Editing Orgazmo

{{short description|1997 film by Trey Parker}}
{{for|the 1969 Italian film|Orgasmo}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Infobox film
| image = Orgazmoposter.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[Trey Parker]]
| producer = {{Plainlist|
* [[Matt Stone]]
* [[Jason McHugh]]
* [[Fran Rubel Kuzui]]
}}
| writer = Trey Parker
| starring = {{Plainlist|
* Trey Parker
* Matt Stone
* [[Dian Bachar]]
* Robyn Lynne
* Michael Dean Jacobs
}}
| music = [[Paul Robb]]
| cinematography = Kenny Gioseffi
| editing = {{Plainlist|
* Michael R. Miller
* Trey Parker
}}
| production_companies = Avenging Conscience<ref name=afi>{{cite web|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/61496|title=Orgazmo (1998)|work=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]]|access-date=March 17, 2021}}</ref>
| distributor = [[October Films]]<ref name=afi/>
| released = {{Film date|1997|9|6|[[1997 Toronto International Film Festival|Toronto]]|1998|10|23|United States}}
| runtime = 94 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 94:25--><ref>{{cite web|title=''ORGAZMO'' (18)|url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/orgazmo-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zmde0mzy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310105618/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/orgazmo-1970-0|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 10, 2015|work=[[British Board of Film Classification]]|access-date=2013-06-19}}</ref>
| country = United States<ref name=afi/>
| language = English
| gross = $602,302<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3412493825/weekend/ | title=Orgazmo (1998) | work=[[Box Office Mojo]] | publisher=[[Internet Movie Database]] | date=November 26, 1998 | access-date=July 28, 2015}}</ref>
}}
'''''Orgazmo''''' is a 1997 American [[Superhero film|superhero]] [[sex comedy]] film written, directed and edited by [[Trey Parker]] and produced by [[Matt Stone]], [[Jason McHugh]], and [[Fran Rubel Kuzui]]. It stars Parker, Stone, [[Dian Bachar]], Robyn Lynne, and Michael Dean Jacobs. The plot follows Joe Young (Parker), a devout [[Mormon]] missionary who, to pay for his and his fiancée's dream wedding and home, acts in a [[pornographic film]] as the superhero Orgazmo with his side-kick Choda Boy (Bachar).

==Plot==
[[Missionary (LDS Church)|Mormon missionary]] Joseph Young, assigned with his mission partner to [[Los Angeles]], finds the city to be a hostile and unenthusiastic place for their work. The problems worsen when they knock on the door of sleazy porn director Maxxx Orbison and several security guards are sent to dispose of them. Joe defeats them all singlehandedly with a variety of [[martial arts]] skills. Impressed by his performance and bored by his current project's lead actor, Orbison attempts to hire Joe to play the title character and lead of his pornographic superhero film, ''Orgazmo''. Joe is conflicted because of his religious beliefs, but the $20,000 salary offered would pay for a wedding in the temple in [[Utah]] where his fiancée Lisa has expressed a strong desire to wed. After learning that a [[stunt cock]] would stand in for him during explicit close-up scenes, Joe reluctantly accepts despite being given a very clear sign from God to refuse.

Joe finds the crew of the film intimidating but befriends co-star Ben Chapleski, a technical genius and [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]] alumnus who works in the pornographic industry to satiate his overactive libido. He plays Orgazmo's sidekick Choda Boy, who assists Orgazmo with specially designed [[sex toys]], including Orgazmo's signature weapon, the Orgazmorator, a ray gun that forces orgasm upon whomever it is fired. Ben invites Joe to his home and shows Joe a real Orgazmorator he has built, and he and Joe spend an evening using it on unsuspecting citizens for amusement.

At a sushi bar owned by Ben's Japanese friend G-Fresh, the two witness a group of thugs vandalizing the bar to force out G-Fresh so their dance club next door can expand. Later, when Ben and Joe are gone, G-Fresh is coerced to leave after the same thugs assault him. Upon finding this out, Joe and Ben don costumes and use their film props and the Orgazmorator to sneak into the club and steal back the contract G-Fresh was forced to sign. Joe is agitated after nearly being shot in the head, but Ben is excited by being a real superhero.

''Orgazmo'' becomes an amazing success, both financially and critically, and Orbison withholds Joe's paycheck to keep him in town long enough to announce a sequel. Tempted by a doubled salary, Joe is confronted by Lisa, who has found out what he has been doing and leaves him. Facing production difficulties and harassment from Orbison's unsympathetic nephew A-Cup, Joe tries to back out of the project, but Orbison refuses. When Joe stands up to him, Orbison has Lisa kidnapped. Ben realizes the thugs who assaulted G-Fresh work for Orbison, and he joins Joe in storming Orbison's mansion before Lisa can be forced to perform in one of Orbison's films.

Fighting through Orbison's group of henchmen, Joe and Ben meet their match in A-Cup. Joe encourages Ben to unleash his long-[[Repressed memory|repressed]] Hamster Style discipline of martial arts, allowing Ben to beat A-Cup. After repairing his damaged Orgazmorator, Joe repeatedly shoots Orbison with it, incapacitating him and capturing all the henchmen. Ben blows up the mansion with another device, the "Cock Rocket", destroying Orbison's base of operations. Joe and Lisa reconcile, and she gives him her blessing to remain in Los Angeles and continue being a hero alongside Ben.

A doctor tells Orbison that after so many orgasms in a row, his testicles have swollen to the size of oranges, and surgical removal is the only option. A now insane Orbison declares revenge on Orgazmo and becomes the personification of A-Cup's character, who is immune to the Orgazmorator: Neutered Man.

==Cast==
{{Div col|colwidth=25em}}
* [[Trey Parker]] as Joe Young/Orgazmo
* [[Dian Bachar]] as Ben Chapleski/Choda Boy
** Robert Lansing as Young Ben
* Robyn Lynne Raab as Lisa
* Michael Dean Jacobs as Maxxx Orbison
* [[Matt Stone]] as Dave The Lighting Guy
* Masao Maki as G-Fresh
* [[Toddy Walters]] as Georgi
* [[Ron Jeremy]] as Clark/Jizzmaster Zero
* David Dunn as A-Cup/Neutered Man
* [[Chasey Lain]] as Candi
* [[Juli Ashton]] as Saffi
* [[Shayla LaVeaux]] as Greek Porn Actress
* [[Jill Kelly (actress)|Jill Kelly]] as Nurse
* [[Lloyd Kaufman]] as Doctor
* [[Max Hardcore]] as Award Show Presenter
* [[Christi Lake]]
* [[Jeanna Fine]]
* Jacklyn Lick
* Mike Eaton as Meatfish
* [[Melissa Hill]]
* [[Serenity (actress)|Serenity]]
{{Div col end}}

==Release==
''Orgazmo'' premiered at the [[Toronto International Film Festival]] in 1997.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19981023/2779157/orgazmo-porn-story-of-corrupted-innocence-fumbles-is-repetitious|title='Orgazmo': Porn Story Of Corrupted Innocence Fumbles, Is Repetitious|last=Hartl|first=John|work=[[The Seattle Times]]|date=October 23, 1998|access-date=July 30, 2018}}</ref> The [[Motion Picture Association of America]] gave the film an [[Motion Picture Association film rating system#X replaced by NC-17|NC-17]] rating, resulting in a very [[limited release]] in the US.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/1998/film/news/mpaa-orgazmo-stays-nc-17-1117481204/|title=MPAA: 'Orgazmo' stays NC-17|last=Cox|first=Dan|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=October 8, 1998|access-date=July 30, 2018}}</ref> An unrated version was released on the two-sided DVD set along with the theatrical version; it is two minutes shorter than the original 94-minute release. The film was released via [[Blu-ray]] on May 12, 2015. This includes both versions of the film and all the features from the DVD.

==Critical reception==
As of September 2022, the review-aggregation website [[Rotten Tomatoes]] gave the film a score of 48% and an average rating of 4.90/10 based on 33 reviews. The website's critical consensus read: "More juvenile than provocative, ''Orgazmo'' may have enough good-natured raunch to satisfy writer-director Trey Parker's fans, but its satire is too soft to compete with the ''South Park'' co-creator's best work."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/orgazmo?name_order=asc |title=Orgazmo  |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=September 18, 2020}}</ref> As of September 2020, the film had a score of 48 out of 100 on [[Metacritic]] based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".<ref>{{cite web|title=Orgazmo (1998)|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/orgazmo/|website=[[Metacritic]]|access-date=September 18, 2020}}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]] gave the film half a star out of four, arguing that ''Orgazmo'' had little of the clever wit Parker and Stone brought to ''South Park'' and calling it "callow, gauche, obvious and awkward, and designed to appeal to those with similar qualities".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/orgazmo-1998 |title=Orgazmo |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=October 23, 1998 |work=[[Chicago Sun Times]] |access-date=June 4, 2010}}</ref> On the other hand, [[James Berardinelli]] gave the film three out of four stars, calling it "crude, rude, profane, and funny" and the kind of movie that makes "for a great event at parties".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://preview.reelviews.net/movies/o/orgazmo.html |title=Orgazmo |last=Berardinelli |first=James |date= |work=[[ReelViews]] |access-date=June 4, 2010}}</ref>

''Orgazmo'' has been deemed a [[cult film]],<ref>{{cite news|last1=Robinson|first1=Tasha|title=Orgazmo: Unrated Special Edition|url=https://www.avclub.com/orgazmo-unrated-special-edition-1798200625|access-date=April 8, 2018|work=[[The A.V. Club]]|date=April 26, 2005}}</ref> mostly by fans of ''[[South Park]]'', which Parker and Stone subsequently released to critical acclaim.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Olson|first1=Christopher J.|title=100 Greatest Cult Films|year=2018 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]]|location=United States|isbn=9781442208223|page=34}}</ref> Its reception and [[Motion Picture Association of America film rating system|rating]] by the [[MPAA]] is discussed in the 2006 documentary ''[[This Film Is Not Yet Rated]]''.

==See also==
{{Portal|Film|Latter Day Saint movement}}
* ''[[Bat Pussy]]''
* ''[[Flesh Gordon]]''
* [[Portrayals of Mormons in popular media]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0124819|Orgazmo}}

{{Trey Parker and Matt Stone}}

[[Category:1990s English-language films]]
[[Category:1990s parody films]]
[[Category:1990s satirical films]]
[[Category:1990s sex comedy films]]
[[Category:1990s superhero comedy films]]
[[Category:1997 comedy films]]
[[Category:1997 films]]
[[Category:American satirical films]]
[[Category:American sex comedy films]]
[[Category:American superhero films]]
[[Category:Erotic fantasy films]]
[[Category:Films about pornography]]
[[Category:American independent films]]
[[Category:1997 independent films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Trey Parker]]
[[Category:Films produced by Matt Stone]]
[[Category:Films set in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Trey Parker]]
[[Category:Mormonism in fiction]]
[[Category:Rogue (company) films]]
[[Category:Works about Mormon missionaries]]
[[Category:Works by Trey Parker and Matt Stone]]
[[Category:1990s American films]]
[[Category:Metafictional works]]
[[Category:English-language independent films]]
[[Category:English-language action comedy films]]
[[Category:English-language sex comedy films]]