Entertainment

Extremely R-Rated 80s Comedy Is A Masterclass In Tastelessness

Published

3 hours ago

3 July 2026

NewsAdmin

By Robert Scucci
| Published 1 hour ago

Have you gone bowling lately? It’s prohibitively expensive to get a few games in with the family on a Friday night, but we try to get out every couple of months for the love of the game, even if it ends up costing us nearly $200 after food and drinks. But money comes and goes, and you only get one life, so you should spend it with the people who matter. Bowling is great because everybody in my family sucks at it, which helps the kids realize that not everybody is instantly good at everything unless they put in the practice.

That is all to say that the money spent on a family bonding experience is worth it if there are valuable lessons to be taught. Not all bowling alley lessons are created equal, though, which brings us to 1988’s Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama, a horror comedy that’s kind of based on “The Monkey’s Paw,” but mostly just an excuse for sex jokes and gratuitous, cartoonishly violent kills. I’m not saying that it’s a bad thing either, though the 37 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes would have you believe otherwise. Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama does not have a critical score.

It’s not that the movie is unwatchable or terrible. This is simply what you get with a $90,000 budget while trying to lean into shock value. This isn’t a family bowling trip, and there are no teachable moments in sight. I don’t know about you, but that’s exactly what I look for when I’m trying to escape the horrors of modern life with my entertainment choices.

It’s Exactly What It Sounds Like

Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama follows three socially awkward frat boys named Calvin (Andras Jones), Jimmie (Hal Havins), and Keith (John Stuart Wildman), who decide that the best way to spend their evening is spying on the neighboring Tri-Delta sorority house. There, Babs (Robin Rochelle), Rhonda (Kathi O’Brecht), and Frankie (Carla Baron) are “initiating” their two newest members, Taffy (Brinke Stevens) and Lisa (Michelle Bauer). The initiation involves the newcomers getting spanked with paddles and covered in whipped cream, something the three frat boys take great delight in witnessing through the living room window.

When it’s shower time, the boys sneak into the house, and in no time whatsoever they’re caught peeping. Dead to rights, they’re used by Babs, Rhonda, and Frankie for the next initiation, or humiliation, ritual. They’re tasked with taking Taffy and Lisa to the nearby bowling alley, located in a mall owned by Babs’ father, to steal a trophy. What they don’t know is that Babs and the rest of the girls plan to mess with them, and maybe even get some good video footage of the prank.

What nobody is prepared for in Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama is Uncle Impie (Dukey Flyswatter), who was trapped inside the trophy and is unleashed into the world when it’s dropped. Impie, as his name suggests, is supposed to be an imp, but he really looks more like a cross between a hairless gremlin and a rubber pit bull. Grateful for being freed, he grants everybody one wish, but like “The Monkey’s Paw,” which inspired this film and countless others before and since, every wish backfires.

For example, Keith wishes to hook up with Lisa, who becomes a complete nymphomaniac, to the point where Keith wants to tap out from exhaustion. If you’ve ever wondered what “too much of a good thing” looks like, you’ll find it here.

Matters continue to escalate as everybody starts dropping like flies in the most insane ways $90,000 can buy. Severed heads roll down bowling alley lanes, doors are electrified, people are killed with paddles, and so on. I’m not going into graphic detail because the kills and scares are genuinely fun, but let’s just say that lots of found weaponry is used, and it’s about as crude as you could imagine.

Zero Lessons Were Learned While Watching This Film

So what’s the lesson or takeaway after my viewing of Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama? There isn’t one. This is the kind of good, crude fun you watch after family bowling night, when your son drops a 10-pound ball on your foot, spills his soda on the overpriced chicken tenders, and you have to resist the urge to rattle off f-word after f-word in front of countless spectators. This is how you blow off steam after those teachable moments: by not having to experience any more teachable moments for the rest of the day so you’re ready to conquer tomorrow.

Is Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama a great film? It depends on what you’re looking for. If you’re partial to over-the-top horror comedies, you should give it a go. If you look down your nose at low-budget films that are intentionally campy and going for shock value, you’re going to have the absolute worst time watching it. If you occupy both territories, I can assure you this movie is not 37 percent bad, but your mileage may vary.