Supervixens

1975 Russ Meyer's mammalicious extravaganza

Rating: 14/20

Plot: A sadistic and impotent cop kills the busty (naturally) wife of a gas station employee who has to skip town when he finds out that he's the prime suspect. A series of busty misadventures take place before he settles down, only to have a blast (Note: This pun will make sense if you see the movie.) from his past show up.

Man, I love this movie. I'm still trying to decide if Russ Meyer has made a work of art here or a B-grade work of trash or some kind of art/trash hybrid. Here, Meyer paints predictably with broad breaststrokes. Shari Eubank plays duel roles as SuperAngel and SuperVixen (see, the "Super" thing is the big gag here) and nails both domineering and distressing damsel well, screaming and gyrating and handling abuse and being stunned and, whenever possible, bouncing spectacularly. Oh, that bouncing--makes me wonder if there's a warm-blooded male out there who wouldn't appreciate what's going on here. Uschi Digard, Christ Hartburg, and Colleen Brennan play the other "Super" girls. Oh, and Haji as Super Haji who might be my favorite, the operator of a bar that I'd definitely frequent. Charles Napier is aided by a fake schlong and makes for a disturbing and disturbed antagonist, driven by nothing more than impotence which makes me wish I would have watched this one with either Freud or my Uncle Barry. Napier gets some wacky lines, and he's able to take something as simple as "Get your funky ass out of here" and make it sound like he's evil incarnate but heavily caffeinated. This is a movie that obviously takes place in Russ Meyer's subconscious as it doesn't make a lick of sense in any real world I know of. The sleazy style creates this world that can only exist in a Russ Meyer's movie, the sort of thing that David Lynch or Jodorowsky do with their movies. Rapid fire jump-cuts and often wildly inappropriate music, including some hoe-down music and an instrumental version of "In the Sweet By and By," give this one of those they-don't-make-'em-like-this-anymore feels that I think is pretty easy to fall in love with if you don't think too much, or maybe even at all, about what is going on with whatever story this might have. The climax of that story, by the way, is one of the wackiest things you'll ever see.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

ohhh all the problems with the ending. he runs toward the guy throwing dynamite. he runs away from dynamite, but i get the feeling he was suppose to be making forward progress the whole time. when he seems to get to the top of the mountian guess what? theres still another peak. meyers is the master of the tight shot. whether he is focusing on a phalic cigar or a set of breasts just barely being held in place by a small piece of fabric or a gyrating ass. i dont think amy appreciated this as much as i did.

Shane said...

No, man, he was ducking and weaving! You can't just run predictably toward a guy throwing dynamite at you or you might as well be trying to catch dynamite. He was trying to be elusive. NO problems with the ending!

There are always two peaks in Russ Meyer's movies.

See, that sentence right there is the kind of writing that should win me awards.

Surprised Amy didn't like this. Seems like it would be right up her alley. (That might be sarcastic.)