Homework Blu Ray Review (Unearthed Films)
Homework is a 1982 sex comedy produced and directed by James Beshears (Sound Editor for The Craft, Murder at 1600, The Glimmer Man, Jade, Under Siege 2, True Lies, Beverly Hills Cop III, Purple Rain, Day of the Dead, Some Kind of Wonderful, Lock Up, Major League, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning, Rocky V, and Coming to America) in his only directorial effort. It was written by Maurice Peterson and Don Safran (Happy Days and Blue Thunder). Several cast members wanted their names removed after additional nudity was added after the original shoot. It grossed $2,914,328 worldwide at the box office. Rock star Tommy (played by: Michael Morgan from The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan) is young but still a very ambitious teenager. He’s still a virgin but he’s ready to lose his virginity to any of the beautiful local high school girls. A classmate’s mother Diane (played by: Joan Collins from Dynasty, Empire of the Ants, American Horror Story, The Big Sleep, Dark Places, and Tales that Witness Madness) decides that she wants to be the one to make a man of him. Everything unfolds through the promiscuous, funny, and sometimes touching life of the young high schooler trying to grow up. At the end of Tommy’s senior year, he’s going to be ready to take on the entire world!!!! 
Homework was originally shot in 1979 but after teen comedies became more popular and Joan Collins blew up on Dynasty, the producers decided to change the film. They went back and added lots of nudity to it. This angered a decent amount of the original female cast including Joan Collins. She only did a smaller role in Homework and she wasn’t even billed as one of the leads until she struck gold on Dynasty years later. They used a body double for their reshoots and they presented it as her own sex scenes. I mainly remember this one being on HBO all the time back in the day. James Beshears is one of the best sound editors in the movie business and he decided try to get behind the camera here for his only feature. The lead Michael Morgan is kinda a douchebag as Tommy. He wants to do music for all the wrong reasons and he only really seems to care about himself. I guess if that was his point then Morgan did his job here. He really wants to get laid and he doesn’t give up after some epic fails. Joan Collins is pushed, promoted, and marketed as the other lead here but honestly she has a much smaller role than expected. She is one of the best things about this comedy. Wings Hauser (Vice Squad) steals all his scenes in his cameo role as Reddog. He’s a little sleazy but he’s an actual rockstar in Homework unlike the wannabe Tommy that’s trying so hard to get into that world. It’s the perfect type of character for the veteran performer. It has a solid supporting cast with more than a few familiar faces in it which includes Erin Donovan (Rainbow), Shell Kepler (General Hospital), Lee Purcell (Valley Girl), Carrie Snodgress (Ed Gein), Betty Thomas (Troop Beverly Hills), Michelle Bauer (Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers), Beverly Todd (Lean on Me), and Mel Welles (Chopping Mall). Homework has all the stuff that you expect from a sex comedy and it definitely delivers on the sleaze. It’s an interesting entry for the sub-genre but don’t expect anything ground breaking or amazing from Homework. Homework is fun and it’s entertaining for the most. It’s worth checking out if you are fan of these type of comedies or someone from the cast!!!! 
Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Unearthed Films! This 1080p (1.85:1) transfer is a very solid upgrade compared to all it’s previous home video releases and it’s the best it’s ever going to look for this newer restoration. It has a few different audio options which includes English: LPCM 2.0 Mono and English: Dolby Digital 2.0 on the disc. It’s not the type of movie that’s going to blow up your speakers or be reference quality but it’s definitely an improvement from before when it comes to the audio. All of the dialogue is very clean, teenage chaos is elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. It has English SDH and English subtitles. It has a little over 27 minute “Interview” with producer Max Rosenberg. He chats a little about his long career. He talks about Homework and how he got involved with this project. He shares that he invested his own money for this. He is a great storyteller and you can tell that he has a blast talking about his experiences. He is hilarious and very honest here. He brings up Joan Collins and the issues that went down during this production. It has a “Promotional Gallery” that’s a little over a minute. It has a variety of “Trailers” including one for Homework. It comes with a slipcover. I loved the design and artwork for the actual disc. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!
Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Unearthed Films! This 1080p (1.85:1) transfer is a very solid upgrade compared to all it’s previous home video releases and it’s the best it’s ever going to look for this newer restoration. It has a few different audio options which includes English: LPCM 2.0 Mono and English: Dolby Digital 2.0 on the disc. It’s not the type of movie that’s going to blow up your speakers or be reference quality but it’s definitely an improvement from before when it comes to the audio. All of the dialogue is very clean, teenage chaos is elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. It has English SDH and English subtitles. It has a little over 27 minute “Interview” with producer Max Rosenberg. He chats a little about his long career. He talks about Homework and how he got involved with this project. He shares that he invested his own money for this. He is a great storyteller and you can tell that he has a blast talking about his experiences. He is hilarious and very honest here. He brings up Joan Collins and the issues that went down during this production. It has a “Promotional Gallery” that’s a little over a minute. It has a variety of “Trailers” including one for Homework. It comes with a slipcover. I loved the design and artwork for the actual disc. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!
