Friday, September 10, 2010

Superchick (1973)

Directed by Ed Forsyth
Starring Joyce Jilson, Louis Quinn, Thomas Reardon, Tony Young, Timothy Wayne Brown, John Carradine, Uschi Digard, Candy Samples 
Rated R
USA

"Last one in bed gets no head!"

Welcome to the swinging '70's, my friends... a land full of hammy melodramatic rich dudes who prefer performance art over actual sex and have crazy germ phobias, pot parties, and horny, loose air-line stewardesses who have a Clark Kent fetish. And the best part? John Carradine as a weirdo S&M enthusiast.


SUPERCHICK (Crown International, 1975) really doesn't have a plot. More like a series of subplots that come to an abrupt end. It basically plays like a feature-length clip show, with elements of three or four different films edited together that just happen to have the same central character.


The finished film is like watching some crazy retro travel documentary about a stewardess, Tara B. True, portrayed by future psychic quack Joyce Jillson (who for the record has amazing boobs, and shows them off alot in the film, though the end credits proclaim she utilized a body double in some scenes), and her need to have sex with multiple partners in several different cities.


True leads a double life (hence the "Superchick" title, I'm assuming) where she's a mousey brunette flight attendant by day, and blonde-headed vixen by night...we're not told why she does this, and I'm assuming that's just how she gets her kicks, pretending to be two people. Maybe it's a cosplay thing. Go figure...




Now, allow me to stop here for a moment and say something about the opening title sequence. If Quentin Tarintino wasn't inspired in some way by SUPERCHICK's title credits when filming JACKIE BROWN's, then it's some sorta incredible coincidence. Hell, Subplot #1 (which serves as the closest thing as a central plotline this film has) is practically an abridged version of Elmore Leonard's RUM PUNCH, the book the aforementioned Tarintino flick was based on. Loser gambling addict West Coast boyfriend (whom we're introduced to as he's screwing around with porno actress Candy Samples and her huge milk cans) gets caught up in a plot by the mob to rip off a payroll. For some reason the local mob want Tara involved because she's a flight attendant, though the film doesn't really make clear why the gangsters need her help to begin with.



Subplot #2 is Tara's wacky sex antics with an eccentric pop musician whom she meets up with after a party busted by two crooked beat cops where we get to see Rus Meyer girl Uschi Digard's bust. Digard portrays a party-girl named Mayday who's outfit (when she's wearing it) is bursting at the seams, that is when she isn't trying to make some bisexual time with Tara.

Subplot #3 involves Tara and her wealthy New York boyfriend whos's a doctor...and has some serious germ issues. So much so, he and Ms. True engage in an oddly staged bit of performance art that's half beat poetry reading and half simulated bedroom pillow talk that provides a bit of unintentional humor....not that the film needed any more of it.

Thrown in amongst all these subplots are a few goofy skits involving Jillson's character joining the "mile high club" with a travelling Marine in an airplane restroom, and her answering a swingers ad which she comes to discover was written by Igor, a pervy old S&M lover who lives with his mother and looks like he walked off the set of a late-night horror film host's show. John Carradine looks to have been enjoying the role of Igor a little too much, and his appearence in SUPERCHICK solidifies my opinion that he would literally cash a paycheck for any role that fell into his lap.

Is SUPERCHICK a good film? It's hard to say....it's less like a movie and more like a series of skits. The pros are: Jillson is fairly easy on the eyes and there's more than enough background boobs than you can shake a stick at. And there are some funny bits here and there, but that leads to the cons: the film tends to drag at points, which isn't helped by the fact that if a viewer cared to follow the film's storyline, they probably couldn't, because there isn't one there to be had. My advice? Watch it for the eye-candy and cheesecake, and throw any hopes of figuring out what the movie's about out the window. A nice piece of 1970s cheese that goes down a lot easier if you don't put much thought into it...


- Hong Kong Cavalier

Don't Deliver Us From Evil (1971)

Directed by Joël Séria
Starring Jeanne Goupil and Catherine Wagener
Unrated
France

"Help us to be ever more wicked. Help us to do evil. And at the hour of our death, take us to your Satanic bosom."

Banned in France for blasphemy upon it's initial release, Joël Séria's Don't Deliver Us From Evil is a taboo riding romp that will probably leave you feeling a little bit uncomfortable at times, and perhaps a little bored or disappointed at others.

Don't Deliver Us From Evil takes place during the summer break of two 14 year old convent girls (Anne and Lore, played by Jeanne Goupil and Catherine Wagener respectively) as they follow a path of rebellion that ends in a tragic and unexpected fashion.

The two newly befriended girls spend much of their time off from school reading naughty poetry under the covers, riding their bikes around town, and deceptively seducing older men with their budding feminine wiles. One such seduction ends in a Benny Hill style attempted rape chase scene and another ends much worse (for the girls or the seductee, I won't reveal).

As the summer progresses, the girl's boldness grows and their acts escalate from innocent teasing and irreverent misbehavin' to those of violence - both intentional and unintentional.


Overall, Don't Deliver Us From Evil is a mixed bag. When it's good, it's very good, and when it's not so good, all you can do is sit there and imagine how it could have been done better. The moods are all over the place from coming-of-age drama to corny sex comedy and this doesn't fare as well as if it were presented in a serious tone throughout.


Mondo Macabro does a decent job in presenting Don't Deliver Us From Evil. The print is fine, sound is alright and the bonus features are interesting. My nitpicks come mainly with the packaging: the cover is pretty poorly drawn, aren't the characters in the film, and makes the entire presentation look cheap.


One final issue I have is with how the film is marketed. Despite what you would think from title and content details, this is not a horror movie. Yes, the girls have a Satanic ritual in which they swear their allegiance to the dark lord, but in the end, the girls are nothing more than bored, curious teenagers in way over their head.

Even with my gripes, I still have to recommend Don't Deliver Us From Evil. The relationship between the girls is interesting, there are plenty of naughty thrills and quite the unexpected (and oddly humorous) ending. Pick it up if you're into teensploitation, girls-gone-bad-gone-evil stories or just have nothing better to do and want to see very young looking women frolic in their underthings a lot.

- Jeremy Vaca

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