Confessions of a Pop Performer

Why people insist on being so "holier than thou" about this genre escapes me. It's good escapist fun. Askwith and Booth are having a bit of fun with the girls and scoring a lot of laughs in the process. From an age of more innocent sensibilities, these films rank as some of the funniest ever made, alongside Carry On, Benny Hill, Are You Being Served etc., etc. And the girls!!!! WOW!

Stop analysing it and just enjoy! In the meantime, if anyone would like to re- open the series with "Confessions of a film reviewer", I'd love Askwith's role!!

Robin Askwith was one of the most popular actors of the British sex comedy arc of the 70's and 80's, and there were four "Confessions" films. This one is about window cleaners (Robin and Anthony Booth) who stumble upon a band called "Kipper". Anthony's character Sid ends up managing the band, while Robin's character Timothy Lea (no pun intended, I'm sure!) ends up being the drummer. A clean comedy could have been light hearted fun, but this film is full of nudity and general mayhem. The dialouge is generally flat also. The very pretty Carol Hawkins is wasted here. I wouldn't call it an abomination, but there is a lot of sleazy stuff going on (I felt bad for the mom who discovers her daughter in the van with the band-surely the girl could have done better). This is recommended for fans of the genre mostly, and there is a 4 disc box of all of the Confessions films. Casual watchers beware.

It's apparent that the British love their sex comedies. The U.K. was a veritable hot-bed for the genre. The Confessions series, much like the Adventures Of series, was an R-Rated version of the Carry On movies. Same dated humor but with younger casts, nudity, and the swinging 70's as their setting. I've seen about 15-20 of these films and they all are the same middling British comedies that Canadians and Americans won't get.

This one stars Robin Askwith as Tim Lea, a clumsy young man who gets in cahoots with his brother-in-law over managing an unproven rock band called Kipper. Askwith's job is to get venues and record deals for them and all he does is get into a lot of crazy situations and into the bedroom of some fine women (for the 1970's).

Typically, the acting is filled with double entendres and British humor. Nothing awful but nothing spectacular, either. Interestingly, in this film, Askwith looks like a young Mick Jagger and two scenes in the film extenuate this. In one scene, Timothy needed to replace the drummer for their first gig and he does a pretty good job; enough that he is being chased by groupies. He goes into hiding but one of them finds him and seduces him because she thinks he's Jagger. In another scene, he is in the office of some woman. She asks for a light. Somehow later, the garbage can is on fire and he tries to fan the flames with ridiculous results. He finds an extinguisher and starts spraying this foamy white liquid all over the place and destroys the office. It reminded me of The Rolling Stones' video for "It's Only Rock 'N Roll" where tons of soap bubbles appear on the set. Funny.

It's an O.K. timewaster. I haven't seen the others but I'm guessing like the Carry On series, the Adventures Of series, or the Beach Party with Frankie and Annette if you've seen one, you've seen them all.

This is the slightly disappointing follow-up to the money-making CONFESSIONS OF A WINDOW CLEANER. POP PERFORMER tries to emulate the success and formula of that first film, but something about the set-up just doesn't ring true. These films work when they follow a straight forward, episodic format and this one is a satire of the pop scene, following the misadventures of a band whose music is appalling. There's no real reason for the characters to be involved in this stuff and it doesn't fit together too well, but it's still nice to see British actors working hard amidst all the boobs and bums.

There's less of the sex element here, although a handful of set pieces make sure it's still in your face! Robin Askwith once again beds a string of beautiful women in scenes that are generally played for laughs, but these seem to have been tacked-on rather than making up the central plot. One encounter in a music shop to the strains of Spike Milligan's 'Ning Nang Nong' is classic stuff. Instead of sex, the focus is on the accident-prone Askwith, with the laugher factor turned up so high that this resembles an episode of SOME MOTHERS DO 'AVE 'EM!

Still, there's something about watching the dated hijinks – especially in terms of the music – that make watching this film a lot of fun, and it's so light-hearted as to be completely inoffensive. Along with a string of beautiful, completely naked women (including TV star Jill Gascoine), there are turns from Benny Hill regular Bob Todd as a grumpy old boy; DAD'S ARMY's Bill Pertwee as a javelin-wielding cuckold; his co-star Ian Lavender as a randy copper; plus good turns for the regular Bill Maynard and Doris Hare, playing Askwith's mother and replacing the original actress. Director Norman Cohen takes over from the first film's Val Guest and he proves more than able to deliver a funny, fast-paced and chuckle-inducing romp.

No disrespect to the previous reviewer but this is one of the worst British comedies ever made. However, trivia fans may note that Star Wars was being made in the next studio at the time of shooting and during a love scene with Robin Askwith and Jill Gascoigne, both Darth Vader and Chewbacca looked on during a break from filming.

Not a bad punk song during the finale and plenty of kit offery but a gag-free zone.