Movie Review: 'Virginity Hit'** doesn't feel like the first time

Zack Pearlman and Matt Bennett look for laughs in 'The Virginity Hit.' SCOTT SALTZMAN Enlarge

How to describe an R-rated comedy about high schoolers desperate for a friend to have sex for the first time?

Or is the title, "The Virginity Hit," enough?

What the film's title and brief description don't tell you is that the movie was written and directed by Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland, whom Will Ferrell and Adam McKay "discovered" on their comedy Web site, Funny or Die.

You probably also didn't know that Botko and Gurland wrote "The Last Exorcism."

Maybe they should stick to horror and avoid generic sex romps because everything about "The Virginity Hit" screams rehash.

The film even employs the single-camera, faux documentary approach ("The Blair Witch Project," "Paranormal Activity") - at least it's used in a sex comedy and not another horror film - as wannabe filmmaker Zack (Zack Pearlman) wishes to chronicle his adopted brother and best friend Matt (Matt Bennett) and his quest to lose his virginity.

It shouldn't be that difficult since Matt has a girlfriend, Nicole (Nicole Weaver), who is waiting patiently for them to consummate their relationship. Matt, however, subscribes to the romantic ideal of making love for the first time, and wants everything to be perfect, including a fancy dinner and hotel suite.

But just days before their big date, Matt learns Nicole hooked up with some other guy at a fraternity party.

Nicole was drunk and didn't have sex, she protests, but Matt dumps her anyway, forcing his buddies to find other creative ways to help him score.

What "The Virginity Hit" has going for it is a young cast made up of mostly unknown actors, who give the film a sweet sincerity and authenticity.

The comedy also incorporates a strong online theme via YouTube, where Matt's videos are posted almost daily for global social commentary. At least this offers a novel twist to the standard sex romp, though it's certainly not germane to the plot.

That sort of sums up the film.

Despite its best efforts, "The Virginity Hit" is really nothing more than a late-night Cinemax offering, with better acting and an earnest script minus the gratuitous nudity. And just like those sex spectacles, there's little in the way of funny.

"The Virginity Hit" is not a bad movie, it's not just particularly good. And unlike its title, there's nothing here you haven't seen before.

Contact Kirk Baird at

kbaird@theblade.com

or 419-724-6734.