THE VIRGINITY HIT DVD review

A bizarre mix of Jackass-style documentary and American Pie, this new teen sex comedy is now out on DVD. Watch the trailer and read my review, next...

Produced by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's production company, this mock documentary follows the story of the shy and geeky Matt as he tries to keep up with his friends and lose his virginity. After blowing his chance with his long time girlfriend Nicole, Matt's friends try to assist him in finding a willing girl to deflower him, filmed along the way by Matt's adoptive brother Zack.


Don't immediately write this one of as childish crap, as there's a lot more depth to it than you'd expect. Firstly, at its core is a sweet and complex relationship between two brothers on the look out for one another. Zack may be using Matt's situation to create his magnum opus of teen sex, but ultimately just wants to see his brother happy. Secondly, it makes great use of the fake documentary style that's been used so much of late, creating a believable facade that leaves Joaquin Phoenix's I'm Still Here looking about as real as an episode of Arrested Development.


I went into The Virginity Hit knowing it was fake (they made no secret of its origins when marketing the film), but still found myself doubting what I'd been told. The line between scripted features and documentaries may have become blurred recently, but is that going to be the next step? To tell the audience a film is fake and then pull the rug out from under them by revealing it's all true? This film made me question what I thought I knew. The main group of boys are from a generation that have grown up watching Jackass and uploaded their copycat antics onto YouTube, so Zack's wannabe filmmaker is no less believable than Rel Schulman from Catfish.


I suppose you'd have to put the success of the film's gimmick down to the performances, most notably Matt Bennett and Zack Pearlman as the central brothers. Naturalistic and improvised the script may be, but they really sell their relationship, as well as the documentary aspect. Yes, at times the credibility of the storyline gets stretched (a visit to a porn star to learn the art of lovemaking is just teen wish fulfillment), but the rest of the film is so based in reality it's easy to go along with it. Refreshingly candid and vulgar, it's also funnier than a thousand direct-to-DVD American Pie sequels.


Cruelly overlooked on its US release and passed off as juvenile frat humour, The Virginity Hit is actually a rather sweet and funny comedy about the depths teenage boys will sink to in order to get laid. A fun comedy of errors that provides an interesting spin on the typical and worn down 21st century teen movie, it's American Pie for the YouTube generation and deserves to find an audience on DVD. Boisterous good fun.


Verdict