Homework — Homework(Blu Ray)
Homework sells itself as an out-and-out sex comedy, but the reality is it's a teen drama with one or two moments of light softcore- though sadly there is very little amusing about the whole thing. The early 80’s film was sold off the back of Joan Collins, as a teen grabbing cougar- though her part is fairly small. Here from Unearthed Films is a recent Blu-Ray release of the film- with a few extras.
Homework ( aka Growing Pains, Short People) is a US production from 1982. It was the only film helmed by James Beshears- who is most known for his work as a sound editor- having fifty-five credits to his name taking in the likes of Purple Rain (1984), Witches Of Eastwick (1987), and The Fugitive (1993).
The film opens with us being introduced to our lead shaggy-blond-haired teen Tommy (Michael Morgan). He’s working on his maths homework, but he pushes this aside to look at a centre fold- and we get one of the first of few flashback/fantasy scenes- as we see the woman in the centre fold being photographed on a bed by two men.
As we into the film we meet Tommy’s best buddy the frizzy-haired Ralph( Lanny Horn)- he smokes pot with him, glances through the girl's changeroom vent, and the film's main/ lead focus forms a band together.
Added into the mix we have the other band members like Cookie (Renee Harris) whose cop dad doesn’t want him to play. There’s obsessed with swimming Sheila( Erin Dovan), whose mum is Diane(Joan Collins)- she has a few flashbacks to her own teen sexual encounters.
It’s fair to say Homework can’t make up its mind what it wants to be. Is it a teen drama?, a music-focused drama?, or an unfunny sex comedy?. The films poster artwork sees Collins on a ladder with Tommy- though this scene only takes up a few minutes of the film- with he & her only having one encounter- and it’s easy to see why Collins tried to get her name off the film, as it poster/ publicity suggests something very different from what it is.
Most of the press/ reviews of the film are very negative, and while it’s not the most evenly directed/ paced film, some of the acting is far from great, and the whole misleading elements of the film. I found it entertaining enough for what it was a teen drama, with light softcore moments- nothing amazing/ world-changing- but ok if you enjoy 80’s drama, with a few fleshy moments.
This region-free Blu-Ray features a good enough scan of the film- not sure if it’s had an HD polish-up, but it looks just fine. On the extras side we have just one main thing Interview with the film’s producer Max Rosenberg(27.20) we find out he paid Collins $25,000 for her role- just before she went onto Dynasty. He briefly discusses the rest of the cast, he calls the director untalented, and says it was an undisciplined production. We found out he bankrolled the whole thing. He talks about the controversy regarding some of the poster art- where Collin’s head was stuck on another woman’s body. He mentions the LA locations, how the film ended up not being what he wanted, and how it took two years for him to pay off the film labs. It’s an interesting enough interview, and while Rosenberg is an elderly man now- he still has a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
Otherwise, we get a gallery of poster art/ stills, where we get to see some of the rather dodgy/exploitative art mentioned in the interview. And there’s an original trailer.
In finishing with Homework- you most certainly can’t judge the film by its cover/ promotion- as this isn’t an out-and-out sex comedy, and Collin’s is not the lead player in the film's story. Instead, it’s a teen drama with light touches of flesh & smut.