Homework Blu-ray Review

Dame Joan Collins (The Stud) regretted ever making Homework, a cheesy and at the time controversial teen sex comedy released in the early 1980s just as she was making waves again as a television star on Dynasty. The English actress originally signed a contract with nudity for the role but famously didn’t shed her clothes when it came time to film, forcing producers to scramble with a hastily-assembled scene featuring a body double.

Primarily filmed in the late 1970s during the nadir of her long Hollywood career, Homework’s distributors decided to cash in on the box office success of Private Lessons by taking the unreleased film and adding new re-shoots. Despite receiving top billing, Collins plays second fiddle to a bunch of horny teenagers pretending to play in a band. There is funny material hidden within Homework but slipshod character building undercuts the final product.

There is nothing particularly erotic about Homework despite its promise of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll

Homework’s choppy storytelling follows virgin teenager Tommy (Michael Morgan) and his group of clueless high school friends. Equal parts Porky’s, Private Lessons, and The Partridge Family for good measure, Tommy decides he’s going to become a rock star by starting a band with his friends. With obvious dreams of adoring groupies falling for his charms.

Somewhat anticipating Fast Times at Ridgemont High, his circle of friends get into various forms of mischief mostly concerning their pursuit of sex. Tommy’s friend Lisa (Shell Kepler) contracts Gonorrhea from a sleazy music star played by Wings Hauser. Tommy’s prayers are finally answered by his wayward girlfriend’s mother Diane (Joan Collins), a bored cougar who seduces him.

There is nothing particularly erotic about Homework despite its promise of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll. The tawdry premise is stretched thin. Its dated tone and uneven writing weren’t received favorably in the 1980s, much less younger audiences today. The patchwork narrative is a mess of confusing themes all working against each other.

On one hand you get a funny parody about those educational videos schools would play for sex ed warning about sexually transmitted diseases, while certain storylines come out of a much more wholesome and different feeling screenplay. Despite getting top billing, Joan Collins isn’t a huge presence in the movie.

James Beshears’ only credit as a director, Homework isn’t very good filmmaking. The teen sex comedy vaguely works when the cast is having fun with the obviously cheesy lines but there isn’t much beyond seeing Joan Collins as a desperate housewife. Go check out a better film in this sub-genre like Private Lessons or My Tutor.

Technically first released to theaters in 1982, a portion of Homework’s filming dates back to the late 1970s. Especially relevant are Joan Collins’ scenes, some of which exhibit rougher picture quality. One shot in particular is so blown out you feel the director must have been desperate to keep as much of her footage in the final movie as possible.

Treated rather shabbily in prior DVD versions by VCI, Unearthed Classics gives us an improved HD transfer derived from decent film elements. It’s not perfect with crushed black levels obliterating shadow details in many scenes, not to mention an erratic contrast. One memorable shot has a character’s Afro literally looking like a smooth bowling ball with no interior structure.

The R-rated main feature runs 89 minutes on a BD-25, encoded in somewhat patchy AVC. The 1.85:1 presentation is fairly sharp albeit with several softer scenes hampering its consistency. Cinematographer Paul Goldsmith absolutely slathers any shot of Joan Collins in a glowing soft haze, as was the style for many older female stars back in the day.

Video quality certainly dips on interiors and the ugly flashback scenes. Grain is rough and bumpy, though naturalistic given the cinematography’s limitations. That being said, Homework receives a mostly faithful transfer with real definition befitting 1080p  video. The elements vary but generally resemble many other lesser late ‘70s, early ‘80s films found on Blu-ray.

Unearthed Films gives two audio selections for Homework, 2.0 PCM mono and a 2.0 Dolby Digital option supposedly listed as stereo. The clear winner is the lossless mono soundtrack, as the “stereo” mix is almost certainly fake. The sound design isn’t elaborate, reflecting its indie production roots largely recorded in the late 1970s. Some mild analog hiss and background noise enters the audio which isn’t that intrusive.

Possibly hoping to tap the youth market, Homework features a rock and pop soundtrack from unknown musical acts. Generic, serviceable tunes play in adequate sound fidelity with minimal dynamic range. Dialogue reproduction is fine with no noticeable issues.

Optional English SDH and English subtitles play in a white font.

Unearthed Films issues Homework on Blu-ray, making its worldwide debut on the format. It’s #15 in their Unearthed Classics line and arrives with a risque slipcover highlighting star Joan Collins. They dig up a lengthy interview from the producer which was originally put out over 20 years ago on VCI’s DVD.

The backcover lists the BD as Region A but some information leads me to believe it may actually be region-free.

Interview with Legendary Producer Max Rosenberg (27:20 in upscaled HD) – Recorded over twenty years ago, Rosenberg doesn’t mince words discussing Joan Collins and the controversy surrounding this movie. It’s a candid, fascinatingly honest look at Homework as he delves into its director and cast, going over issues you normally don’t hear about in bonus material.

Promo Gallery (01:18 in HD)

Homework Trailer (01:25 in SD)

Full Body Massage Trailer (01:26 in HD)

Tokyo Decadence Trailer (01:13 in HD)

Nightwish Trailer (01:38 in HD)

Full disclosure: This Blu-ray was provided by the label for review. This has not materially affected DoBlu’s editorial process. For information on how we handle all review material, please visit DoBlu’s about us page.

The following six screen shots serve as samples for our subscription-exclusive set of 34 full resolution, uncompressed HD screen shots ripped directly from the Blu-ray: