Losin' It (1983)

Director:

Curtis Hanson

Writer:

Bill L. Norton (screenplay)

Release Date:

22 April 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

They were boozin' it, brusin' it and cruisin' it, but mostly they were . . .

Plot:

Set in 1965, four rowdy teenage guys travel to Tijuana, Mexico for a night of partying when they are joined by a heartbroken housewife who is in town seeking a quick divorce.

Plot Keywords:

Teen Sex Comedy | Cult Favorite | Female Nudity | Cult Comedy | Lingerie Slip

Cast

Tom Cruise	...	Woody
Jackie Earle Haley	...	Dave
John Stockwell	...	Spider
John P. Navin Jr.	...	Wendell
Shelley Long	...	Kathy
Henry Darrow	...	Sheriff
Hector Elias	...	Chuey
Daniel Faraldo	...	Taxi Driver #1
Mario Marcelino	...	Pablo
Rick Rossovich	...	Marine
James Victor	...	Lawyer
Kale Browne	...	Larry
Enrique Castillo	...	Taxi Driver #2
Cornelio Hernandez	...	Big Guy in Jail
Hector Morales	...	Watch Seller

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Calexico, California, USA

Company:

Tiberius Film Productions

Trivia:

Released as "Porki 3" in Brazil to cash in on the success of "Porky's" and "Porky's 2".

Goofs:

Continuity: During the scene when Dave (Jackie Earle Haley) is flirting with the bar girl, her hand is wrapped around her cup. When Dave drops the Spanish Fly into her drink the cup is standing alone at the center of the table. In the next shot her hand is back around the cup again.

Quotes:

[Spider comes back with a condom]
Spider: I forgot my rubber.
Spider's Whore: Did you remember to bring your dick?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words (#20.6)" (2008)

Better than i thought it would be

Continuing on with my slow motion Johnny Stockwell Film Festival...

After having been burned rather badly in the previous entry in the JSFF with "City Limits" which was rather sloppily done, "Losin' It" has been a far superior entry. At least the story began and ran to its ending in a fairly coherent pattern. And that usually helps for watching. ;)

Here Johnny plays a character who really should have read Dale Carnegie's "How To Win Friends and Influence People" and applied its principles in his social interactions with other people. The fact that he didn't tends to lend his character ending up in uncomfortable situations that could have been avoided with him having at least some small degree of respect towards others.

Haley and Navin pretty much stole the movie with their characters undergoing their own respective shenanigans. Haley's character for being such an over-sexed idiot and Navin's character of Mr. Businessman always looking out on how to make a hefty financial profit if possible.

Probably Cruise's best role ever at playing someone who actually seems like a real and genuine person instead of a somewhat repulsive stereotype of one. While here his character isn't exactly Mr. Life Of The Party, his character is someone you might like to have among your own personal circle of friends as a pretty good and decent guy.

Passable production values. Passable storyline. Passable editing. An entertaining movie for its particular genre. I snickered here and there during watching it. At its intended comedy and at its unintended comedy during fight scenes where the actors were obviously being very careful not to actually hurt each other.