Meek and suicidal nerd Max Grimm (a likable Christopher Atkins) and his more smooth and assured brother Sam (an equally amiable Perry Lang) are forced to take a course at their family's mortuary academy in order to inherit two million dollars. Kinky closet necrophiliac and head administrator Paul Truscott (Paul Bartel in fine droll form) and his sexually frustrated assistant Mary Purcell (a terrifically brash portrayal by the ever-delightful Mary Woronov) are determined to flunk the siblings so they can take over the place. Director Michael Schroeder, working from a pleasantly twisted and silly script by Bartel and Bill Kelman, relates the cheerfully inane story at a steady pace and maintains an engaging tongue-in-cheek tone throughout. The game cast have a ball with the wacky material: Atkins and Lang are charming in the lead roles, it's always a treat to see Bartel and Woronov in anything, plus there are sound contributions from Tracey Walter as eccentric electronics wizard Don Dickson, Anthony James as twitchy and scary ex-con Abbott Smith, Lynn Danielson as the sweet Valerie Levitt, and Stoney Jackson as hip aspiring rap singer James Danridge. Popping up in cool cameos are Wolfman Jack as crafty rock band manager Bernie Berkowitz, Cesar Romero as a cruise ship captain, Richard Kennedy as a lawyer, and "Playboy" Playmates Dona Speir, Rebekka Armstrong, Kymberly Paige, and Laurie Ann Carr as nurses. This film's main praiseworthy achievement is how it manages to treat the questionable subject matter in a surprisingly playful and good-natured manner; even the potentially tasteless subplot involving Trescott's infatuation with the fetching corpse of a deceased teenage cheerleader avoids being too gross or offensive and hence provides some of the picture's biggest laughs. A very funny and enjoyable flick.
Review of Mortuary Academy
