The Last American Virgin

The Last American Virgin
Original film poster
Directed by	Boaz Davidson
Written by	Boaz Davidson
Produced by	Yoram Globus Menahem Golan David Womark
Starring	Lawrence Monoson Diane Franklin Steve Antin Joe Rubbo Louisa Moritz
Cinematography	Adam Greenberg
Edited by	Bruria Davidson
Music by	Deborah Harry Mark Allen
Distributed by	Cannon Film Distributors
Release date	June 26, 1982 (1982-06-26) (Japan) July 30, 1982 (1982-07-30) (United States)
Running time	92 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$5.8 million (North America)

The Last American Virgin is a 1982 American sex comedy film written and directed by Boaz Davidson. It is a remake of Davidson's 1978 Israeli film Eskimo Limon (Lemon Popsicle).^[1][2]

After the success of the original film and its sequels in Israel, Davidson re-teamed with producers Golan-Globus to attempt to recreate the same success in the United States. Though the film's plot and characters remained largely the same, the setting was updated from 1950s Israel to then-present day suburban Los Angeles. The soundtrack, a major facet of both films, was also updated from the original's golden oldies to more contemporary new wave rock.

Plot[]

The plot closely follows the original Israeli film Eskimo Limon (Lemon Popsicle), and revolves around protagonist Gary, a typical high school student and pizza delivery boy, and his friends Rick—the slick talking ladies' man—and David.

Most of the plot involves their numerous attempts to have sex, which are usually successful for Rick and David, but never for Gary. Early in the film, the three boys pick up three girls with the promise of cocaine (instead they use Sweet'n Low). They go over to Gary's house where he gets stuck with the homely and overweight Millie, a friend of the other two more attractive girls. But their party is interrupted when Gary's parents return home and pandemonium ensues.

A love triangle develops between Gary, Rick and Karen, a beautiful transfer student to their school who is a virgin that Rick is determined to have sex with. Gary first sees her one night at a party, and asks David to find out where she lives. The next morning, in an attempt to get closer to her, he punctures her bike tires and entices her to ride to school with him. During and after the ride, he makes multiple attempts to woo her, much to her indifference.

One day Gary delivers pizza to Carmela, a woman whose sailor boyfriend is never home, and she tells him she wants more than just pizza. Being too afraid to follow up on it, he goes away and convinces his friends to go along with him. She promptly fornicates with Rick and David, but her boyfriend Paco returns home just as Gary is about to have his turn, prompting them to flee.

Eventually, Rick gets Karen pregnant after they have sex only once, and he leaves her. Gary decides to help Karen pay for her abortion by selling most of his possessions and borrowing money from his boss. After the abortion, Gary and Karen spend the remainder of the weekend alone together in Gary's grandmother's house. While nursing her back to health, Gary tells Karen that he sincerely loves her. Karen appears to reciprocate and they both share a tender kiss. Karen invites Gary to her 18th birthday party the following week. Gary scrapes up a few more dollars and buys Karen a gold locket for her birthday.

When Gary arrives at the party, his dreams of a lasting romance with Karen are shattered when he sees Karen making out with Rick. Despite what Rick had put Karen through, she apparently decided to take him back. Gary sadly leaves the party without saying a word to either of them, taking Karen's gift with him. Tears streaming down his face, Gary drives home alone, emotionally broken and defeated.

Cast[]

Home media[]

VHS, CED Videodisc[]

The film was released on VHS and CED Videodisc by Cannon Films, November 30, 1983.

LaserDisc[]

The film was released by Guild Home Video on LaserDisc with a digital stereo soundtrack in 1984.

DVD[]

The Region 1 DVD was first released in 2002 by Cannon Films. The only audio option is a 2.0 stereo mix in either English or French. The film was released on blu-ray in 2015 by MGM Home Entertainment/20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (until June 30, 2020) & Olive Films.

Soundtrack[]

Additional songs in the film include:

The 1982 Japanese release of the soundtrack (Polydor 28MM 0206) replaced the Tommy Tutone track with The Human League's recording of "Love Action (I Believe in Love)".

Reception[]

Responding to criticism dismissing The Last American Virgin as distasteful, critic Noel Murray of The A.V. Club commented "Really, the film's frankness makes it more honest than its dreamy-eyed descendants; even the shallow treatment of girls captures the point of view of a luckless teenage boy."^[3]

In an essay written a quarter-century later, critic Andy Selsberg noted that, unlike the other teen sex comedies of the 1980s, The Last American Virgin was the only one truthful enough to have a "main character... left longing for his dream girl", whereas all the others were "acheless".^[4]

References[]

External links[]

• The Last American Virgin at IMDb 
• The Last American Virgin at AllMovie
• The Last American Virgin at the TCM Movie Database
• The Last American Virgin at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Last American Virgin at Box Office Mojo
• Q&A with cast at 25th anniversary screening, August 2007 (video)