Lip Service

A typical quickie by Shaun Costello, LIP SERVICE is an instructive example of the limitations of his approach to filmmaking, as well as those of his star Georgina Spelvin. It's available on Vol. 123 of Something Weird's Dragon Arts Theatre series.

Its title proves to be an apt Freudian Slip, as Costello merely pays lip service here to the requirements of XXX cinema. It's minimalism not for artistic effect but instead delivering the bare minimum to an Adult Cinema audience.

Format is very corny; in fact I had just completed watching MARISA on Vol. 122 of the same series, which features a more interesting variation on the same approach.

Sidney Spelvin (Levi Richards) is at his first session with his femme shrink Dr. Cousins (Judith Hamilton), recounting how his wife Georgina (Georgina Spelvin) will only have sex with him using the missionary position. Ms. Spelvin's character has the same famous fake name (play on the actor's icon George Spelvin) as the actress, showing a typical Costello irreverence for his diva.

What unfolds is a set of mechanical flashbacks detailing, generally via here-say, Georgina's sexual exploits with everybody BUT Sidney, much to his dismay. The inherent contradiction of this premise is immediately obvious but Costello plunges ahead anyway, even ignoring the contradiction for his trite finale.

Film is initially amusing, for perhaps half its running time, by Costello's juxtaposition of non-stop XXX action (cross-cutting between Sidney humping Dr. Cousins with the sexy flashbacks starring Georgina) with clever ad libs by the cast. However, by the second half the film devolves into mechanical sex in which the usual closeups leading to repeated money shots are all that matter.

LIP SERVICE answered one question about Ms. Spelvin that has been nagging me for many years. I was blown away by her performance (and of course Damiano's direction) in DEVIL IN MISS JONES when I saw it in first-run, some 38 years ago. The critics at the time were comparing her most favorably with Marlon Brando, since LAST TANGO was all the rage back then.

But subsequent to that meteoric showcase, I've seen Spelvin in countless bad films, by various pornographers and even going straight for Grade Z helmer Al Adamson, and her work is n.s.g.

In Costello's satirical format here the reasons are obvious. Georgina overacts unmercifully and consistently -she simply brings "too much juice" (using a jazz phrase, rather than a sexual one) and overwhelms her material plus her co-stars. Her florid, almost stream-of-consciousness improvisation is terrible, merely showing off her excellent vocabulary and speedy delivery, but clashing with both cast and context. In fact, usually talkative Marc Stevens is strictly business, no-nonsense in LIP SERVICE, when faced with Spelvin's torrent of verbiage.

Sloppy film is littered with errors, left in both to be humorous (?) and out of the exigencies of turning in a 1-day wonder sans retakes. Besides the frequent noise of the camera motor whirring, the first flashback is a contradiction: Sidney has sent a guy under the pretext of being an electrician to service his wife and loosen her up. But what we see is Georgina bringing him (Shaun Costello takes the role himself) into the bedroom to complete the job of treating the house for roaches.

Later, in a sex scene with Bernie (Marc Stevens), Georgina cries out in passion: "Oh Marc!" and is reminded of his name, then corrects herself: "I'm sorry, oh Bernie!". Soon after she repeatedly calls him Herbie.

After a 4-person orgy involving Spelvin, Stevens, Costello and busty French-accented actress Any Mathieu (as Georgina's friend Marsha), film ends with Dr. Cousins admitting Georgina to her office to confront her with the knowledge of her lewd behavior with anyone but her husband.

Georgina sputters and stutters in protest, maintaining her innocence and pretense of prudery, until the good doc gets her to finally say (after comical stammering) "I'm a co*ksucker!" and all is well. Instead of fellatio, she ends the movie by giving hubby Sidney a hand job.

With her big, beautiful breasts the little-known Mathieu briefly steals the show, while cute Hamilton is merely functional in context. Stevens, for some reason still touted four decades later for the size of his cock, gives no evidence here of having a big one, as he's mainly limp and Georgina even has to fake his second money shot as she sucks in vain at his shriveled member.

I'm on record with a preference for Costello trying to make a real movie, e.g. my favorite of his: MORE THAN SISTERS. When not mere ego trips (unlike most porn auteurs Shaun often takes a leading acting role as the Sacha Guitry of XXX), his fitfully amusing, in-jokey quickies barely offer half a loaf of entertainment.