The Flipcritic

After seeing the trailer for SORORITY BOYS, I felt that I needed to see it. The preview was put together so expertly. I wish I could say the same for the movie. I must admit that I laughed (and laughed out loud) during many parts. But after looking back at some of those moments, I felt ashamed. Here is a film that is not only dirty, but mean. Especially when it comes to women. I enjoyed some segments, but loathed almost everything else.

The movie is a comic farce surrounding three fraternity brothers who have been kicked out of their boarding house after being setup as thieves by the organization's president. After failing to re-enter their rooms by disguising themselves as college girls, they are taken in by the nearby sorority, whose members believe them to be unfortunate female victims of crude male behavior. They continue their impersonation within their sorority house for the sake of obtaining free living space and sustenance, and for the ultimate goal of clearing their reputations and gaining better futures.

To get an idea of how boorish the film is, the fraternity which Dave (Barry Watson of the TV Series 7TH HEAVEN), Adam (Michael Rosenbaum), and Doofer (Harland Williams of ROCKETMAN) are members of is named Kappa Omicron Kappa (KOK). It's pronunciation is not a coincidence, since most of the movie is rife with dildo and penis jokes (all of which are very unfunny). When they get kicked out and join the Delta Omicron Gamma (DOG) sorority, they become Daisy, Adina, and Roberta respectively.

How these three jokers manage to fool their frat brothers (one of them even manages to turn on his father once in disguise), and even more so their sorority sisters, is not worthy of discussion. Yes it's true that they look absolutely nothing like women (not even ugly women), and that their getups make their attempts painfully obvious, but that is part of joke that we are asked to go along with. This request is made during trailer, and I was open to the invitation. Was the party worth it though? Well...

I laughed, so the movie succeeds on some level. Though I found Dave's dilemma quite boring, I did enjoy Adina's complaints. Michael Rosenbaum's shows he's quite capable of handling silly situations, and he's quite engaging as the stud turned "dog-faced" woman. His character can't handle being a woman, and though near the movie's end he experiences something so awful, he deserves every single bit of it due to the way he treats women.

The moments that really made me laugh to the point of hoarseness were caused by Harland Williams who plays Roberta. He was funny beyond words in Rocketman, and I loved his foolishness (and ugliness in disguise) here. He has the gift of playing goofs. If Disney's Goofy could be reincarnated as a human, Mr. Williams would be his avatar. Try keeping a straight face once he's in makeup. I was on the floor when he taught the sorority sisters how to loosen up by smoking giant glass pipes of smack.

Though the movie has the capability for amazing absurdity, its toilet humor is abominable. For one, it has an almost juvenile obsession anything phallic. It has more penis-shaped items than any gross-out comedy that has come out in years. You'll see erections, projectile-vibrators, and dildo-swordplay (if you find this funny, I'm sorry I spoiled it for you). The movie has zero wit, and practically zero originality. It's premise of dressing up in drag is as old as time immemorial, and so are its scenes of a woman showering with a man trying to disguise himself as a woman (Do sorority houses have shared shower rooms? I'm not sure. You tell me.).

What's even more repellent about the movie is the way it treats women. I can look past the drag premise, but not demeaning attitude. The DOG sorority president (Melissa Sagemiller) is supposed to be an intellectual, but yet she showers with someone not knowing he's a man, even after being poked (don't ask by what). All the other good-looking women are treated like whores (isn't it revolting when you hear the KOKs treating the DOGs badly?). The film could even offend lesbians, since it views them as women who would have sex with other women if there are no men available, which is preposterous. The movie even has the KOK president saying, "I love lesbos." Ha ha.

If only the movie could have abandoned its infantile outlook towards its story and focused more on the unlikelihood of three men trying to act like women. It can be accomplished, but the film seems to be intent on offending more than on amusing. SORORITY BOYS offers some good laughs, but try to keep your mouth from tasting some truly unpleasant offerings. Hey, critics make mistakes too.

Posted by FLIPCRITIC at July 28, 2002 12:00 AM