A Good Old Fashioned Orgy (2011)

Directed by Alex Gregory & Peter Huyck. Starring Jason Sudeikis, Tyler Labine, Leslie Bibb, Lake Bell, Michelle Borth, Nick Kroll, Lindsay Sloane, Martin Starr, Angela Sarafyan, Will Forte, Lucy Punch, David Koechner, Lin Shaye. (R)

Sudeikis, an immature layabout in his mid-30s, wants to throw one last party at his father’s house in the Hamptons; wanting to make it particularly memorable, he suggests an elegant Victorian-style tea party (no, of course not…he wants to put on an orgy). Based on the title, it seems inexcusable for anyone who watches to not know what the expect; trouble is, the filmmakers don’t go all the way with it. There’s plenty of vulgarity, raunchiness and bare flesh on display (though the main cast primarily remains discreet when it comes to the naughty bits), but the filmmakers hold back when it comes to honesty and/or shock value. Instead, most of the story threads are strangled by convention: rom-com pairings, love triangles, overcoming anxieties, accepting responsibility, and so on. Pity, then, that all it succeeds at is crass puerility, and not often at that. A lot of comic talent in the cast is wasted, and the situations they’re given to work with suffer from anemia. Kroll sums up the movie’s overall indifference when he declares, “I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but I’m gonna take a break from this girl-on-girl-on-girl action and check the score of the Yankee game.” Don Johnson cameos as Sudeikis’ dad.

34/100