Sex Drive (Unrated and Cream-Filled) – Blu-ray Review

Warning: This film is now more ruder, cruder and nuder than the theatrical version, and man, are they not kidding. You got to commend the chutzpah of a release that actually lives up to its 'Unrated' label and this is the rare case where there are two different cuts of a movie with each having a separate entertainment dynamic.

The film isn't great by any means but it's a dang good example of a genre that was introduced by 'Porky's' and critically accepted via John Hughes. Director Sean Anders and co-writer John Morris are not trying to reinvent the teen sex comedy wheel here but offer up a laugh-filled, sight-gag homage to it's B-movie 80s counterparts like 'Losin' It', 'Mischief' and particularly 'The Last American Virgin'.

Based on a novel by Andy Behrens, 'All the Way’, which I’ve never heard of, the film probably couldn't get any farther away from the 'literary adaptation' classification but there it is anyway. The plot revolves around the usual retarded shenanigans of a virgin attempting to lose his virginity by any inexplicable means necessary and as you could probably guess by the goofy title, it involves a road trip...Ian (Josh Zuckerman) is a good-hearted, 18-year old nerd who suffers at a mall job that requires him to dress up as a donut all the while suffering the added indignity of being a virgin. Heck, even his 14-year old brother seems to be getting some, with a girl Ian kinda likes and works with no less. Meeting an online hook-up 'Ms. Tasty' who flirts and shows him a picture of her in a bikini (yeah, right...), the naive Ian sets up a meeting with her for "guaranteed sex".One small problem: she's in Knoxville, Tennessee and he's in Chicago. What's a nerdy dude to do? Steal his d-bag older brother's '69 GTO Judge, of course, and head south with lothario best bud Lance (Clark Duke) and Goth gal pal Felecia (Amanda Crew) who he has harbored a crush on for years. This being a 'sex drive', there will be misadventures aplenty including a trailer-trash chick Lance picks up along with the requisite jealous redneck boyfriend, a peculiarly sarcastic Amish group with a surprise knowledge of Automobile mechanics and a 'Trapper Keeper' sports car who keep challenging them to a race. But all in the name of getting a virgin laid. Will Ms. Tasty turn out to be the hot blonde?

So, yeah, the machinations of the plot are ridiculous but suitably so; we're dealing with a broad sex comedy after all. You just take in one set-piece at a time and try not to worry about little things like reason and accountability. Some jokes miss the mark to be sure, but most work due to the affable nature of the three leads and great supporting work by the bigger names James Marsden and Sean Green, as the d-bag older brother and sarcastic Amish mechanic respectively.James Marsden seems to be particularly enjoying his role as Rex, the verbally and physically abusive older brother who lets the homophobic expletives fly in a cut-off sweatshirt and jams. As far as obnoxious older brothers go in the teen sex comedy, Marsden lands second only to Bill Paxton in 'Weird Science'. A bit too long - the theatrical runs 109 minutes with the unrated running 129 - the middle portion could be trimmed a bit but the film stays consistently funny. Now to discuss the two cuts in which I strongly suggest watching both starting with the theatrical (still R-rated) cut. This is, of course, the 'real' film and is entertaining on all the levels I suggested above. The 'Unrated' cut, however, is a different beast all together. Seemingly made as a big joke, I suggest a drinking game for this cut, which ups the "tit and testicle" factor considerably. All throughout the unrated version, naked girls (and guys) will appear at random, generally out of context and done via greenscreen. Usually inserted in funky ways, there are also different versions of scenes, outtakes and improv all working in tandem to provide one heck of a party view if watching it in the right mood with the right people along with the right liquor. The 1.85:1 1080p MPEG4 encode is as sharp and detailed as one would expect from a new release and despite a comparably low-budget, you won't see any evidence of that in the transfer. The 'unrated' cut, of course, has intentionally varying degrees of footage. A DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 track is provided and again fits the bill nicely as there's nothing too demanding here. In addition to the two cuts of the film, we also get a commentary featuring filmmakers Anders, Morris and producer Bob Levy who have an appropriately rowdy time discussing the film. The 'unrated' cut scores an intro warning users of what to expect and we finish off with three featurettes: a Making-of, 'The Marsden Dilemma' a tongue-in-cheek look at Marsden supposedly playing himself and 'Clark: Duke of the Internet' which takes a look Clark Duke's internet series 'Clark and Michael' that also includes Michael Cera. Not a great film, per se, or even a very good one. But people raised on 80s teen cheese will find a lot to enjoy here and with Summit offering a great Blu-ray package with cool menus, solid video, audio and two cuts of a film that are entertaining in different ways, this comes as an easy recommend for the right audience. And yep, I'm talking to you Mom.