The basic formula for a teen sex comedy (or its stoner variant) is simple. I’ve outlined it before in other reviews, but here’s the basic rundown. All you need to do is take a fresh batch of awkward up-and-coming young comedians, mix in a tiny bit of social commentary relating to teen life, spin a few crass jokes as well as a decent, memorable comedy set piece (i.e. having sex with a pie) and voila, you’ve got a great teen sex comedy.
And for the most part, "Sex Pot" follows that formula rather well. The problem here isn’t the setup -- the idea is clever. And it isn’t a rating issue either. This is one film that knows exactly what it is -- even the simplistic "to the point" title "Sex Pot" seems to be acknowledging that. Rather, like many Asylum films, this is a picture dampened by a weak script, bad production design and wobbly performances.
The two teen stars, who encounter an aphrodisiac weed and attempt to use it to get laid, are decently likeable, though neither actor is really all that funny (which is a big flaw). There’s plenty of weed smoking, gratuitous nudity, bawdy sex gags and crass humor. But the film is still far from good even though it’s fully aware of what works in a teen sex comedy.
"Sex Pot" feels like it’s been shot in one day -- rushed to completion. Camera setups are cheap. Set design is uninspired. Little flaws sneak through in every scene, often ruining a moment. For example, our motley crew is pulled over by a cop midway through the film. They’re high, they’ve got prostitutes in the car and they’re nervous. Only problem: there’s no police car behind them, despite several references to the point. A tiny little flaw like this neuters a gag since it takes you out of the films’ reality. Not the mention the fact the scene has no real point other than they lose the weed for a short while, which could have been handled in another fashion -- something quicker and funnier.
Other times gags miss their mark because 
the performers are either too eager or unsure of the gag itself to make it funny. One such subplot finds a character with a severe erection for most of the film, but the performer can’t seem to find the right way to play the gag. Since the production is rushed, he never manages to find his groove. Had the erection caused him to walk around like Frankenstein’s monster, or something along those lines, it would have been amusing, ripe for repeat gags. Instead, he limps in one scene, tweaks in another, whines in pain in the next, scratches himself and so on. It’s disjointed and ultimately unfunny.
But the script doesn’t really seem to be interested in providing laughs. It’s a paper-thin story with little character development and even less logic. The two weak leads are left with the difficult task of improvising their way to a joke -- a task they more often fail than succeed at doing. While the two leads do a decent job in the beginning, when it’s just them getting high and trying to see their attractive next door neighbor’s nude, once the film evolves into a road trip, the jokes fall off.
Pacing, often an issue with Asylum films, is simply wretched here. Gags and beats are cut off too early, or hold a second or two longer than they should. The film is also a good ten or fifteen minutes too long. Why this film isn’t a cool 81 minutes is beyond me.
Direction isn’t much better. Instead of grabbing multiple takes (and outtakes), it feels more like director Eric Forsberg ("Alien Abduction") simply did one or two takes and went with the best one -- and we’re left to enjoy the mine field of bad performances clocked by equally bad timing.
There is no denying it -- "Sex Pot" is a terrible, awful, nearly unwatchable movie. That said, I found myself oddly enjoying it far more than something more "professional" like "Miss March" or "Fired Up." This is a film that knows exactly what it is -- a bad teen sex stoner comedy. It’s gloriously exploitative, riddled with copious amounts of female flesh, harkening back to the glamorous, but gritty mid-70s when softcore was mainstream.
If only Asylum would have spent just a little more time amping up the production design, tweaking the narrative, fixing the performances (allowing a real comedian to helm and/or headline the film would have really helped) and setting up the gags, this would have been a fine DTV title.
But at least "Sex Pot" isn’t just another lame DTV title that feels oddly neutered (like "Without a Paddle: Nature’s Calling" or "Road Trip: Beer Pong") or distracted by unlikable heroes. "Sex Pot" is more like a raunchy redneck relative -- oddly likable and completely unafraid to be crass and rude, but not very smart, either.
Film Report Card:
Entertainment Value: C+
Film Value: D
Final Grade:
C-
DVD REVIEW:
Video:
"Sex Pot" is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. Don’t expect a reference transfer because you’re not going to get one, but this disc is about on par with most Asylum releases. The encode is a little hazy, with mild posterization, jagged edges and faint macroblocking flushing the transfer. The print is oversaturated with orange fleshtones and a dominating yellow palette. At least details and depth are fairly sharp. Overall, this one’s hardly a knockout, but it gets the point across just fine.
Annoyingly, DVDFuture was not sent the special edition 3-D version of the film and we are unable to comment on the quality of the 3-D. That said, the film didn’t really feel like it was shot in 3-D at all, so imagine it’s somewhat of a letdown, but perhaps there are 3-D specific bonuses in the 3-D version. Who knows?
Audio:
Audio choices are English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo. No subtitle options are provided. This is a pretty drab surround experience, mostly land-locked to the occasionally crackly center channel, making the mix feel more like a glorified stereo track. Surrounds aren’t particularly organic, neither is music. Bass is almost never put to use. The mix works, to be sure, but not to the best of the film’s ability.
Extras and Packaging:
This single-disc non-3-D version comes packed in a black amaray case with somewhat overbearing, gratuitous artwork (Yes, we know, the film is about sex, and pot -- got it). Like most Asylum releases, there’s little by way of bonus features, but the additions here are surprisingly amusing.
• Featurette: "Bongs of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s aPOTcalypse" (9 minutes, 480p SD) -- This is actually a fairly decent featurette that, at first, amusingly mocks the classic documentary "Hearts of Darkness," which detailed Francis Ford Coppola’s decent into madness while shooting "Apocalypse Now." After the quick gag, we spend the rest of the featurette discussing the 3-D technique (which can’t be seen on this disc). The director occasionally comes off like a big boob, but his heart is in the right place.
• Bloopers (2 minutes, 480i SD) -- Asylum rounds out the disc with their near-standard blooper reel. It isn’t particularly funny, mostly trapped in one boring scene, but worth a peak regardless.
• Trailers (SD)
Final Thoughts:
"Sex Pot" is certainly a teen sex-comedy with it’s finger pressed firmly on the exploitation button, which is refreshing for a DTV title these days. But an unfunny script paired with a weak cast and amateurish production values ruin this film’s moderately clever premise and potential hilarity. The DVD is pretty subpar, but the bonus featurette is funny. If only The Asylum would have thought to allow a comedian to helm (and highlight) the feature, this would have been a vastly superior film with cult potential.
DVD Report Card:
Video: B-
Audio: C+
Extras: C-
Packaging: B
Recommendation: For stoners only.
On DVD: August 18, 2009.
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