The First Turn-On!
Encyclopedia
The First Turn-On! is a 1983 comedy film
directed by Lloyd Kaufman
and Michael Herz
of Troma Entertainment
. It was the last in a series of four "sexy comedies" that helped establish Troma as a film studio, starting with 1979's Squeeze Play!
, 1981's Waitress!
and 1982's Stuck on You!.
The First Turn-On! is usually considered by Troma fans to be the best of the company's "sexy comedies".
While on a nature walk with ditzy hippie camp counselor Michelle Farmer (Georgia Harrell), four students, Mitch the self-proclaimed 'stud' (Michael Sanville), his girlfriend Annie (Heidi Miller
), fat kid Henry (Googy Gress), and Danny the nerd (John Flood) break off from the rest of the group to indulge in some cannabis
. They take refuge in a nearby cave, only to be caught in the act by Michelle some time later. Unfortunately, while being shooed out, Henry's flatulence causes a landslide, trapping the five of them inside.
To pass the time until their eventual rescue, the group decides to share the stories of the first time they each lost their virginity through flashbacks:
Mitch shares his experience first: while hitchhiking one day, he's picked up by Lucy (Lara Gills), an elegant prostitute, who invites him to come visit her in her fancy hotel room. Feeling nervous and inexperienced, he invites his ultra-cool yet dim-witted friend Jeff to give him pointers (of which includes "when in doubt, whip it out"). However, upon meeting Lucy, Jeff tries (unsuccessfully) to seduce Lucy, almost injuring her in the process. When Mitch saves her and kicks Jeff out of the building, Lucy repays him with mind-blowing sex.
Henry is forced to tell his story next. In preparation for a big Halloween party one year, he decides to dress as ghost; unfortunately, in addition to not being able to see out of the eye-holes, the costume looks identical to a Klan
robe. Blinded, he accidentally stumbles upon a group of (flamboyantly gay) African-American thugs (one of which played by then-unknown stand-up comic Rondell Sheridan
) about to kill a young white woman. The thugs turn their attention to Henry, beat him senseless, and then run off (or more accurately, skip off, singing and holding hands). The girl (Kristina Marie Wetzel), convinced Henry has just saved her life, instantly falls for him and the two make passionate love later that night next to a giant pile of donuts.
Meanwhile, the camp's staff (including Vincent D'Onofrio
in his film debut), for fear of a potentially expensive lawsuit, start to desperately search for the missing campers.
In Annie's story, she discusses her first time, back when she was working on her family's farm. One night, she discovered an attractive drifter (David Berardi) who had broken into her house in search for food. Overwhelmed by her hormones, she ends up giving him a lot more than cookies in the back of the barn, much to the dismay of the sheep.
Danny goes next: his flashback reveals that he was a pornography-addicted loser. While visiting the beach one day, he thinks he sees Playmate Sheila Kennedy
smiling and winking at him, but quickly dismisses it as a mirage. Later that night, after being rejected from a double date with his brother, Danny returns to his room to find Kennedy waiting for him. While the two engage in lengthy foreplay, they're later joined by his brother's girlfriend, and they all participate in a threesome
(which he calls an "orgy", pronouncing the "g").
Finally, Miss Farmer tells her story: back in high school, she was deeply in love with her psychotic nerd boyfriend Dwayne (Mark Torgl, who would go on to play Melvin Ferd in the original Toxic Avenger
). However, when Dwayne dumps her for another girl at the junior prom, she manages to suck up her pride and pick up two new boyfriends (John Stoltzeus, who appears as twins using camera tricks). The three of them proceed to have sex on a bowling alley lane.
As more time passes and oxygen diminishes in the cave, the gang becomes convinced that they will all asphyxiate. In a moment of truth, everyone admits that their stories were false: they're all still virgins. Determined not to die as such, they all participate in an orgy. The symphony of thrusts and moans causes another landslide, thus opening the entrance of the cave and freeing everyone.
As the group returns to camp, a narrator reveals the character's futures: Danny became a pornographic actor under the name "Dicky Long". Mitch became a priest and a staunch advocator of gay rights. Henry now works for the National Cheese Commissioners Board. After eight marriages, Annie had a nervous breakdown and became a vegetable. Miss Farmer runs the government's program for Wildlife Preservation (the final shot of the film shows her trying to make a large trout 'fly away' by tossing it into the air).
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Lloyd Kaufman
Lloyd Kaufman
Lloyd Kaufman is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and occasional actor. With producer Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director of many of their feature films, including The Toxic Avenger and Tromeo and Juliet. Kaufman also serves as...
and Michael Herz
Michael Herz (producer)
Michael Herz is an American film producer, director and screenwriter. With Lloyd Kaufman, the two are the co-founders of Troma Entertainment, the world's longest running independent film studio, known for their comedic horror films, including the cult favorite Toxic Avenger series and the...
of Troma Entertainment
Troma Entertainment
Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974.The company produces low-budget independent movies that play on 1950s horror with elements of farce...
. It was the last in a series of four "sexy comedies" that helped establish Troma as a film studio, starting with 1979's Squeeze Play!
Squeeze Play!
Squeeze Play! is a 1979 comedy film from Troma Entertainment directed by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz. It was Troma’s first major hit before The Toxic Avenger, and the first in a line of four "sexy comedies", followed by Waitress!, Stuck on You!, and The First Turn-On!.-Plot:A group of New Jersey...
, 1981's Waitress!
Waitress!
Waitress! is a 1981 comedy film directed by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz of Troma Entertainment. It was the second in Troma's line of "sexy comedies", preceded by the 1979's Squeeze Play! and followed by 1982's Stuck on You! and 1983's The First Turn-On!.-Premise:The film follows an aspiring...
and 1982's Stuck on You!.
The First Turn-On! is usually considered by Troma fans to be the best of the company's "sexy comedies".
Plot
It's the last day of summer at Camp Big-Tee-Pee, and all of the teenage campers are crazy with hormones and eager to go home.While on a nature walk with ditzy hippie camp counselor Michelle Farmer (Georgia Harrell), four students, Mitch the self-proclaimed 'stud' (Michael Sanville), his girlfriend Annie (Heidi Miller
Heidi Miller
Heidi Miller is an American female bodybuilder who held the title Ms. Natural America in 1981. She is also a former National Gymnastics Champion.Her other bodybuilding awards include Ms...
), fat kid Henry (Googy Gress), and Danny the nerd (John Flood) break off from the rest of the group to indulge in some cannabis
Cannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
. They take refuge in a nearby cave, only to be caught in the act by Michelle some time later. Unfortunately, while being shooed out, Henry's flatulence causes a landslide, trapping the five of them inside.
To pass the time until their eventual rescue, the group decides to share the stories of the first time they each lost their virginity through flashbacks:
Mitch shares his experience first: while hitchhiking one day, he's picked up by Lucy (Lara Gills), an elegant prostitute, who invites him to come visit her in her fancy hotel room. Feeling nervous and inexperienced, he invites his ultra-cool yet dim-witted friend Jeff to give him pointers (of which includes "when in doubt, whip it out"). However, upon meeting Lucy, Jeff tries (unsuccessfully) to seduce Lucy, almost injuring her in the process. When Mitch saves her and kicks Jeff out of the building, Lucy repays him with mind-blowing sex.
Henry is forced to tell his story next. In preparation for a big Halloween party one year, he decides to dress as ghost; unfortunately, in addition to not being able to see out of the eye-holes, the costume looks identical to a Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
robe. Blinded, he accidentally stumbles upon a group of (flamboyantly gay) African-American thugs (one of which played by then-unknown stand-up comic Rondell Sheridan
Rondell Sheridan
Rondell Jerome Sheridan is an American actor, comedian and television director, best known for his seven-year portrayal of Victor Baxter, the goofy-yet-lovable father of a psychic teenager, in the Disney Channel sitcoms That's So Raven and Cory in the House. Sheridan is an alumnus of Marquette...
) about to kill a young white woman. The thugs turn their attention to Henry, beat him senseless, and then run off (or more accurately, skip off, singing and holding hands). The girl (Kristina Marie Wetzel), convinced Henry has just saved her life, instantly falls for him and the two make passionate love later that night next to a giant pile of donuts.
Meanwhile, the camp's staff (including Vincent D'Onofrio
Vincent D'Onofrio
Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio is an American actor, director, film producer, writer, and singer. Often referred to as an actor's actor, his work as a character actor has earned him the nickname of "Human Chameleon"...
in his film debut), for fear of a potentially expensive lawsuit, start to desperately search for the missing campers.
In Annie's story, she discusses her first time, back when she was working on her family's farm. One night, she discovered an attractive drifter (David Berardi) who had broken into her house in search for food. Overwhelmed by her hormones, she ends up giving him a lot more than cookies in the back of the barn, much to the dismay of the sheep.
Danny goes next: his flashback reveals that he was a pornography-addicted loser. While visiting the beach one day, he thinks he sees Playmate Sheila Kennedy
Sheila Kennedy
Sheila Kennedy is a model and actress who was the December 1981 Penthouse Pet of the Month and the 1983 Penthouse Pet of the Year. Kennedy began an acting career, appearing mostly in low-budget sex comedies, such as Ellie, The First Turn-On!, and Spring Break...
smiling and winking at him, but quickly dismisses it as a mirage. Later that night, after being rejected from a double date with his brother, Danny returns to his room to find Kennedy waiting for him. While the two engage in lengthy foreplay, they're later joined by his brother's girlfriend, and they all participate in a threesome
Threesome
A threesome is a group of three engaged in the same activity. In relation to a sexual activity a threesome refer to the activity involving three people of any gender or sexual orientation...
(which he calls an "orgy", pronouncing the "g").
Finally, Miss Farmer tells her story: back in high school, she was deeply in love with her psychotic nerd boyfriend Dwayne (Mark Torgl, who would go on to play Melvin Ferd in the original Toxic Avenger
The Toxic Avenger
The Toxic Avenger is a 1984 comedy horror film released by Troma Entertainment, known for producing low budget B-movies with campy concepts. Virtually ignored upon its first release, The Toxic Avenger caught on with filmgoers after a long and successful midnight movie engagement at the famed...
). However, when Dwayne dumps her for another girl at the junior prom, she manages to suck up her pride and pick up two new boyfriends (John Stoltzeus, who appears as twins using camera tricks). The three of them proceed to have sex on a bowling alley lane.
As more time passes and oxygen diminishes in the cave, the gang becomes convinced that they will all asphyxiate. In a moment of truth, everyone admits that their stories were false: they're all still virgins. Determined not to die as such, they all participate in an orgy. The symphony of thrusts and moans causes another landslide, thus opening the entrance of the cave and freeing everyone.
As the group returns to camp, a narrator reveals the character's futures: Danny became a pornographic actor under the name "Dicky Long". Mitch became a priest and a staunch advocator of gay rights. Henry now works for the National Cheese Commissioners Board. After eight marriages, Annie had a nervous breakdown and became a vegetable. Miss Farmer runs the government's program for Wildlife Preservation (the final shot of the film shows her trying to make a large trout 'fly away' by tossing it into the air).
Trivia
- MadonnaMadonna (entertainer)Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
was selected by casting directors to audition for a role in the film, but was ultimately turned down by Michael Herz, who later told interviewers "I stand by my decision. She was trying out for the role of a Jewish princess. She acted more like someone's Italian grandmother". - James Gunn, who wrote Tromeo and JulietTromeo and JulietTromeo and Juliet is a 1996 independent transgressive comedy film adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet from Troma Entertainment...
, has said that this is his favorite Troma film. - In the Troma films Tromeo and JulietTromeo and JulietTromeo and Juliet is a 1996 independent transgressive comedy film adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet from Troma Entertainment...
and Terror FirmerTerror FirmerTerror Firmer is a 1999 American comedy horror film, directed by Lloyd Kaufman, written by Patrick Cassidy and Douglas Buck, and starring Will Keenan and Alyce LaTourelle. The film was produced by the Troma Entertainment company, known for distributing campy exploitation films...
, two characters can be seen wearing The First Turn-On! t-shirts.