A Good Old Fashioned Orgy | |
---|---|
![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by |
|
Written by |
|
Produced by | |
Starring | |
Cinematography | John Thomas |
Edited by |
|
Music by | Jonathan Sadoff |
Production company | Endgame Entertainment |
Distributed by | Samuel Goldwyn Films |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 95 minutes [1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $5 million [2] |
Box office | $1.4 million [3] [4] |
A Good Old Fashioned Orgy is a 2011 American comedy film written and directed by Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck. It stars Jason Sudeikis, Leslie Bibb, Lake Bell, Michelle Borth, Nick Kroll, Tyler Labine, Angela Sarafyan, Lindsay Sloane, Martin Starr, Lucy Punch and Will Forte. The main plot follows Eric, who, having thrown parties at his father's house for years, decides to have one last party when the house is to be sold: an orgy.
The world premiere of A Good Old Fashioned Orgy was held at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival in New York City on April 29, 2011. The film received a limited theatrical release in the United States on September 2, 2011.
Eric (Jason Sudeikis) is a 30something perpetual adolescent who lives to party, holding lavish theme-events with his friends using his father's large house in the Hamptons. On July 3, Eric throws a bash party attended by his friends Sue (Michelle Borth), Adam (Nick Kroll), Mike (Tyler Labine), Laura (Lindsay Sloane), Kate (Lucy Punch), Glenn (Will Forte), Doug (Martin Starr) and his girlfriend Willow (Angela Sarafyan), Alison (Lake Bell) and her boyfriend Marcus (Rhys Coiro). Eric meets Kelly (Leslie Bibb) at the party. The following morning, Eric's father (Don Johnson) arrives and informs him that he is selling the house. The next weekend, the group arrive back at the house and find it for sale by Dody (Lin Shaye) and Kelly.
Eric and Mike decide to throw a last ultimate party at the house on Labor Day weekend. Lamenting the more liberal sex attitude of the younger generation that passed over his own, Eric suggests having an orgy. When they present the idea to their friends, they are all reluctant, but when Mike and Eric argue that afterwards everyone will be moving away from each other and that this might be their last real time all together, Sue agrees to join. Laura joins the plan to improve her self-esteem, and is later joined by Alison after she breaks up with Marcus. Sue has feelings for Eric from high school, but Eric pursues a relationship with Kelly, to attempt to interfere with her selling the house. Doug and Willow join the orgy, hoping it will make him more confident. At Kate and Glenn's wedding, a drunken Adam reveals he has lost his job because Eric destroyed his phone at the bash, and agrees to join the orgy. Glenn finds out about the orgy and informs Kate, causing the pair to fall out with the group for not including them.
Eric and Mike go to an underground sex club to research orgies, and gain advice from Mike's uncle Vic (David Koechner). Later, during a date with Kelly, she asks Eric to meet with her friends on Labor Day, to which he reluctantly agrees. Eric admits to Mike that he is developing feelings for Kelly and is no longer sure about taking part in the orgy. The week before Labor Day, Kate and Glenn ask to join the orgy but the group refuses because the couple have a child. Kelly tells Eric that she has asked Dody to slow the house sale down until the end of the summer.
The Labor Day weekend arrives and the group prepare for the orgy. Doug decides to back out at the last minute, causing the group to descend into arguments, culminating when Alison publicly reveals Sue's feelings for Eric, and Doug accuses Mike of being Eric's "pet". Glenn and Kate arrive uninvited, intending to gatecrash the orgy, but they end up having sex in their car. Eric decides to leave and go to Kelly's home, but discovers she is on a date. Eric returns to the party where the group reconcile, and the orgy finally begins. In true Shakespearean tradition[ clarification needed ], the orgy consists of four men and four women (not counting the couple that has sex outside of the orgy) although the sex couples are not clearly defined.
On Labor Day, Doug gives Mike a copy of his finished album, having finally found the confidence to pursue his music career. Sue gets over her feelings for Eric, Adam and Laura enter into a relationship, and Eric reconciles with Kelly. Kelly tells Eric that the house deal fell through and it will now take longer to sell. Eric begins planning a party for Memorial Day.
The cast includes: [5]
Gregory and Huyck cameo in the film as a pizza delivery man and a date of the character Kelly, respectively. [5]
A Good Old Fashioned Orgy was long in development, with Gregory and Huyck beginning writing the script as early as 1997 while they were writers on the television series, The Larry Sanders Show . The concept of the film was based upon a story told by a fellow writer concerning a party he had attended in the Hollywood Hills that ended in an impromptu orgy. Skeptical about the amount of truth to the story, believing that people would be "too full of shame, fear and guilt to make a successful orgy happen," it nevertheless inspired Gregory and Huyck. The pair believed that the concept would make for an interesting ensemble comedy due in part to the powerful emotions that such a sexually charged situation would entail. The characters were all based upon Gregory, Huyck and their own friends. Gregory claimed that Eric (Sudeikis) and Mike (Labine) are based largely on Huyck with both Sudeikis' and Labine's wardrobe being based on him. Huyck claimed that Adam, Glenn and Marcus were based on Gregory. [5]
Gregory and Huyck brought their first draft to their current TV agent who advised them to progress no further with the idea and abandon the project. Undaunted, the pair circulated the early draft and met with several producers to assemble a production team. With producers in place, the pair then began thinking about casting, initially setting their sights on Vince Vaughn. Vaughn ultimately did not take part in the film but worked with Gregory and Huyck on reworking the script. [5] On Vaughn's input, Gregory stated:
Vince Vaughn gave us the single best piece of advice about the movie. We [Gregory and Huyck] were trying to make a generational movie, and he suggested that in order to make something universally resonant, you need to make it specific and personal. It's counterintuitive, but he was right. We're both really pretty square, which is why we think this is such an uncomfortably funny area. If we were orgy guys, this would have been a hyper-realistic drama. [5]
With the new plot direction, the pair revisited the casting of the lead role, Eric. Huyck eventually saw Sudeikis singing karaoke at a Saturday Night Live after party and felt he would fit the role. At the time, Sudeikis was only a writer for Saturday Night Live and it was felt that his playing the film's lead would require a leap of faith. After Gregory saw Sudeikis acting on the comedy show 30 Rock however, he was also convinced that Sudeikis would be perfect for the role. While interviewing casting directors, Susie Farris stated her first choice for the role would also be Sudeikis, resulting in her being hired. [5]
Principal photography for the film commenced in May 2008 in Wilmington, North Carolina, taking place over 30 days. [5] [12] Wilmington was chosen due to it possessing the largest studio infrastructure on the east coast of America and because of the native architecture that bore similarities to homes found in the Hamptons of New York City. No stages or sets were created for the production with all filming occurring on location in actual businesses and locations using local residents as extras. One business in particular, only agreed to filming after it was agreed that the business name, "Fred's Beds", appear in the racy scene involving research for the orgy at a sex club. A late night party scene involved local extras and was filmed over 10 hours. During filming, the producers commissioned The Wallnuts Crew to spray paint graffiti on the wall of a local business for the punk rocker polaroid photo shoot scene. As the graffiti artist worked on the backdrop the police stormed the set completely unaware there was a permit issued. [5]
In February 2011, Samuel Goldwyn Films and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (SPWA) obtained the distributions rights to the film in the United States. Samuel Goldwyn theatrically released the film, aiming for a late Summer 2011 release. SPWA also obtained the Australian and Canadian rights to release the film. [13] The film premiered at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival in New York City on April 29, 2011. [14] [15] The US West coast premiere occurred at the ArcLight Hollywood cinema in Hollywood, California on August 25, 2011. [16]
A Good Old Fashioned Orgy received a limited release in the United States on September 2, 2011 across 143 theaters. [12] [17] During its opening weekend, the film grossed $154,604 over the 4-day Labor Day weekend. [17] The film ultimately earned $200,227 in the United States and $1,178,720 elsewhere for a total of $1,378,947 worldwide. [17]
A Good Old Fashioned Orgy received mixed reviews from critics. As of October 2021 [update] , the film holds a 35% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 65 reviews with an average rating of 4.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Its titillating title promises ribald laughs, but the lazily written, indifferently acted, and only sporadically funny A Good Old Fashioned Orgy fails to consummate." [1] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 44 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [18]
John Defore of The Hollywood Reporter compared the film favorably to "'80s summer romp-romances", describing it as a "solidly commercial picture". DeFore appreciated the "witty banter" delivered by the cast but singled out Labine as "inherently funny" and the "cast's only automatic laugh-getter". DeFore however lamented that the film was "less outrageous than expected" given the premise and "may leave audiences wanting more". DeFore was critical of the film for including women who "look like models" in the orgy "while only one of the men can be called handsome." [19] John Anderson of Variety reacted positively to the film, stating "the comic timing of this sex-saturated farce...adds up to a winner in the laughs department", echoing DeFore's sentiments that the dialog is "smart". [6]
Katie Calautti of Comic Book Resources appreciated the "whip-smart humor" and "palpable chemistry" between the cast. Calautti concluded her review by saying "The happy ending, though, is that their spot-on casting and solid narrative deliver bang for your buck." [10] The Village Voice enjoyed the film, stating "riffs and one-liners fly from every corner, fast enough to avert the sting of the lamer gambits" and concluded that it "may be the sex comedy this generation deserves." [20]
Daniel Jason Sudeikis is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. In the 1990s, he began his career in improv comedy and performed with ComedySportz, iO Chicago, and The Second City. In 2003, Sudeikis was hired as a writer for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, and later spent nine seasons as a cast member from 2005 to 2013, playing Joe Biden and Mitt Romney, among others.
Alison Steadman is an English actress. She received the 1991 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress for the Mike Leigh film Life Is Sweet and the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for her role as Mari in the original production of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice. In a 2007 Channel 4 poll, the ‘50 Greatest Actors’ voted for by other actors, she was ranked 42.
Lindsay Sloane is an American actress. She is known for playing Valerie Birkhead on Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1997–99) and Emily in The Odd Couple (2015–17). She has also starred in films such as Bring It On (2000), Over Her Dead Body (2008), She's Out of My League (2010), The Other Guys (2010), Horrible Bosses (2011), and its sequel Horrible Bosses 2 (2014).
Charles Peckham Day is an American actor, writer, producer, and podcaster. He is best known for playing Charlie Kelly on the FX comedy It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005–present), which he co-created with Rob McElhenney and Glenn Howerton, and of which he is also a writer and an executive producer. In 2011, he was nominated for a Critics' Choice Television Award and a Satellite Award for the role. He subsequently co-created the Fox sitcom The Cool Kids (2018–2019) with Paul Fruchbom and the Apple TV+ comedy Mythic Quest (2020–present) with Rob McElhenney and Megan Ganz, and continues to executive-produce the latter.
Angela Sarafyan, sometimes credited as Angela Sarafian, is an Armenian-American actress. She has appeared as a guest star in several television series and has acted in the feature films: Kabluey (2007), On the Doll (2007), A Beautiful Life (2008), The Informers (2008), A Good Old Fashioned Orgy (2011), Lost & Found in Armenia (2012), and Reminiscence (2021).
Michelle Borth is an American actress who has portrayed characters on The Forgotten and the HBO series Tell Me You Love Me. Borth played Catherine Rollins on the CBS crime-drama Hawaii Five-0.
The Razzie Award for Worst Screenplay is an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards for the worst film screenplay of the past year. The following is a list of nominees and recipients of that award, including each screenplay's author(s).
Olivia Jane Cockburn, known professionally as Olivia Wilde, is an American actress and filmmaker. She played Remy "Thirteen" Hadley on the medical-drama television series House (2007–2012), and has appeared in the films Tron: Legacy (2010), Cowboys & Aliens (2011), The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013), and The Lazarus Effect (2015). Wilde made her Broadway debut in 2017, playing Julia in 1984.
Alison Brie Schermerhorn is an American actress, writer, and producer. Her breakthrough came with the role of Trudy Campbell in the drama series Mad Men (2007–2015), which won her a Screen Actors Guild Award. She gained recognition for her role as Annie Edison in the sitcom Community (2009–2015) and voicing Diane Nguyen in the animated comedy series BoJack Horseman (2014–2020). For playing Ruth Wilder in the comedy-drama series GLOW (2017–2019), she received nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and two Critics' Choice Awards.
Mad Love is an American sitcom television series created by Matt Tarses, that aired on CBS from February 14 to May 16, 2011. The sitcom was planned as a mid-season replacement during the 2010–11 television season. On May 15, 2011, Mad Love was cancelled by CBS after one season.
Horrible Bosses is a 2011 American black comedy film directed by Seth Gordon, written by Michael Markowitz, John Francis Daley, and Jonathan Goldstein, from a story by Markowitz. It stars Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, and Jason Sudeikis, alongside Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell, Kevin Spacey, and Jamie Foxx in their supporting roles. The plot follows three friends, played by Bateman, Day, and Sudeikis, who decide to murder their respective overbearing, abusive bosses, portrayed by Spacey, Aniston, and Farrell.
The 15th Youth in Film Awards ceremony, presented by the Youth in Film Association, honored outstanding youth performers under the age of 21 in the fields of film, television and theatre for the 1992-1993 season, and took place on February 5, 1994, at the Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City, California.
Masterminds is a 2016 American crime comedy film based on the October 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery in North Carolina. Directed by Jared Hess and written by Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer and Emily Spivey, it stars Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones and Jason Sudeikis.
Sleeping with Other People is a 2015 American romantic comedy film directed and written by Leslye Headland. The film stars Jason Sudeikis, Alison Brie, Natasha Lyonne, Amanda Peet, and Adam Scott. Premiering at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2015, the film was released theatrically on September 11, 2015, by IFC Films. Sleeping with Other People received generally positive reviews from critics.
Between Us is a 2016 American drama film written and directed by Rafael Palacio Illingworth. The film stars Olivia Thirlby, Ben Feldman, Adam Goldberg, Lio Tipton, Scott Haze, Peter Bogdanovich and Lesley Ann Warren.
Janicza Michelle Bravo Ford is an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter. Her films include Gregory Go Boom, a winner of the short-film jury award at the Sundance Film Festival; Lemon, co-written with Brett Gelman; and Zola, co-written with playwright Jeremy O. Harris.
Booksmart is a 2019 American comedy film directed by Olivia Wilde and written by Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel, and Katie Silberman. It stars Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever as two graduating high school girls who set out to finally break the rules and party on their last day of classes. Jessica Williams, Lisa Kudrow, Will Forte, and Jason Sudeikis also star.
Fool's Paradise is a 2023 American satirical comedy film written and directed by Charlie Day in his directorial debut. The film stars Charlie Day, Ken Jeong, Kate Beckinsale, Adrien Brody, Jason Sudeikis, Edie Falco, Jason Bateman, Common, Ray Liotta, and John Malkovich.
Happiest Season is a 2020 American holiday romantic comedy-drama film directed by Clea DuVall, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mary Holland. Starring an ensemble cast consisting of Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, Daniel Levy, Holland, Victor Garber, and Mary Steenburgen, the film follows a young woman who struggles to admit to her conservative parents that she is a lesbian while she and her girlfriend visit them during Christmas. DuVall has said the film is a semi-autobiographical take on her own experiences with her family.
Eric Larue is a 2023 American drama film directed by Michael Shannon in his directorial debut. It was written by Brett Neveu and based on his 2002 play of the same name.