A week ago I received an invitation to see a sneak preview of an upcoming film, and as I scrolled down through the email I really thought that this had to be a joke. How could a movie called A Good Old Fashioned Orgy be coming out, and no one has heard about it? As I continued reading, I saw that the movie starred a few actors that I really enjoyed; Such as Jason Sudeikis, Will Forte, and Tyler Labine. Because the film featured a solid cast, I figured, why not go ahead and give it a shot? 

 

For many years, a group of friends has escaped from their daily lives to venture up to Eric’s family getaway. The group is notorious for having outrageously-themed parties, demonstrated through a “White Trash Extravaganza” in the opening of the film. Following the party, Eric (Jason Sudeikis, Hall Pass) learns that his father is planning on selling the home where they have hosted so many parties and made so many memories, hence Eric and his friends decide to put on one more epic event over Labor Day Weekend, honoring their time together at the house. The brainstorming commences, and Eric and Mike (Tyler Labine, Rise of the Planet of the Apes) come up with the idea to have “A Good Old Fashioned Orgy” (yup, they say the title in the movie). Not everyone is totally into the idea, so it takes a bit of coercing, but eventually the entire group of friends agree. Glenn (Will Forte, Saturday Night Live) and Kate (Lucy Punch, Dinner for Schmucks) are not quite a part of the main group of friends, and as a newlywed couple they are excluded from the festivities planned for Labor Day. They determine that they wanted to be included and go to some lengths to participate. Things are starting to come together for the Epic Orgy, but, naturally, there has to be a wrench thrown into the equation. Said wrench comes in the form of Hot-Real-Estate-Agent Kelly (Leslie Bibb, Iron Man), who has captured Eric’s interest. Can Eric find a way to have a relationship with Kelly and still carry on with his Labor Day plans?

 

What could have been a fun, over-the-top movie that had the opportunity to push social limits (a la Hangover or Van Wilder), ended up being a convoluted waste of time. Sure, there are some funny moments, but they do not help fix the overall problems that the movie had. The biggest problem was that these were totally unlikable characters. There was potential for some great character development with Eric and Kelly, and even Eric and Sue (Michelle Borth, Hawaii 5-0), but instead of confronting those development, they just decide to discard all of the information that had been setup throughout the story and just end the movie without any true resolution whatsoever. The audience is left confused and flat-out annoyed.

 

ComicsOnline gives A Good Old Fashioned Orgy 1.5 out of 5 movies to avoid this Labor Day.

 

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