imprator

This is by no stretch of the imagination a good movie. It is incredibly low-budget, and that leaves the OK(ish) acting badly exposed. That said, I thoroughly loved it!

To enjoy this movie you really have to be able to overlook the low budget. The "effects" are bad. Really bad. The alien dimension is an exact replica of Earth. The sets could come straight from a spaghetti western (perhaps they did). The "monsters" are people in mild fancy dress. The fight scenes are amateurish, and made more "exciting" by running the film faster. A three year old child could spot it without even trying. However, if you can accept the shortfalls for what they are – the result of an extremely low budget and an overreaching ambition – and allow yourself to ride with the tide, you will enjoy this film.

The saving graces come in the form of a fun script and Kay Lenz.

The script is not magnificently written, but the dialogue is fun and counterpoints many amusing incidents in the storyline. I won't highlight any incidents as I want this post to remain spoiler-free. However, if you relax into this movie and roll with it you will discover them for yourself when you find yourself laughing out loud – and you will perhaps be surprised that you are laughing with the movie, not at it.

Kay Lenz is also fun. If you like your heroines good looking and feminine but sparky, you will love her character. Having a female lead character in a film who looks like this, and is possessed of intelligence and verve, will always add a certain frisson for many male viewers.

I always find that one of the marks of a movie that has been particularly enjoyable is that at the ending I am surprised that so much time has passed whilst I was watching. This film met that criterion. It is refreshing to find this in a low-budget movie after sitting through some Hollywood blockbuster or other wondering how much longer it will be before the interminable film ends.

If you want to watch a fun bubblegum movie, and you are willing and able to overlook a budget so low that it hits you in the face thirty times per minute of running time, take a look at this film. You will have fun.

This is a well conceived romantic comedy. It is well written and the acting by all characters is good. In short, a perfect romcom.

The story, of course, is not original at its core. No romantic comedy can be. They necessarily feature the same basal story - boy meets girl, they fall in love, obstacles to the relationship occur, the obstacles are overcome and boy and girl live happily ever after (or at least until the credits stop rolling…). If this isn't to your taste you probably won't like this movie – or any other romantic comedy. However, most other people will enjoy the film.

A Good Year is a charming movie. Whilst the main character undergoes a familiar journey of enlightenment (from a total focus on his career to a focus on his life) the movie successfully infuses originality and verve to the tale. The various twists and turns to the story are fun and unpredictable, adding to the viewer's enjoyment.

The characters are likable and one comes to care about them all. Provence looks beautiful, and the vineyard setting is charming. The movie provides a luscious feast for both the eyes and the mind, and the humour is well judged – amusing, but never veering into the realm of farce.

Should you watch this film? For most people I would answer with a resounding yes, but there are certainly some who will not enjoy the movie. Each to his own.

Anyone who dislikes romantic comedies in general will probably not enjoy this film. I therefore suggest that anyone who falls within this group should consider other movies for their pleasure.

There are also some who will find themselves unable to enjoy the film on political grounds. This is, perhaps, a surprising comment with regard to a completely apolitical film, but it is nevertheless true. There are those who will find fault on the basis that the film is supposedly politically incorrect. Personally I find it hard to sympathise with their viewpoint, but if you are a dedicated politically correct liberal you may well be able to find offence in what is a very inoffensive movie.

However, I suggest that no one else should allow themselves to be guided by negative reviews (including some here on IMDb.com) from those who are politically motivated. Whilst I am sure that we all rest easier in our beds knowing that these individuals are ever-vigilant to the transgressions of politically correct shibboleths (or possibly not) please don't be misled by their zeal. There is nothing in this movie that will cause offence to any normal person.

If you are considering watching this film I therefore suggest that you should disregard the reviews of politically motivated reviewers. Look for the tell-tale comments through which they reveal themselves. Comments such as those which laud the performance of the actress who plays Gemma (the one non-white major character) as wonderful whilst criticising all other actors, or comments which criticise the supposed stereotyping of French or American people. I can assure you that no normal French or American person (or anyone else for that matter) will be offended by anything in this movie, and whilst Gemma's portrayal was certainly highly enjoyable, it was definitely not the sole highpoint of the movie. All of the character portrayals were good.

Summary – Highly recommended.

Rating – 8/10

I have been aware of the movie Deep Throat since I was a kid, but have only recently seen it. My interest was piqued by the documentary film Inside Deep Throat, which I saw listed in the television schedule. Recalling the movie, I watched the documentary out of curiosity, then downloaded Deep Throat to view the source of all that attention in the 1970s.

I was interested to read the text that appears at the opening of the film. This refers to Sigmund Freud's theories with regard to the four mental stages of an individual, the last two being oral and genital. The text goes on to state that Deep Throat is a film portraying one young woman's transition from the oral to the genital psychological state. Yes, of course it is! Having watched Inside Deep Throat I realised that this was a sop to the legal authorities; porn was outlawed, but "educational" movies about sex were allowed. Thus all commercial porn films prior to Deep Throat had featured an overdubbed voice providing the "educational" content for the sex scenes. The Deep Throat producers were the first to abandon the overdubbed educational voice (or so Inside Deep Throat stated), and the opening text for Deep Throat was obviously their version of the "educational" fig leaf.

The movie itself was something of a surprise. The nature and extent of the sexual content was much greater than I had expected. Inside Deep Throat had stated that the film was the first proper commercial porn movie, so I had expected it to be a lot tamer than it was. In actuality it contained everything a current (non-fetish) porn movie would have, including graphic close-ups, anal sex and double penetration. Moreover, the graphic sex is on screen within perhaps 90 seconds of the opening credits, and remains on screen for most of the runtime. I would guess that sex is on screen for at least 80% of the movie's length.

Another surprise was that this is a short film – about 61 minutes in the uncut version. That seems very short for a film which had such a large cultural impact.

One might suspect that Deep Throat is an example of quality over quantity - but this is certainly not a quality film. Every aspect is cheap and of low quality – script, acting, camera-work, cinematography. It is also very obvious that all expenses were spared when making the movie.

This complete absence of anything resembling quality was another surprise. Inside Deep Throat had commented on the supposedly superior quality and production values of Deep Throat when compared to other porn films, particularly those made today. But this just isn't true. What you see on screen is an exact reflection of the reality of this movie – a film thrown together for very little money by people with very little talent.

That being said, Deep Throat is still an enjoyable movie. I could never claim that it is a good movie, but it is enjoyable at its own level – a silly film which provides an hour of fun entertainment. In fact it is rather redolent of many of the jokey low-rent soft-core porn movies made in the 1970s – but with added hardcore sex. The script, though of low quality, is amusing - and sometimes very funny. This is true throughout, from the opening lines to the last. Largely because of this approach the film leaves the impression of being innocent fun, which some might find incongruous in light of the it's sexual content.

Linda Lovelace is OK in the lead role, but could never be accused of possessing a talent for acting. However, she is very good at the party trick which is the subject of the film, and when she performs this act she is never less than entertaining to watch. This being said, her general oral sex technique is not of the first-rank, lacking romance or tenderness. (I suspect that this is a consequence of being on-camera.) Nor is she a particularly good looking woman. However, she is sufficiently attractive for the purposes of the film. That is true for all of the women in this movie.

So should you watch this film? Well, obviously not if graphic sexual scenes offend you. But for everyone else I would say yes, it is well worth watching. Consider it a fun, silly comedy that happens to feature a lot of no-holds-barred sex and you will enjoy it. Just make sure that you don't watch Deep Throat in the expectation of viewing a masterpiece. If you do you will be sorely disappointed.

Try to catch the documentary Inside Deep Throat as well – it will add to your enjoyment.