Jocks | |
Director: | Steve Carver |
Producer: | John C. Broderick Ahmet Yasa |
Starring: | Scott Strader Perry Lang Mariska Hargitay Richard Roundtree |
Music: | David McHugh |
Cinematography: | Adam Greenberg |
Editing: | Tom Siiter |
Studio: | Shady Acres |
Distributor: | Crown International Pictures |
Runtime: | 90 minutes |
Country: | United States |
Language: | English |
Jocks is a 1987 teen comedy. The film was directed by Steve Carver and written by Michael Lanahan and David Oas.[1] Jocks was shot in Las Vegas and in Los Angeles.[2]
Coach Williams (Richard Roundtree) must get his tennis players into shape for the big play-offs in Las Vegas. The Kid (Scott Strader) and his buddies run wild in Vegas on and off the court as the coach tries to keep the players out of trouble before the match. Christopher Lee and R. G. Armstrong appear in character roles with Mariska Hargitay in the role of the heroine, Nicole,[3] a scout.
The film was originally known as Road Trip. It was an early appearance by Mariska Hargitay who said the producer wanted her to do a nude sequence but she refused. "They compromised a little and I compromised a little", she said. "Originally my part had a little bit of nudity but I don't do nudity."[4]
Jocks was released in 1987 but never received a wide release. The film grossed only $120,808, making it one of the larger box office failures of 1987.[5]
For the most part, the film was either ignored or attacked by critics. David Cornelius of DVD talk.com gave the film a negative review saying,
The script is rambling and forgetful ... its characters lack the very charm the movie is convinced it's oozing, the tennis sequences are maddeningly dull, the romance is vacant. This is the kind of movie that thinks it's a blast because it shows us college kids getting drunk and leering at women, not realizing that you need to put in these things called "jokes" to make such a premise work.[6]