The label " gross-out movie " was first applied by the mainstream media to 1978 's '' National Lampoon 's Animal House '' , a comedy about the fraternity experience at US colleges . Its humor included not only explicit use of bodily functions ( like projectile vomiting ) , but also references to topical political matters like Kent State shootings , Richard Nixon , the Vietnam war , and the civil rights movement . It was a great box office success despite its limited production costs and thus started an industry trend . Since then , gross-out films increased in number , and became almost the norm for American comedy films . Some films of this genre could be aimed at teen audiences ( such as '' Superbad '' , '' Porky 's '' , '' American Pie '' or '' Eurotrip '' ) , while others are targeted at somewhat more mature audiences ( such as '' There 's Something About Mary '' , '' The Hangover '' or '' Wedding Crashers '' )
Kent State shootings
Kent State shootings
Gross out