Nicole Weaver & Matt Bennett

How effective is humiliation comedy anymore in our anything-for-YouTube world?

"The Virginity Hit," the latest in the continuum of teenagers-in-heat romps, puts "Porky's" into a social media scenario: scrawny high schooler Matt (Matt Bennett) isn't just angling for his first time -- whether it's with his girlfriend (Nicole Weaver), an Internet siren who takes pity on him or the porn star he worships -- Matt's also a 24/7 viral-video project for his intrusive, camera-toting buddies.

For all the amateur-videographer energy writer-directors Andrew Gurland and Huck Botko get from their zeitgeisty construct, having every embarrassing escapade and profane comedic exchange be part of an inside-joke documentary is like creating an unneeded layer of strained situational comedy.

(Gurland and Botko co-wrote "The Last Exorcism" too, which does a far better job fusing established genre with a faux-doc conceit.)

It all begins to feel like an aggressive sell job: "These kids are funny -- we promise!"

Alas, they're not.

The boys come off mostly as crude, dopey louts -- especially Zack Pearlman, a charmless Jonah Hill wannabe, whom you'd be hard-pressed to believe would attract any self-respecting female into their horn dog orbit.

That this was produced by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay is especially dispiriting.

Their online humor hub Funny or Die is a viral-comedy superstore, but this Web-inspired "Superbad" rip-off is simply super bad.

 

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"The Virginity Hit" Movie Trailer

It's four guys, one camera, and their hilarious experience chronicling the exhilarating and terrifying rite of passage: losing your virginity. As these guys help their buddy get laid, they’ll have to survive friends with benefits, internet hookups, even porn stars during an adventure that proves why you will always remember your first.

 

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MPAA rating: R (for strong crude and sexual content, nudity, pervasive language, drug and alcohol use).

Running time: 1:30.

Cast: Matt Bennett (Matt); Zack Pearlman (Zack); Jacob Davich (Jacob); Justin Kline (Justin); Krysta Rodriquez (Krysta).

Credits: Written and directed by Andrew Gurland and Huck Botko; produced by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Chris Henchy, Peter Principato and Paul Young. A Columbia Pictures release.