It’s the late 1980s, and twenty-somethings Stacy (Lea Thompson) and Melissa (Victoria Jackson) have been best friends all their lives. They’ve both been unlucky in love in different ways, and are scared of ending up single. At the same time, the current AIDS epidemic has made them afraid of sex, and caused them to swear off guys. Kindergarten teacher Melissa is shy and nervous, and has only slept with three men in her life, the third being her fiancé, before he called off their wedding just 2 weeks before the big day. On the other hand, chef Stacy has been far more adventurous, falling for all the wrong guys, sleeping with one artistic genius after the next. It’s been over 10 months since Stacy last had sex, and she no longer even feels attracted to anyone—she doesn’t know how to get close to a guy without sex. So Stacy decides it’s time for a change, and books a week’s vacation for her and Melissa at the Oasis Heath Spa. Though the spa turns out to be more of a singles retreat, with various physical and social activities to help the guests pair up. Though, despite all the male guests, both Stacey and Melissa have their eyes set on members of the staff—Stacy is drawn towards musician Nick (Stephen Shellen), while Melissa feels an attraction to bartender Jamie (Jerry Levine), though she’s too shy to act on it. However, the women’s first activity finds Stacy paired with the obnoxious Vinny (Andrew Dice Clay), who tries way to hard to pick up women, and doesn’t let Stacy’s constant rejections stop him from hitting on her, often referring to himself as “The Vin Man”. Meanwhile, Melissa has been paired with the somewhat boring Matthew (Peter Dvorsky), who treats the retreat more like a scientific research experiment. Will these women somehow find their Mr. Rights in this bizarre and sometimes awkward retreat?

Casual Sex? establishes its era right from the start as Buster Poindexter’s “Hot Hot Hot” plays over the opening title sequence—and again at the end of the film…it may just be the only song on the film’s soundtrack! The movie is adapted from a stage play, and retains some elements of that production, allowing the women to regularly break the fourth wall and speak directly to the audience. The opening scene finds Stacy and Melissa dressed in black, standing on an empty black stage, addressing the audience with their philosophies on men and sex, and describing some of their failed past sexpolits (which we see in quick cutaway scenes). More of these stage moments pop up over the course of the film, and the women also just turn to the camera to react to or comment on some of the men in their company or the wacky things going on at the resort.

I was not old enough for an R-rated film when this movie was first released, and it never really fell on my radar in the 30+ years since it was released. So I was excited to finally check it out for the first time on this new Blu-ray release. However, I can see why this film never really became an 80s classic like other more well-known comedies of the era. While it does have its humorous moments, there weren’t a lot of really memorable scenes or things that made me laugh-out-loud. The film definitely feels like a product of the era, poking fun at the 80s fitness craze, and navigating sex and relationships at a time when AIDS got people a bit spooked. Lea Thompson and Victoria Jackson play very likeable characters that you root for, but much of the comedy falls in the opening moments of the film, with the flashbacks to their past failed relationships. Once they get to the spa, there are some awkward and fun situations, but the humorous moments are when they are reacting to the camera and breaking the fourth wall. It seems like the comedic moments tend to align closer to the film’s play roots. The movie also stars one of my favorite underrated comedic actresses of the 1980s, Mary Gross, as one of the other guests at the resort, but she, too is so underutilized, only really getting one major scene with the other women. The surprise standout character of the film is actually Vinny. He has by far the biggest growth and arc of the movie. He starts off as this obnoxious and annoying guy, doing Clay’s usual comedy schtick. But over the course of the film, we get to see a much more vulnerable side to The Vin Man, and that he just wants to find love like everyone else. It’s a much softer side to Clay that I quite enjoyed.

Like many of this month’s other Retro VHS Bu-ray releases, Mill Creek’s re-release of Casual Sex? is barebones, just offering a basic menu with Play and Subtitle On/Off selections, and no supplemental material. Universal had previously released this movie on Blu-ray a few years ago, which included a collection of deleted scenes and an alternate ending, but unfortunately, none of that bonus material has been carried over to Mill Creek’s disc. The audio and video presentation of the film is quite solid. The picture has some film noise and dirt here and there, but otherwise quite clean and satisfying with a nice level of detail. Despite the film itself feeling a bit dated and of its era, the picture quality does not. The stereo audio track provides clear dialogue, and Buster Poindexter’s “Hot Hot Hot” sounds great each time it is played.

The Blu-ray disc comes packed in a standard Blu-ray keepcase, with a Retro VHS slipcover that makes the release look like a classic VHS rental tape. The details on these slipcovers are really fun, though oddly this one doesn’t include a “label” on the spine like Mill Creek’s other Retro VHS releases—it’s just blank and all black.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:27:10)

• 1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
• Subtitles: English SDH

Extras:

This release contains no bonus material.

Final Thoughts:

Casual Sex? may be an 80s cult classic for some, but I was too young to watch it when it first came out and never got around to it until now. While I certainly wouldn’t rank it among the must-see 80s classic comedies, the film features a solid cast and has some fun moments, taking lighter look at the 80s fitness culture and sex/relationships in the wake of the AIDS epidemic. Mill Creek’s disc features a solid video and audio presentation, but unfortunately drops the deleted scenes and alternate ending that were included on Universal’s previous Blu-ray release. That said, the disc is bargain-priced and worth checking out for fans of the film or of its stars, especially Andrew Dice Clay. While die-hard fans may want to hunt down the previous release, more-casual fans should enjoy Mill Creek’s disc at less than half the cost of Universal’s previous release.