Babyface

Alex de Renzy's "Babyface" is a notorious entry in the annals of adult entertainment. With a bizarre blend of upbeat fun and skin-crawling moments, this hardcore classic is a rollercoaster of explicit thrills and unsettling twists.

The film follows two intertwining narratives. In one, we meet the titular character, a teenager (played by Lyn "Cuddles" Malone) who, despite appearing to be in her mid-twenties, encounters an older construction worker, Dan (Dan Roberts), and experiences a deflowering that is as comical as it is explicit. The other thread focuses on Dan's attempt to evade the consequences of his actions by seeking refuge in "The Champ's" (Kathryn Reed) all-male bordello, leading to a series of raunchy and often humorous encounters.

"Babyface" is a peculiar beast. On the one hand, it embraces female pleasure and desires, with a surprising amount of wholesomeness amidst the graphic content. The film leans into its comedic elements, finding humor in the campy dialogue and the over-the-top situations that unfold. However, the film also ventures into darker territory, with themes that some may find disturbing. The "jailbait" setup, a mother's unsettling obsession with her daughter's teenage love interests, and a relentless, cum-soaked gang bang scene showcase the film's ability to venture into the realm of the uncomfortably explicit.

The performances are committed, and the film delivers some genuinely shocking moments. The knife-wielding mother's showdown is a standout, as is the cling film-clad hilarity of Dan Roberts. Yet, with a runtime of almost two hours, "Babyface" feels overly indulgent, testing the patience of even the most dedicated viewer.

In conclusion, "Babyface" is a hard-to-define piece of pornography. It's not for the faint of heart, but within the genre, it offers a unique blend of humor, shock value, and a nod to female pleasure that sets it apart. A curious artifact of adult cinema that, despite its flaws, remains a must-see for those who can appreciate its particular brand of provocative entertainment.

Alex De Renzy (FEMMES DE SADE, PRETTY PEACHES) was one of the greatest directors of adult films ever, his career starting in the late 60s and proceeding well into the 90s. So saying that BABY FACE stands as his crowning achievement is no small praise. This ranks as one skin flick that truly has it all : a complete story line, fine production, a couple of decent acting performances (Paul Thomas, Joey Silvera, Sandi Pinney as race car driver Tasha) and some of the hottest sex scenes ever assembled in a single movie.

Big, lumbering Dan Roberts stars as the hapless construction worker who has to go into hiding following his seduction of underage but willing Priscilla (Lyn 'Cuddles' Malone, looking very young but according to all reports over 20 at the time of shooting) which incurs the wrath of her religious fanatic of a mum (the amazing Molly Seagrim, real life wife of cult carnal creator Zachary Strong, taking over from THUNDERCRACK!'s Marion Eaton who got cold feet at the last minute). After a near-fatal accident leaves him unconsciously drifting in the bay, he is saved by fan favorites Amber Hunt (star of Shaun Costello's Fiona ON FIRE) and Linda Wong (unforgettable in Howard Ziehm's SWEET CAKES) who clean him up and then some. Hunt comes up with the brilliant idea of taking him to the Training Camp, a brothel catering exclusively for rich women and run by her aunt, affectionately referred to as the Champ.

Naturally, this fancy cat house (or should that be a 'doghouse', considering the role reversal ?) provides the perfect backdrop for the movie's myriad sexual situations, nearly all of them handled with great style and enthusiasm by cast and filmmaker alike, shot through with a wickedly subversive humor that may not sit too well with the PC crowd, though they would probably never admit to watching this kind of film in the first place. Standout scenes include gentle giant Roberts tender initiation of the eager Malone, their contrast in size providing an instant thrill all by itself, and the late great Kristine Heller (whose life story was turned into another adult film, THE AWAKENING, by one time paramour Paul Thomas) taking on pretty much all the guys present in what has to stand as the single greatest gang bang sequence ever committed to film or video.

I have to agree with Daernoult (above), the stand-out scene in this movie is the Paul Thomas/Desiree West (aka Patricia Lee) scene, and its continuation when Amber Hunt joins in. One of the hottest scenes in all porn IMO. It really helps the eroticism of this scene that the underrated Desiree West could REALLY act (for my money porn's best actress). You have to see it to understand why, for once, good acting is important here. Note: you have to see the uncut version - which is available - the "contentious" dialogue in this scene is cut in at least one DVD release.

The notorious Kristine Heller gang-bang scene is also fantastic and runs the above a close second. In fact all but a couple of the sex scenes are really hot (and there's loads of them!).

The acting is mostly pretty good, though I have to disagree with the guy who singled out Joey Silvera and Sandy Pinney for special praise: Silvera's acting is mostly poor and Pinney's not much better, though both are good performers when it comes to the stuff that matters.

Filthy, funny and hugely entertaining, this is a well made, humorous, slightly subversive movie from the days when porn was a semi outlaw, counter-cultural activity in (mostly) San Francisco. Within a few years porn relocated itself to LA and became plastic and air-headed. Ah well...

See this movie if you want to find out just how inventive and exciting 70s porn could be at its best.

A great movie!!! I saw this at age 14 after finding a pirate copy in my dads room. Stand out scene has to be the Paul Thomas/Patricia Lee scene with Amber Hunt joining in half way through. Porno Perfection, I have never, ever seen another scene which matches this for its eroticism and intensity. I cannot believe that no one else has mentioned it. Also the Dan Roberts/Linda Wong and Amber Hunt scene on the house boat is not bad, I would not have minded being bathed by those two!! I could really take or leave the rest of the 'scenes' but at least this move has a plot and is shot well. Please, please, please, does anybody know where we can find the DVD for this? A crime it has not been released.

For an adult movie it has a decent plot with some storytelling. A guy "accidentally" does it with an underage girl and has to go on the run. (Don't worry, the actress was well over 18 at the time). He ends up at a brothel and must stay there or be turned over to the police. He services various women as best he can before getting frustrated. Some of them are nicer than others. He also has flashbacks to other encounters in his life.

One amusing fun-fact is most of the performers here were in one and only one movie, this one. Including our hero, Dan.

The action scenes are great and well shot especially for this era. Lots of variety including groups and interracial.

Earlier DVD releases range from just OK to pure garbage. The HD release looks excellent except for a minor nitpick. In the 2nd half of the movie the frame jiggles a LOT. They used the cheap process of scanning the film while it played and the quality varies. Like the guy who did it was an armature or very pressed for time. Audio is mono but good quality, no scratches or weird sound compression or anything like that. You should probably look for the HD version wherever you buy your golden age smut.

Highly recommended movie especially for fans of the classics.