Summary:
After three Go-Go dancers kill a man and kidnap a young girl, they come across an old man living with his two sons in the desert, and they plan to rob him of his fortune.
My Thoughts:
Let me start this review by saying that this is an exploitation movie, and as such there are a few moments in this film that are pretty exploitative towards women, and a few of those moments made me roll my eyes and wish those scenes were over, but at the same time, I feel as if this movie is pretty tame compared to some films we might see today. There is no actual nudity in the film, but some of the scenes in the beginning, where the girls run around in skimpy outfits, swimming with their breasts pressed towards the sky and then getting into five-minute-long catfights for no apparent reason, feel a bit creepier and sleazier than if there had been actual nudity. Again, this is an exploitation film, and I do admit that some of the scenes do feel out of touch with our post-#MeToo culture. I’m not going to try to justify those scenes at all; it’s a weird and awkward relic from time long gone, and sometimes Russ Meyer (director of “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls”) took his sleaziness the point where I was laughing just because I felt uncomfortable.
At the same time that I criticize Meyer’s use of sexuality, this movie would be nothing without that trashiness; the trashiness both degrades and elevates the rest of the material in the film in a way that helps the film transcend itself. It almost feels like were watching a parody of sleazy movies, while, at the same time, this movie is pretty sleazy. I think the reason the sleaziness works so well is because of Meyer’s ability to really craft a story and a world that needs and thrives on that level of ridiculousness, and the female characters, which are often the ones being exploited, are often the smartest and strongest characters in the film. In a way, this film feels both highly feminist and incredibly misogynistic, so I honestly think it transcends its sexual material by sort of being a parody of it. This film, much like Meyer’s “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls”, isn’t based in a world of reality, it’s set in a world where melodrama and insanity meet, and for whatever reason, I’ve found myself loving that world Meyers has created. It might be trashy, it might be sleazy, but it’s also really funny, the characters are incredibly memorable, and the stories are exciting and captivating. Russ Meyer might make trash, but I love it nonetheless.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to Violence!”
Go-go dancers Varla (Tura Satana, “The Astro-Zombies”), Rosie (Haji, “The Killing of a Chinese Bookie”), and Billie (Lori Williams, “A Swingin’ Summer”) head out to the salt flats on their day off for a place to let loose. When young couple Tommy (Ray Barlow, “A Countess from Hong Kong”) and Linda (Sue Bernard, “Stranger in Hollywood”) show up, Varla challenges Tommy to a race; things go awry, and Tommy ends up dead. The girls kidnap Linda and flee across the desert, stopping at a cranky Old Man’s (Stuart Lancaster, “Edward Scissorhands”) house. After they discover the man has a fortune hidden somewhere on the property, they decide to stick around till they can find the money and rob him.
Honestly, I think the thing I like the most about this film is that there is always something going on, and that makes the pacing just fly by. The film itself is only an hour and twenty minutes, and every minute of that runtime is stuffed with violence, car chases, sleazy sex stuff, ridiculous innuendos, hysterical dialogue, or truly bizarre character development. There are only two characters in this film that are ‘good people’, the rest of the characters are absolutely despicable. We learn about each of the characters sins over time, and I personally loved the way that the character relationships are developed, and also how we learn about the girls’ pecking order. I also thought the ending of this film, which I won’t spoil, was a darn near perfect way to wrap up the film.
Verdict:
If you have an interest in trashy/exploitative cinema (or grindhouse and giallo films), then I honestly think you’ll probably get a kick out of this movie. Aside from a few rather lengthy sleazy scenes at the beginning, I had no problem enjoying the movie from start to finish. As I mentioned, the movie sort of rides a line of feminism and misogyny, and I would fault no one if they thought that this movie was just not for them. If that sort of thing makes you uncomfortable, just don’t watch it. If, however, you can take things in stride, go for it, this movie is a blast.
END NOTE: For the longest time, Tarantino planned to remake this film, but those plans seem to have fizzled out now. I do have to say that “Grindhouse: Death Proof” probably took some inspiration from this movie.
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