This movie was almost extremely entertaining. It started out bad. and I mean bad. I kept asking myself why every scene left me wanting more. Then they gave it to me, and I asked myself why I wanted more. Nevertheless, the movie does manage to draw you...kind of...to the plight of the protagonists. There were many areas for improvement, but you got what you came for with this movie: hot teen breasts and bad acting. It just fits(it is a movie about making pornos). This movie had the essentials for its genre. The girls were definitely hot. and that is basically the point of the movie I must remind you. Yes, the acting wasn't the best and the jokes were halfhearted and cheesy, but at least that's what the movie was going for. Cheap jokes + teen antics + 18 year old girls = alright in my book.
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mikael-damonk19 December 2006
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mattopul15 July 2006I was not planning on writing my first ever review for this movie, but the prior review kinda obliged me to do so after watching the movie. It is mildly entertaining at the very most and does not come close to other teenage or high school movies. Trust the average votes and not individual reviews.
Not a movie you will fully regret watching, but also nothing to write home about. It only contains maybe a handful of laughing out loud moments and that's that.
I would have given it a 4.5, but since that is not possible I'll give it a 5/10. -
Polaris_DiB6 March 2006Gross-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 clichéd, 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 -
johnnyboyz27 December 2008When I happened to stumble across this film, it was entitled Barely Legal and not After School Special. Truth is, the film is barely watchable and feels more like a drunken after dinner daydream than an after school special. Is there an audience for this sort of material? Are there people that will enjoy a film like Barely Legal? The film isn't really about anything as much as it is a documentation of producing pornography or the meek attempt at making pornography and all the hassle that it involves. What really grates, and this is an underlying theme, is that watching a really bad film is one thing but watching a really bad film about people attempting to make a really bad film within the universe of what we're seeing is just painful.
The film, a part of the National Lampoon series (whatever that is), was directed by David M. Evans (answers on a postcard as to what the 'M' might stand for) whose previous crimes against cinema include the 3rd and 4th Beethoven outings some years ago and who is also scheduled to direct the up and coming 'Ace Ventura Junior' film. That should be, if Jim Carrey sequels/prequels not starring Jim Carrey are anything to go by in the form of Son of the Mask and Dumb and Dumberer, utterly unwatchable at the very best.
This particular little travesty however follows three young American boys at high school as they attempt to feed off Tony Montana's ideation of 'getting the money, getting the power and getting the women'. Yeah, trouble is Tony Montana had nothing to do with making pornography and Barely Legal has nothing to do with chasing the American dream: it's just clueless, horny kids using porn as a front to get closer to girls. The film is fundamentally flawed in every retrospect. Any film entitled 'Barely Legal' which revolves around people making pornography and still manages to worm its way into a realm of the '15' certificate over here in Britain instead of the '18' certificate has to have done something cataclysmically wrong during the making process. Clearly, the BBFC deem it not all that bad in terms of gratuity and I just wonder if that was the certificate the makers were aiming for I doubt it.
The boys making the film are Deacon (von Detten); Fred (Denman) and Matt (Farber), three hapless individuals given mercilessly unfunny introductions about their relationships toward girls and some of their 'habits' when it comes to communicating with them. The film totally disregards women from the off but the sad fact is that's an absolute given in this genre. There is lots of slow motion, lots of hair flicking and cutesy smiling girls looking flirtatious although any sane viewer will just yawn at it all. At one point in the film, a character whilst making the porno exclaims something along the lines of "Women's points of view don't even matter in these sorts of movies" and he's sort of hit the nail on the head for all the wrong reasons when he says 'these sorts of movies', is it the real film actually recognising how rubbish it knows it is? If so then it's admitting it is rubbish; if not, then it's admitting to its blatant sexism right there.
I think when the people that wrote this actually finished it, they were twenty or so pages short of 90 odd minutes. Thus, the messy and dull narrative that opens up to do with Deacon loosing his friends as the project falls apart is silly and doesn't work; it feels thrown in and manufactured out of the primary story about kids wanting girls so they make porn. It's the overall idea I don't understand. When will people learn that pornography is not funny? When will people realise that films about pornography are not funny? Glimpses or very quick cuts of bras, nipples and so forth do-not-make-people-laugh, simple; they are an on screen visualisation of someone's fantasy writ down and writ large across the screen for others to see it's not funny and it's a waste of everyone's time.
IMDb has this film on its 'release dates' page opening at Cannes, in May 2003 it's one of those screenings at Cannes you just wish you were there for, purely for the reaction and the witnessing of the mass walkout I'm sure there was, that is of course if the fact it was shown there is true in the first place. Supposedly, Irreversible is the most walked out of film at Cannes ever, but that's only because no one was paying any attention to the screenings of this junk. Everywhere else, this was direct to DVD and the cast probably wanted it swept under the carpet for good measure. When the friendships have been broken down and patched up in doubly quick time, there's time for local porn king Vic Ramalot (Sanz) to waltz around in public complete with gun drawn hunting for the kids who he assumes to be up and coming rivals threatening his business. It really is that daft and that bad. -
hellfire_3016 August 2009I really don't know where to begin when describing a film of the calibur of Barely Legal(AKA After School Special). Describing it as a catalogue of errors does a dis-service to films that fall in that category - because usually although they failed spectacularly for various reasons, there's some evidence that they did so whilst trying to do something of note. You never really get the sense that anything was really attempted here.
National Lampoon, apparently meant something in the field of comedy at one stage in time, but I can't help but feel that it's reputation and stock nowadays is somewhat diminished given this showing. Barely Legal tells the story of 3 teenage guys who are inept with the girls and perpetually short on cash. Reasoning that they need money to get girls in the first place, they come across the idea of making their own porn film (not exactly an original concept). As preposterous as that sounds it's little in comparison with the casting. As well as conforming to the usual rule of anyone under thirty five could play a teenager in a fictionalised high-school setting, the leads are a somewhat strange combination. Two of the key characters are your typical geeky looking guys who for all intents and purposes you could perhaps see being in similar circumstances in real life. The other is what can only be described as Calvin Cline model. Taller and older looking, his presence on screen with his two co-actors is as striking as a pensioner at a rave - and twice as embarrassingly uncomfortable. It's quite obvious he's the one going to be getting the most screen attention, and inevitably the girls. It's a rather cynical Hollywood convention that's sadly both predictable as it is shallow.
The Worse is yet to come however - now I realise that woman in these sort of comedies don't often feature too prominently, marginalised often at best. But here the bar is very much raised in a way so distasteful that it's almost nauseating. Portrayed as unintelligent and personality-lacking is one thing, buts it's another to imply woman are simply a means to an end - one that I don't think needs elaborating. Add to this almost random flashes of nudity and you have the rotten cherry on top of a very putrid cake. I've really got to applaud the film in that regard though, if it can make a mostly apathetic laid back guy take up near feminist views on character portrayal, then it really must excel in it's field.
But the biggest question of all - I found myself wondering; is who exactly is this film suppose to be aimed at? A juvenile story and overall stupidity would make you assume youngsters but with soft-core porn scenes, nudity and masturbation jokes you find yourself at a loss to it's target audience. If you really want a teen sex-based comedy then you have a whole list of better alternatives; Superbad, American Pie and Road Trip to name but a few - comedies that actually had some substance to them as well as being a lot more humorous. With those in mind this shouldn't even register a passing glance. Barely Legal was meant for no one it would seem, and conveniently enough that is exactly what I would recommend. -
BOUSEN66 February 2003A total waste of film, time and money. I cannot think of another movie that was so excruciatingly bad that it hurt as much to watch as this hunk of crap. Not one redeeming thing about it and on top of that they have Horatio Sanz in it. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy crude humor, but there is nothing, absolutely nothing here! These writers, producers and director do not have a clue of what is funny. This is the most talent less piece of garbage ever! Please, oh please, avoid at ALL costs!
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the_shadows8 May 2006this film was meant to be a dumb comedy. the whole point is so that you laugh and are offended and think, "man this is stupid" all at the same time. i loved it. i thought it was hilarious, raunchy and dumb-funny. not a movie for kids, or people who are offended easily by crude sexual humor. the lead cast was decent, all except the stripper (she wasn't very convincing). the plot was so incredibly far fetched, thats what made it so funny and stupid at the same time. i mean come on, what kind of movie did you expect with tom arnold in it? it was exactly what i expected, and i am glad i rented it. also, its not a secret that national lampoon movies are almost always teenish sexfest movies these days. i think i have made it clear what kind of movie it is....love it or hate it, at least you know what to expect.
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ninoguapo30 September 2006This movie was just what I expected - nothing more , nothing less than a fun way to waste an hour and a half especially if you don't have anything else to do , or just don't feel like watching something more serious. For one thing I thought that it was really funny - and at the same time some of the scenes were hot but I guess you will have to be like the characters starring- a horny teenager or something to appreciate that. The soundtrack isn't anything special but you won't notice that if you don't pay attention to the music in the movies. To summarise it was one of the good comedies around there and if you enjoy movies such as "American Pie "you will enjoy this one as well.
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shaman196921 July 2006I totally disagree with the other review posted about this film.I really enjoyed this movie.I recently rented this movie on DVD and I thought it was funny and entertaining.Certainly better than American Pie 3:The Wedding.Erik Von Detten,Tony Denman and Daniel Farber who played the three main characters give impressive performances as three high school geeks who decide to make their own porno movie.I thought that Erik Von Detten who plays the part of Deakin Lewis was the best of the three. OK its certainly not in the same league as American Pie and American Pie 2 but it is a fun entertaining movie.See it if you enjoyed the movies Road Trip or Eurotrip.
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justusdallmer22 December 2006The movie should have been stupid, I know. But they did it too well. They included a lot of plot twists, of love affairs, of "Yes, let's do it" and "No, let's stop it", but those twists and ideas had no reasons, or seemed believable. This effect was even enhanced by plot holes: people jumping in and out of the story, characters jumping in different directions, scenes ending halfway, not going far enough. Even more disturbing were the three main characters: being so stupid that I hoped them to leave the film; the girls were too similar; the sex scenes had no sex; the boys kept their trousers on; everything was too ashamed. The only embarrassing thing was the lack of braveness and the missing logic.
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eyiinc9 September 2005Saw to movie in Europe very funny. Glad to see it's being released in the US. Expect fun, sexy humor along the lines of the first Duce Bigalo. It's filled with crude funny sex related humor. Go see it for what it is a funny laugh a minute movie. The cast in the movie works from Amy Smart to Vince Vieluf and Eric really make you laugh.
I thought that they should have kept the original title. National Lampoon's Barely Legal. I think that title would draw more box office attention to the movie.
There is a particularly funny part in the movie, with Vice Vieluf and a DDR game that made me chuckle. What I don't understand is why they took so long to release the movie in the US, after all it was made in 2003. -
kooleshwar23 October 2006Although most National Lampoon movies save for Van Wilder haven't been been any good in recent times, the tag-line and cover of this DVD proved just too tempting, and when faced between the choice of watching this and some Chick Flick Drama (Derailed i think)) the obvious choice was made.
However in view of the recent movies I automatically reduced my expectations and expected nothing more than a few laughs a bunch of hot nude women and nothing out of the ordinary.
And thats exactly what I got!!
Every thing about this movie is run-of-the-mill and formula based but when you factor in the target audience (ME and others like me who like to escape reality once in a while indulge in a bit of immature fun and fantasy) then the formula assures a decent product (Most of the Times).
This movie is pieced together using cast from other National Lampoon movies and the best part is apart from the women (who all look over 20-25) the guys look like they could still be in high school (or thereabouts).
Decent performances are given from everyone but Tom Arnold was completely wasted in this movie.
The jokes were formula based but some of them were hilarious and continued in the gross tradition of others, the monkey mating scene, the hairdresser scene, the 2-3 hilarious porn shoots were too good and make this movie worth the rent.
Other than that this movie is filled with loads of chuckles and the regular stuff such as the quest for true love, nerds becoming cool etc etc which was in fact handled so badly that any potential that his movie had was ruined. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT THE TEEN EMOTIONAL STUFF IS THE ONLY THING THAT BRINGS THIS MOVIE DOWN. Not because it there but because it been handled so badly.
The sound effects of this movie were actually quite good but there was no soundtrack to speak of.
A few people who stood out in this movie were Daniel Farber and Horatio Sanz as the hilarious Vic Ram-a lot.
Direction production etc was not really important but was decent.
Writing could have been way better in both the emotional and the comedy scenes but the emotional scenes were badly handled (comedy was good but not up-to its potential, teens in porn is full proof formula).
In all a funny movie with just a couple of scenes making the entire movie worth it.
However keep this movie in the Back-up list as it doesn't warrant a trip to the store on its own merit.(As always if you don't like such movies then don't rent them).
-s PATHETHIC EMOTIONAL SCENES, Tom Arnold wasted, Nothing out of the ordinary (as expected)
+/s meets lowered expectations, so so casting
+s a bunch of hilarious scenes, lots of chuckles, Vic Ramalot.
total 6/10 (absolute and factoring in expectations) -
westsidemon24 June 2007skip it...National Lampoon's continue trend to disappoint dates way back this film, Spring Break, Gold Diggers, please i'd rather not continue this list National Lampoon's used to stand for smart, sexy, outrageous comedy to me...what happened? i mean i did not laugh a smile once throughout this film if it can be called that anywho, hope things go up from this and other horrible films that should have never been made...TV Reality comes to mind...absolute garbage...i'd really rather see them try to make some quality films instead of trying to mass produce a bunch of junk, shoddy films with fancy looking covers and titles that don't deliver in anyway but just drag on same old tried jokes and progress in the same manner since the 90's...sorry National Lampoon, but this film, like many other unfortunate opportunities i've given due to the name, reputation, and heritage...well, looks like somewhere, somehow, something went terrible wrong
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bkoganbing18 December 2018Three dumb clucks in high school decide that the best way to get women is to become porn producers. So with computer equipment he got from parents Dey Young and Tom Arnold, Erik Von Detton and his two lunkhead buddies go into the porn business unbeknownst to the parents.
But they do get the attention of local porn magnate Horatio Sanz who does not like competition of any kind. And of course even though become wildly successful these three do run the risk of getting grounded as well.
This one is one of the dumber teen comedies out there. But there are some titillating scenes. -
baconbit6 April 2003This was not a great film, but to call this a rip off of Porn 'n Chicken is just laughable. First off, NO ONE is going to rip off ANYTHING that Comedy Central does. Not if they want to be in show business much longer. (It would be kind of like the Yankees ripping off the Devil Rays.) Second, this was filmed BEFORE Porn 'N Chicken. Yes, this movie was bad. But so was Porn 'n Chicken. If you go into EITHER of these movies expecting to be entertained, then you have no one to blame but yourself.
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wes-connors30 June 2015In a teaser, we see three young men hung up on meat hooks get their pants removed by a pornographic film actor. He orders castration. With your appetite wetted, our young star takes over as narrator to explain how this all began. Around his 17th birthday, good-looking blond Erik von Detten (as Deacon Lewis) is watching porn with his two nerdy pals. The trio agree the movie is terrible and decide to make one of their own. "Adult films by virgins, for virgins," is how Mr. Von Detten presents the idea. They think this will make a lot of money, leading to the purchase of a car and an end to their virginity. "American Pie" writer David H. Steinberg came up with this one. Tony Denman (as Fred) and Daniel Farber (as Matt) are marginally believable as virgins. One of director David M. Evans' better scenes is when the trio don computerized facial hair and go to the "Pretty Kitty" strip club to find a sexy female lead for their movie.
** National Lampoon's Barely Legal After School Special (2003) David M. Evans ~ Erik von Detten, Tony Denman, Daniel Farber, Sarah-Jane Potts -
SanteeFats20 May 2014A typical National Lampoon movie. Sex starved young men, some nudity,and it tries to be funny and generally succeeds. Three loser nerd types get the bright idea to produce a porn film. They go to a strip club and find a pretty hot stripper who will act in it. They try to find a stud who turns out to be a local high school hero. He turns out to not only have a small member but is prone to premature ejaculation. So they have to find another boy toy. Continuing to try and film they have problems all along the line. The most manly of the three hooks up with Amy Smart, what a lucky guy. Later on the idiot dumps her. The reputation for all three gets bruited about the school. At the end of the film this leads to some of the high school girls going after two of the guys and the third hooks up with his old girl friend. Don't really know what happens to Amy's character or the porn star wanna be Ashley but this is not a bad show all in all.
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dmevans14 February 2003I've seen it (at a preview). It's hilarious. It's worth the money I'm gonna spend to see it again when it comes out in the theaters! The audience, and this was a recruited audience which are the toughest audiences to please bar none, FREAKED OUT during the whole movie. They loved it. They gave it a standing ovation at the end... you HAVE to stay to the end past the credits because there's a huge joke that you don't wanna miss.