Cool It Baby

"We didn't rob anybody, we didn't kill anybody; we gave people what they wanted!"

So rationalizes Herman, the chubby pawn of the domineering Mistress Monica as they're both seated at the mercy of a district attorney, hell bent on nailing them for their crimes (or is he...?). Together, Herman and his controlling dominatrix have been involved in shady goings-on ... meeting weak women and promising them a career in the movies but instead filling them full of booze and filming them for their own smutty profit.

There isn't much to get excited about in this cheap sexploitation offering. It's humorous some of the time at least, with some funny dialogue (some of it narrated) that often sounds like it's being made up as it goes along, and the usual "whatever they could find" locations and sets (you've got to see what passes for a courtroom!).

Okay, the acting is virtually non-existent, the same room and furnishings are used for most scenes, which include a brothel, a dungeon and a courtroom (!) and at times it seems you are watching two different films spliced together, but somehow this just about works. It starts slowly and predictably but suddenly takes off and by the end has covered so many bases you will be wondering how Mr Campa got it all in. One of the reasons this works so well is because it takes such a cynical viewpoint, even the DA seems in on the various rackets. Nobody comes out of this well but almost everybody seems to enjoy themselves and that's another thing, it's pretty sexy in parts.

Cool It Baby (1965)

** (out of 4)

Somewhat entertaining sexploitation film about a couple who drug girls into making adult films and then blackmail them into joining their sexual club. For a sexploitation flick the movie is pretty tame, which is somewhat strange. The story isn't too bad and there are some pretty girls but not much else. The site of the courtroom used in the film will get a few laughs.

Mini-Skirt Love (1967)

*** (out of 4)

15-year-old Billy witnesses his mother kill his dad so when she's sent off to an insane asylum Billy's aunt comes to take care of him. Not only does she cook and clean she also teaches Billy how to have sex. This is one screwy little film that even lets Billy and his aunt have a threesome with an Avon lady. The film is so outrageous that you'll get plenty of laughs but the biggest laugh comes from the fifteen year old boy being played by a guy who looks older than the father.

Venus in Furs (1967)

** (out of 4)

A somewhat interesting take on the novel is more a S&M show than anything else. The director does a very good job creating a dreamlike quality to the film but things get pretty boring pretty fast. A nice score and some fine cinematography help as well.