Before Patrick Dempsey became "McDreamy" on the show Grey's Anatomy for over a decade, he was a teenage heartthrob in the 80s. The movie that put him on the map was Can't Buy Me Love, about a dork named Ronald Miller who pays the head cheerleader to go out with him so that he can become popular. The plan works and Ronald becomes the big man on campus before predictably it all comes crashing down and everyone learns a lesson about accepting people for who they are.
It came out in 1987 and was a modest hit, making $31 million. But that's not what this review is about. This review is about Dempsey's lesser known sex comedy that came out two years later called Loverboy. In it, he plays Randy, a college student who is trying to figure things out with his life. He is flunking out of college and not doing a very good job in his relationship with his girlfriend. He takes a job as pizza delivery boy in the summer to earn some money to try and get back to college and his girlfriend. Through a series of events that only happens in movies, he ends up sleeping with an older woman (we didn't have the term cougar back then). She lavishes him with gifts and clothing, the signal that it is her being the order of a pizza with extra anchovies.
She tells him she must go back to Italy and it seems as though that is the end of the affair, until he starts getting other calls at the pizza place with orders for extra anchovies. Turns out they are from lonely older women who are seeking his services. Yes, you guessed it, Randy becomes a gigolo. But it is not just about the sex. He listens to then. He dances with them. He romances them in ways their neglectful husbands no longer do. He starts making some real bank and he is on his way to being able to afford to get back to college.
But as happens in most movies such as this, it can only last so long before things come to a head. In this case, there are three plot points that meet at a sitcom intersection. Randy's parents are not getting along because his dad is not supporting him and thinks he is gay, the husbands of the women he is sleeping with are starting to get wise to their wives extra-curricular activities, and his girlfriend is coming for a visit for his parent's anniversary party.
This film has a couple of things going for it. Dempsey is very charming as the immature young man who learns a thing or two about the proper way to treat women. Some of the women who are his clients are Barbara Carrera, Kirstie Alley, and Carrie Fisher, an impressive list of supporting players. Although not as good as Can't Buy Me Love, it does make a good companion film for those who liked that one.
But this is why I struggle with streaming. I looked everywhere for this movie to tell you where to find it. It used to be on Tubi but is no longer there. I usually can count on Amazon or Apple to rent it but it is not available. The only way at this point you can watch this movie is to buy the DVD from Amazon. If someone doesn't have a DVD player, they are unable to watch this film, and when Amazon runs out of DVDs to sell, this film might be gone.