Plot
In this loud teen movie, a motley crew of youths, ranging from the rainbow-haired King Vidiot (Jonathan Gries), to Eugene the king nerd (Leif Green) and a washed-up video freak descend to the usual level of tricks to keep their video arcade from being shut down by a businessman (Joe Don Baker) who believes the games are a threat to the mental health of today's youth. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, RoviReview
Crude, stupid, and utterly pointless, Joysticks does serve one small, yet important purpose. It is a perfect cinematic time capsule of the point in the early '80s when Porky's rip-offs ruled the theaters and there was nothing more awesome to do than spend a couple hours at a video arcade with a game of Pac Man. All the requirements for an '80s teen sex comedy are in place in Joysticks. There's the nerd named Eugene (Leif Green), the good looking hero named Jefferson Bailey (Scott McGinnis), a punk rocker named King Vidiot (Jon Gries), and even the mighty Joe Don Baker himself shows up as the grumpy grown-up who, naturally, wants to shut that darn arcade down. As far as being an '80s teen sex comedy goes, Joysticks really delivers by including tons of needless shots of naked girls and close-ups of girls' behinds and wisely leaving out all signs of a plot. Though Joysticks is not a well-made film by any standard, it is such a relic (and so self-knowingly stupid) that it is actually a delight to watch. Besides, who can honestly hate a film where the scene transitions are done by having a giant yellow Pac Man munch across the screen? ~ Jason Gibner, RoviCast
- Joe Don Baker - Mr. Ruttler
- Leif Green - Eugene Groebe
- Scott McGinnis - Jefferson Bailey
- Jonathan Gries - King Vidiot
Credit
Donn Greer - Art Director, Greydon Clark - Director, Larry Bock - Editor, John Caper, Jr. - Composer (Music Score), John Caper, Jr. - Musical Direction/Supervision, Ray Khenetsky - Songwriter, Bill Scott - Songwriter, Nicholas Josef von Sternberg - Cinematographer, Daryl Kass - Production Manager, Greydon Clark - Producer, Curtis Burch - Screenwriter, Mickey Epps - Screenwriter, Al Gomez - Screenwriter| Joy Scouts (1939 Film), Joy Road (2011 Film) | |
| Joy Street (1929 Film), Joy and Joan (1985 Film) |
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