If there was ever a movie that wouldn't fly today, it would be "Once Bitten". It stars Jim Carrey as a teenager named Mark who tries convincing his girlfriend Robin to have sex with him, but is unable. He then cruises in Hollywood, meeting
the Countess, who makes him believe they had sex, when in reality she had bitten him. She is a centuries-old vampire who needs three bites of virgin blood every Halloween in order to keep her youthful appearance. Mark then exhibits strange,
vampire-like symptoms.
When Mark and his friends look for hookups at a nightclub, they mistakenly go after a transgender woman. The Countess has a butler whose entire joke is that he's gay, and at one point, Mark's friends look for a vampire bite on his leg
in the school showers, which looks like gay sex to the other students, and they yell, "F-gs in the shower!". See what I mean when I say it wouldn't fly today? Still, "Once Bitten" has unmistakeable 80's charm, with a synthesized soundtrack and a young Jim Carrey who is more restrained, but with his likeable energy that would define him later.
It's also unique in its less explicit approach to teen sex comedy. Watch at your own risk.
Available on VHS, Betamax, LaserDisc, DVD, and Blu-Ray
Grade: C+
"Oxford Blues" isn't bad, but it's the kind of movie that you forget about quickly. It stars Rob Lowe as a teen who gambles his way into affording Oxford University, and has a computer hacker falsify his student records. All this, as well as joining the rowing team, just to
pursue his crush.
You never feel like the protagonist is in danger of getting caught, meaning there isn't much to the movie besides doing sports and chasing a girl. Rob Lowe has charismatic delivery, but he isn't given much to work with. It has synth music, giving it an 80's feel. That helps, I guess?
Available on VHS, Betamax, LaserDisc, and DVD
Grade: C