Prison A-Go-Go! is the heart warming tale of a woman who (very slowly) realises her sister has been abducted and taken to a prison in the Philippines. To rescue her sister, our heroine gets arrested, in the USA, and sent to the prison. The surrounds of this Filipino prison look very…American. Our intrepid lead is bunked with Rhonda Shear, who has aged very well. Rhonda Shear used to host the USA network's Up All Night show (prior to Gilbert Gottfried's reign). While Up All Night always showed cut versions of the films, it was where I was introduced to films like The Toxic Avenger and Sorority Babes In The Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama, so I confess I have a fondness for Ms Shear.

Anyway, after our lead is sent up the river, or whatever the colloquialism is for being sent to a Filipino jail, send ups of the usual Women In Prison antics begin occurring. Meanwhile, a new warden has been posted to the prison by Mrs. Raoul Eater herself, Mary Woronov, who has also aged very well. Despite being second billed, Woronov's part is very small. The new warden has trouble understanding the methods of the prison doctor's experiments, which don't always produce the expected results. Lloyd Kaufman, president of Troma and creator of the The Toxic Avenger, occasionally runs around as an overzealous prison guard.

Prison A-Go-Go! is obviously a satire on the WIP genre, and the film actually contains moments of inspiration, like the very funny score work, a quick nod to Braindead, and the Monty Python-esque deconstruction of the film itself. However, there are also the typically groan inducing Flying High type gags, one even a lame line involving an airplane. The acting is very hammy, but it mostly suits the script. Hell, it could even be argued that the bad acting is a tribute to Prison A-Go-Go!'s inspirations.

One device of particular note is the 'shower clock' which counts down the time 'till the next shower scene. While this is a funny idea, the shower scenes themselves are pretty lame. To satirise this part of WIP films either way over the top nudity or no nudity at all would be required. Actually, I'm not sure it would be possible to make nudity more over the top than in some of the WIP films. So, perhaps the best way to satirise this element would've been the no nudity at all option. Prison A-Go-Go! unfortunately straddles the fence here, and the scenes, which are constantly having attention drawn to them by the clock, really let the film down. The filmmakers seem to have been able to find about three extras willing to do nudity, and that's all the flesh on display. Repeatedly. Sadly, the one clever moment in the shower scenes pulls its own punch then resolves with the typically boring, overly repetitive, normal Prison A-Go-Go! shower scene.

Prison A-Go-Go! is definitely one DVD that should've taken a cue from Luther The Geek and Nikos The Impaler and had extended shower scenes. Then the viewer might even get to see someone who has a significant part in the film nude!