The Last American Virgin (1982, Boaz Davidson)

Kudos to Davidson for trying, in the last twenty minutes, to dig underneath the surface of the adolescent sex comedy and find something "real"; unfortunately, these characters aren't built to handle that kind of weight. (Imagine the Flintstones trying to do Macbeth -- it just doesn't work.) No doubt many at the time were annoyed by the wall-to-wall pop songs (especially since every single one is on the nose, thematically), but 24 years later it felt more like a time capsule, The Greatest Hits of 1981, coating the film in a kind of nostalgic haze that helps, even though it's completely unearned. (And was this thing tied up in rights issues like Heavy Metal? I can't see how it wasn't.) Only one single moment transcends the movie -- the "I Will Follow" montage -- and yet, how can you screw up with "I Will Follow"?. Still, it's good enough. People Are Gonna Look At Me Funny, Part One: Haven't done the research, but I feel pretty confident that this was a huge influence on Judd Apatow. People Are Gonna Look At Me Funny, Part Two: Kimmy Robertson in 1982 -- awww riiiight.