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".
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), 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).
Trivia
- Madonna 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 Juliet, has said that this is his favorite Troma film.
- In the Troma films Tromeo and Juliet and Terror Firmer, two characters can be seen wearing The First Turn-On! t-shirts.
Tromasterpiece Collection
Considered to be the a forgotten cult classic in the Troma library, The First Turn-On!! is set to be one of the future releases of The Tromasterpiece Collection, Troma's best movies rereleased in newer and better formats. Special features have yet to be announced.
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