Paradise Bungalows (aka The Virgin Queen of St. Francis High) (Blu-ray Review)
Director
Francesco LucenteRelease Date(s)
1987 (August 18, 2026)Studio(s)
Pioneer Pictures/Ruby Max Entertainment (MVD Visual)- Film/Program Grade: C
- Video Grade: B+
- Audio Grade: B+
- Extras Grade: C+
Review
Originally made in 1987 and basically lost to time, this Canadian coming of age comedy focuses on two teenage boys who don’t like each other much. There’s soft spoken and somewhat introverted Mike (Joseph R. Straface) and the more traditional 80s bully Randy (Lee Barringer). Locked in a constant back and forth, Mike makes Randy a bet: two thousand dollars that Mike can get Diane (Stacy Christensen) the school’s goodest good girl to spend the night with him at the local resort Paradise Cabins. Because Diana is known for her plan to remain a virgin until marriage, Randy is absolute that Mike will fail. We then fall into all the trappings of a typical teen sex farce, without the sex and with people being more or less nice—aside from Diane’s friend Judy (Anna Lisa Iapaolo) who hates Mike for more than a few reasons and takes it out on Mike’s best pal Charles (J.T. Wotton). All bases are covered and it’s more or less a paint by numbers in execution. Is it good? No. But it’s not bad, either. It’s just there. I’m not happy I watched this, but I’m glad companies like MVD are releasing things like this for the audience that may appreciate a dated teen comedy from Canada. If that sounds like you, have at it.
Shot on 16mm and restored and mastered from those elements, Paradise Bungalows is presented 1080p at 4:3 or roughly 1.37:1. It’s a bit light and hazy, with some natural grain, but overall it’s a clean transfer and quite watchable. Audio is in two formats, Dolby Digital-HD 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 (with English subs) and both sound fine. Nothing super dynamic, but this isn’t the film for a state-of-the-art sound field, so clarity is king and you get that. Extras are just a “trailer” which is just an extended scene like you’d get on Netflix when the trailer for the film is just a scene, and a soundtrack CD featuring the music and songs from the film.
- Todd Doogan