm trailer (3:38) as well as a reel of outtakes (41:41), behind-the-scenes video (17:47), EPK interview clips (7:56), and an onscreen still photo gallery. All of the interactive menus are well rendered and easy to navigate too.

“Orgazmo: Unrated Special Edition” will debut on DVD-Video on Tuesday, March 29, 2005 at retailers on and offline courtesy of Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

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