Am I Normal?: A Film About Male Puberty (1979) Online

I remember watching "Am I Normal?" back in 6th grade. And the film still has a lasting effect on my friends and me. This film is supposed to be a film about male puberty, but it is so dated that it's hilarious. I can't even tell if it's trying to be funny, or this is actually how people of the 1970's acted. The film kept me in stitches - the story tells of a boy who is confused about puberty, so he goes on an journey of learning about the changes happening to him.

Consider the scene in which the boy is reading up on masturbation in a bathroom stall, and a classmate pokes his head over the stall door. "I know what you're doing in there!" says his friend. Or when the boy runs into the locker room, after having just been asked out by a girl, and uneasily declares to all the guys in the locker room, "Guys, I just had a hard-on in the hall. I just wanna know, am I normal?" Or, my personal favorite, when the boy runs up to the zookeeper and whispers a question in his ear; the zookeeper responds, "Well, son, you picked the right guy to ask, because on this job, I see a LOT of penises. Animal penises, that is."

This should be required viewing not just for 6th-graders learning about puberty, but for anyone who needs a good laugh. Unfortunately, it's pretty hard to find.

Oh wow. One cannot go on long enough about this movie. I was forced to see this at my school as part of their horrid sex ed program, and I am glad that they imposed this on us. Simply one of the funniest movies ever. All of the acting is either really bad or just really funny. Not only do the actors talk about "sexual education," but they manage to make it hilarious. You must go find this movie and watch it, as this movie has provided years of endless discussion and laughter amongst my friends. If you love this one, find it's pair: "Dear Diary: A Movie about Female Puberty."

I saw this film in junior high school, like most of America. It was as informative as any sex-ed reel could be, and had that after-school-special-meets-school-house-rock feeling that I love about late seventies/early eighties educational cinema. Luckily for me,it also had my older brother, David Carr, as the unforgettable, if completely misinformed 'Tony'. Although this was a source of much humor around our house in my formative years, when I say it was an ambitious, and in my opinion, ground-breaking piece of film, it's not nepotism talking.

Although sex-ed may have gotten slicker in the last 25 years, 'Am I Normal?' accomplished something that is in many ways still lacking in educational films today: It remembered the audience is composed of KIDS, and addressed them accordingly. What seems hokey in retrospect( at age 31) was very effective on my 13 year-old mind, and the minds of my classmates. From the misconceptions fostered by 'Tony' and the utterly absurd footage of wild-life porn, to the frank discussions of masturbation, wet dreams and the whole grab-bag of pubescent experience, the film doesn't preach or bore. Instead, vital information about what is happening to you and your body at that age is delivered in an enjoyable, nonthreatening lark of a film. Exactly what the doctor ordered for when it comes time to ask the ever-important question: Am I normal??

Now I've seen a lot of movies in this job--PUBERTY movies, that is! And I can easily say that this one takes the cake. I can "hardly" wait for a sequel! You'll be rolling in the aisles with ca-cock-aphonous laughter! Plus you might learn a thing or to, thanks to the great writing talents of David Shepard, who is also known for such greats as "Dear Diary: A Film About Female Puberty." I heartily recommend this masterpiece to men and women alike, of all ages from tots to senior citizens. Rent it today.