Blue Money

This snooze-fest makes Tommy Wiseau look Oscar-worthy. In fact, there are many similarities with The Room - an actor/director with an accent, topless women, and a guy who argues with his wife. But at least Tommy is kind of funny and constructs interesting scenes. The guy shoots porn films to get money to build a boat. His wife doesn't like it. Occasionally cops act like they might do something. That's about all that happens. Somehow, they stretched that premise to over an hour. The porn angle is not interesting either. I almost fell asleep, but the only thing keeping me awake is wondering if they made it this dull on purpose. I can only recommend watching this if you want to brag to your friends about having sat all the way through it.

I have to confess that I haven't seen that many true pornographic films, because what I've seen has left me both bored and depressed. However, I have enjoyed a number of movies that have dealt with the pornographic industry, from "Boogie Nights" to "Orgazmo". "Blue Money" could have been another interesting look at the industry, since it deals with the porn film industry when it was starting to become mainstream yet still falling afoul of the law. However, it is a crushing bore. There's very little story, and it's stretched out way past the breaking point. The characters aren't very interesting as well. If you are thinking of watching the movie anyway to see sex or nudity, let me warn you that there isn't a terrible amount of this material, and the little there is isn't presented in an erotic light. I have no idea why Crown-International picked this up for distribution, because it's unlike their usual product, which usually made an effort to deliver the goods. I guess there is some curio value, but not enough to make it worth searching for.

The Plot.

Handsome and successful Jim appears to have it all: he's married to the beautiful and supportive Lisa, has a healthy baby, and works a cool gig as the director of hardcore porno fare.

Jim's seemingly perfect life starts to fall apart when he has an extramarital fling with an actress and the local Los Angeles vice cops close in to make a bust.

As the movie begins, you see a sigh flapping in the wind that says "Dog On Duty."

Only there is no fence to contain a dog. It's a wide open space! LOL.

This defines the film. It's moronic.

Whoever directed this has no clue about film making or exposition.

The lead dude can't act and must have blown the producer.

It's simply awful.

I don't know about other reviewers but I thought this sleazy skin flick was absolutely awful. Like other Crown International Pictures from the era such as CINDY AND DONNA, this is a near plot less affair of simulated sex between unappealing actors with a few dramatic elements thrown into the mix.

The main character is a sleazy porn producer who falls for one of his own actresses. They attempt to get out of the business, but various stuff gets in the way. The whole film has a tired, cheap look to it, the characters are horrendous, and it's about unerotic as it gets. Viewers looking for genuinely sleazy fare will also be disappointed as films like this are oddly tame considering the shocking depravity that a lot of horror films were delving into during the same era (I'm thinking of THE EXORCIST and THE Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE as an example).

French-Canadian man (Patrick) does his best to secure his young family the freedom and future they crave aboard the boat he's lovingly restoring, on an income derived from his work as an adult film-maker. But the pressures of the business and political crackdowns take their toll forcing his wife (Caron) to leave their rented pad while Patrick frantically attempts to get his last few movies in the can to finance their dream and rid the family of their ignominious past.

Patrick stars and directs this low-key drama in which his central character goes from porn-artist to money-hungry assembly line producer, turning would-be starlets into harlots to feed his freedom frenzy. Caron as his pot-smoking former actress wife protests a lot, but never seems to have the conviction to make a lasting stand against his chosen "profession", manacled by the material trappings and constant promise of a better life aboard the grand ship freedom, where they plan to sail the seven seas, trading coconuts and trinkets, smoking dope, drinking wine and living the dream. Jeff Gall is suitably sleazy as Patrick's partner and enthusiastic co-producer, while Gary Kent is a familiar face and voice in a small role as a vice detective.

Some humour (the quirky auditions should make you chuckle), lots of bare flesh and simulated sex (as you'd expect) and a manuscript full of dumb dialogue ("you can't come to work when you've got your period") the film never really hits the high notes, remaining low-key and melodramatic, like a balloon fizzling to its limp conclusion, which is especially disappointing, leaving little resolved. Looks a little experimental and obviously dabbles in a taboo subject particularly in its era and political context, might be worth a look if you can appreciate B-grade trash cinema.