100 GIRLS - DVD review

These days, there are so many raunch/gross-out fests being filmed that not all of them can make it to the big screen. "100 Girls" is a straight-to-video entry in the teen-sex comedy genre. The title of the film, while accurate, may mislead some people into thinking that the story eventually involves 100 girls in some sort of mass orgy.

In "100 Girls," Matt (Jonathan Tucker) faces a powerful dilemma. One night during a blackout, he finds himself in an elevator alone with a girl. She was carrying a load of laundry in front of her face, so Matt did not get a good look at her. During the course of the evening, the two become rather intimate. When he wakes up in the morning, the girl is no longer in the elevator with him.

Thus begins Matt's quest--to find the girl to whom he lost his virginity. He finds a job as a maintenance boy so that every time there is some sort of mechanical "problem" (created by Matt, of course), he has an excuse to head on over into the girls' dorm to look around for clues. The mystery girl left a pair of panties with him, so he begins by trying to find a bra to match the panties.

Is it Arlene (Katherine Heigl), the aggressive, pneumatic tomboy? Is it Cynthia (Jaime Pressly), the one with the lips? Is it Dora (Marissa Ribisi), the lonely bookworm? Maybe it's Wendy (the delightfully cute Larisa Oleynik), the girl who's the kind you bring home to meet the parents?

Of all things, "100 Girls" begins to resemble "What Women Want," wherein a man with sex on the brain begins to see the world from a female perspective and begins to help women. This is the weakest part of the screenplay. Matt helps an "unattractive" girl feel sexy and erotic. He takes a "women's studies" course, just as Mel Gibson takes a yoga course attended by mostly women. He connects with Arlene (Katherine Heigl) when they team up for a game of foosball. He helps the dorm's girls get revenge on a lout of a guy who sexually assaults women. At one point during the film, he even proclaims that men suck when compared to the goodness and purity of women. Matt is too young to be introspective and perceptive enough to do what Mel Gibson does in "What Women Want," and the film almost chokes on its own false sincerity by wanting to have its cake and eat it, too.

The film recovers its footing, though, by reminding itself and the audience that Matt represents the inner geek in all of us, the insecure inner voice always questioning if we have the guts to just go out there and seize the moment. By reconnecting with the "loser" factor, the film makes Matt's eventual victory seem justified and palatable.

Jonathan Tucker does just fine in the lead. He has to carry the film by himself, lacking the ensemble support that Jason Biggs enjoys in the "American Pie" films, but Tucker seems unfazed by all the commotion. James DeBello is a hoot as Rob, Matt's roommate, and the "girls" all deliver serviceable, if not-so-memorable, turns. However, Larisa Oleynik and Katherine Heigl are absolutely wonderful, despite their limited screen time. They steal the show.

"100 Girls" had the misfortune of arriving at the heels of the "American Pie" flicks, and this film will certainly be compared to those box-office behemoths. "100 Girls" lacks the outrageous pranks and sight gags of Jim, Jim's dad, and Company. However, "100 Girls" is wilder and raunchier than the "Pies" in terms of its brutally in-your-face dialogue. Matt and the other characters, including the goody-goody Wendy, converse unflinchingly about genitalia as if they were talking about a finger or an arm. Also, the sight of Rob wearing "penile weights" is a constant source of chuckles.

Originally slated to appear in theatres, "100 Girls" went straight to home video despite appearing in some theatres outside of the United States. Bowing first on video has earned the film some measure of prestige. Recently, Video Business Magazine held the 2001 Video Premiere Awards, and "100 Girls" received nominations for Best Live-Action Video Premiere Movie, Best Actress--Emmanuelle Chriqui, Best Film Editing--Kevin D. Ross, and Best Original Score--Kevin Bassinson. Guess what? "100 Girls" won Best Live-Action Video Premiere Movie and Best Film Editing. Not bad, not bad at all.

Video:
The 1.85:1 non-anamorphic widescreen video image generally impressed me because it is a very good-looking non-anamorphic presentation. (Of course, the film is barely a year old, so one would expect it to look better than a movie made in the 1930s!) Very minor instances of specks and dust occur, but there moments of grain, especially during candlelit scenes and sequences taking place with a high degree of contrast between strong primary colors. Everything looks stable and clear, though the image never looks as three-dimensional as, say, "Star Wars--Episode 1" or "Final Fantasy."

Audio:
Contrary to what the back cover art claims, "100 Girls" arrives on DVD with a Dolby Digital 2.0 surround English track, not a full 5.1 mix. For some reason, the volume level on this DVD sounds lower than usual, even when compared to other 2.0 surround tracks. The soundstage limits itself to the front speakers, providing almost nothing for the rear speakers to do. Though the subwoofer kicks in when the music starts pumping, it's only amounts to a token appearance from the low end. After turning up the volume knob a bit, the dialogue seems to have been mixed well with the rest of the audio elements. A competent, if uninspired, sound presentation.

English, Spanish, and French subtitles, along with English closed captions, support the audio.

Extras:
Unsurprisingly for a film that did not enjoy a theatrical run States-side, the "100 Girls" DVD comes with almost no extras. There is a "trailer" for the main feature that I doubt ever played anywhere due to its VERY explicit nature, and clicking on the Lions Gate logo provides access to two other trailers.

No insert or mini-booklet was provided, though the chapter listings are printed on the back cover art.

Film Value:
The snob in me thought that I would end up hating "100 Girls," just as I thought that I would hate "American Pie." However, "100 Girls" won me over with its sheer chutzpah--its willingness to fling itself from the roof with its outrageously frank sex talk will win either your admiration or your ire. I found myself laughing harder than during any movie since "Shrek" (a good seven months ago). On the strength of its ability to make me laugh and have a good, silly time, "100 Girls" earns my recommendation. The film isn't "Annie Hall," but it's worth a viewing.