Customer Reviews

National Lampoon's Barely Legal

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is perhaps the greatest National Lampoon movie ever. Or, at the very least, it's tied with VAN WILDER and the original VACATION. NL has made a few lame movies, but this one is one of the most worthwhile.

This DVD takes you back to high school, when everything about sex was veiled in mystery. Hormones were out-of-control, it took very little to put you in a frenzy and for the life of you, you couldn't figure out what was going on.

As a catharsis to these newfound emotions (and to make a little $$ along the way), 3 high school kids go about to make their own porn movie. Their angle? Porn movies made by virgins - FOR virgins!

One would think that the logistics of making a porn movie would not be too difficult. Ironically, they have no problem finding the girl (played wonderfully by Sara Jane Potts) and equipment. The hard part is finding a suitable guy(!) and actually filming a scene without wrecking the equipment and constantly bickering about the "artistic tone."

The result is a hilarious story. Thrown in for good fun is a veteran porn star who doesn't like a bunch of "kids" encroaching on his turf. He bears a remote resemblance to Ron Jeremy, and some of his antics seem to suggest that Jeremy is whom they're alluding to.

Much like VAN WILDER, this is a feel-good party movie. Sometimes, after a long work week, feel-good party movies are the best possible movie on the DVD menu!

Gross-out comedy.

Have you seen American Pie? Of course you have, everyone has. Have you seen National Lampoon's other stuff? Of course you have, everyone has. Have you seen Animal House? Of course--wait... wait... I caught a large portion of it on the television but I haven't seen all of it. Well that's okay, I got the point.

Did you like those films?

Well, whichever way you answer the above question will determine what your enjoyment of this film will be like. I myself don't really think those films are THAT BAD, they're just not THAT GOOD. That wonderfully politically correct way of saying that this film was pure fluff but I laughed anyway.

Well I didn't necessarily laugh, but it was amusing. I think if it weren't for the fact that the father figure tries to pull a Eugene Levy, the stupid high school bully is trying to be a Stifler, and sometimes the characters seem to do things that not only don't fit with their character in the film, but don't match anything that happens in real life, this would be a pretty good movie.

Even despite those details (which are actually minor in the way they were presented), the film does its job and does it right. The overall structure is cliched, but mostly the tone isn't. Scenes like the porno actress having dinner with the family when the girlfriend walks in, or the fact that said girlfriend isn't what he's looking for in the first place, stuff like that is enough to relax and enjoy the film if you're willing to not worry too much about wasting your time.

I would have to say that, if anything, the whole competitor storyline and all that Scarface stuff really got to me the most, considering I find the Scarface dream to be an utterly banal and hideous allusion for everyone to always make, and the competitor was just kind of stupid overall.

--PolarisDiB

Pleasant movie but not as funny as I'd hoped for. Seems that all the movies bearing the National Lampoon stamp are not very funny. It's a shame that NatLamp has fallen on such hard times but its heydey was the '70's through the early '80's so this level of mediocrity is no surprise.

I liked it and saw it many times. the young beautiful women (like Amy Smart) and story made it interesting and funny.

Recommend this movie for adult viewing due to some adult content.
This is a fun and funny adolescent type movie.

I saw this movie a few times, it had some funny moments. Really it was just one of thoses try to remake of another movie just like The Girl Next Door. But I would not say this was the best one made, but the Girl next door was better and had a better plot that involves high buddies making a porn movie but the one guy actually gets to know the porn star and more funny stuff happens along the way in the girl next door. I thought this movie was really another stupid take on it. So What I am saying this one was ok, but there are better NL movies out there, and no one can replace the Vacation favorites....

DVD was hilarious.
DVD arrived in a very timely fashion.
DVD arrived in excellent condition.

Okay, so it's not Schindler's List, but if you like American Pie or Porky's, this is a funny movie with a lot of laughs.