''Homework'' is a 1982

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by James Beshears and starring

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime ...

. The film was marketed with the tagline "Every young man needs a teacher."

Summary

''Homework'' tells the story of Tommy ( Michael Morgan), a young rock star who is also a virgin. As he tries to lose his virginity to local high school girls, a classmate's mother (

) decides to make a man of him.

Cast

as Diana *Michael Morgan as Tommy * Shell Kepler as Lisa *Lanny Horn as Ralph *Erin Donovan as Sheila *

Lee Purcell Lee Purcell (born Lee Jeune Williams; June 15, 1947) is an American actress who worked primarily in the 1970s and 1980s. Early life Purcell was born Lee Jeune Williams at the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point (North Carolina), the elder daug ...

as Ms. Jackson *

Renée Harris Renée C. Harris is an American singer, dancer, and actress. Her career was launched as an 18-year-old with the role of Dorothy Gale in the touring version of '' The Wiz''.Ebony Jr. April 1977 p.8 Discography *"Doctor Music" released with B-si ...

as Cookie *Mark Brown as Mix *Steve Gustafson as John *

Carrie Snodgress Caroline Louise Snodgress (October 27, 1945 – April 1, 2004) was an American actress. She is best remembered for her role in the film ''Diary of a Mad Housewife'' (1970), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award as w ...

as Dr. Delingua *

Wings Hauser Gerald Dwight "Wings" Hauser (born December 12, 1947) is an American actor and occasional director. He received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for his supporting role in '' Tough Guys Don't Dance'' (1987). Life and career Hauser was b ...

as Reddog *

Betty Thomas Betty Thomas (born Betty Lucille Nienhauser; July 21, 1948) is an American actress, director, and producer. She is known for her Emmy Award-winning role as Sergeant Lucy Bates on the television series '' Hill Street Blues''. As of March 2018, T ...

as Reddog's secretary

Lawsuits

The day before the film's premiere, it was reported that Joan Collins, Betty Thomas, Carrie Snodgress and Lee Purcell had all taken legal action to get their names removed from the credits. Collins claimed that the film's advertising was misleading because she had only performed in a minor supporting role shot two years earlier, but a sex scene had been added afterward using a

body double In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes FOR another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stunt ...

to cash in on her new celebrity status from the hit TV show ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

''. The other three performers claimed they had been under a false impression about the kind of film they were making."Judge Bars Ads Depicting Collins' Nude 'Homework'". ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

''. September 1, 1982. p. 5. Collins' attorneys won a partial victory when a federal court ordered Jensen Farley Pictures to stop using ads that depicted Collins nude.

Reception

'' called the film "a very poorly-made sex comedy" with "plentiful post-production doctoring" in evidence.

Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his d ...

of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' gave the film zero stars out of four, declaring: "A miserable excuse for a movie. One of the year's worst."

Dale Pollock Dale M. Pollock (born 1950) is an American film producer, writer and film professor. A journalist whose works have been published in a number of magazines and newspapers, Pollock is also the author of a biography of George Lucas. Pollock has ...

wrote in the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' that the film was marred by "poor photography, sloppy editing and atrocious acting," and that the body double in the sex scene "doesn't even resemble Collins." Pollock, Dale (September 1, 1982). "'Homework' Gets Flunking Grade". ''

''. Part VI, p. 2.

References

External links

* * 1982 films 1982 comedy films Films about virginity 1980s English-language films American comedy films 1980s American films {{1980s-comedy-film-stub