Critics can slam a film for being bad. There can even be legal action taken by some of the film’s “stars” because the marketing of the film was something along the lines of a bait and switch scam — Marketing! Marketing! Marketing!!!
It doesn’t matter! Only time makes a movie a fan’s delight, dare we say, “cult.” Such is the case with Homework, which was filmed sometime during 1980, but didn’t see a theatrical release (and that was on a market by market basis related to limited prints) until the run up to Labor Day in 1982.
The film stars Michael Morgan as a high school named Tommy, who is frustrated over his lack of sexual “advancement.” Morgan was a child actor, who had done small parts in episodic television, a few MOWs (Go Ask Alice, Love is Not Forever, Addie and the King of Hearts) and was now making his theatrical debut as a typical “Hollywood teenager” at the ripe old age of 21.
Meanwhile, legendary British actress Joan Collins took a small acting gig (day work for a $25,000 fee) in Homework, which was billed to her as something of a mentor to the confused teen. A few days worth of filming and then she moved on.
Homework finally gets a limited theatrical release in late August of 1982, timed to take advantage of the next season of Dynasty — which would begin airing in late October. Collins was red hot, and suddenly her minor role in the film had been “tweaked” a bit (body double, sex scene, etc.) and she was featured on the film’s theatrical poster and in all of the advertising. Marketing!!
That’s Hollywood, babe! Can anyone say “lawsuit?”
Homework was released on DVD way back in 2002, so for many this Blu-ray edition from Unearthed Films will be the first opportunity to enjoy this “sexploitation” gem.
Bonuses include a vintage video session with producer Max Rosenberg, who is best known to genre fans for his ‘70s horror films — The House That Dripped Blood, Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror, And Now the Scream Starts!, etc.
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