As Safadas

This is an 80's-era Brazilian "pornochachada" and an anthology-style sex comedy (although many viewers may find SOME of the comedy in very questionable taste). They don't make films like this anymore since hardcore porn is now legal in Brazil, so Brazilian sex films, like everywhere else, are pretty much now NOTHING BUT sex. Unfortunately, very few of the entertaining "pornochachada" from this era have ever been translated into English. This one is fairly easy to follow though thanks to the synopsis here by a kindly Brazilian reviewer.

This is an anthology of sexy stories, much like David Cardoso's "Porno" (one of the few legitimate English-subtitled "chada" releases), but each story here is by a different director, so they vary more in tone and quality. Even with the synopsis, I didn't understand the first story which seemed to have something to do with pinball, prostitution, and a love triangle. The second story resembles something out one of the screwball Italian sex comedies of this era. A woman is having difficulties with her boyfriend and the loud accordion lessons her upstairs neighbor is giving, so she tries to solve BOTH these problems at once by using the overweight accordion teacher to make her boyfriend jealous. She ends up having sex with and falling for him, but there is a final twist that even the Italians probably wouldn't have gone near. It's especially shocking by today's standards. The third story is purely sexy and fun. A young girl ("chada" princess Vanessa Alves from "The Chick's Ability") is planning to marry, but her prospective mother-in-law suspects her virginity has been compromised. Ironically, though she's both a prostitute AND a virgin whose clients are all impotent old men. The mother entrusts an elderly priest to find out the truth, which turns out not to be such a good idea.

This is generally an enjoyable film. Even the bad taste of the second story ensures that it's more ENTERTAINING at least than most sex fare you're going to see these days. And Alves and all the Brazilian actresses here are very attractive with beautiful, voluptuous--yet silicone-free--bodies. Also, unlike with the LEGITIMATE English-subtitled releases, these films maintain the original soundtrack where they shamelessly violated the musical copyrights of the Rolling Stones' "When the Whip Comes Down" and Bernard Hermann's score to "Taxi Driver" among other things. Being somewhat immature and rebellious, I can't help but enjoy the flouting of societal mores and copyright laws almost as much as I enjoy the hot, naked Brazilian mulheres.

"As Safadas" is an erotic low-budget comedy from "Boca do Lixo" divided in three amoral segments:

1st) Rainha do Fliper ("Pinball's Queen")

In the outskirts of São Paulo, Reginéia (Zilda Mayo) is the pinball's queen exploited by her pimp Giba (Carlos Koppa) in betting. Out of the blue, her former boyfriend Tenório a.k.a. Tezinho (Wilson Sampson) comes to the arcade place seeking out Reginéia. She gets closer to Tenório and has an argument with the jealous Giba. But sooner Reginéia finds how insecure and mediocre Tenório is.

This first segment is very weak and messy, with poor development of the important character Tenório. The story is only pretext to expose the naked body of Zilda Mayo and Jonia Freund. My vote is four.

2nd) Uma Aula de Sanfona ("One Class of Accordion)

In São Paulo, the bank clerk Nanci (Sandra Graffi) and her friend Cristina (Isa Kopelman) have come from Ribeirão Preto and share an apartment in a low middle-class building. Nanci has an argument with her lover Valdemar (Armando Tirabosqui) and stays upset in her room, blaming the fat neighbor Durval Pereira (Cláudio Manberti) of the upper floor that is giving classes of accordion to a little girl. When their electric shower has a problem, Cristina asks Durval if he can fix the shower. Meanwhile, Valdemar comes to the apartment and Nanci decides to use her neighbor to make her boyfriend jealous. Nanci teases Durval and they have sex. Durval proves that is a perfect lover and Nanci has an infatuation on the fat man. When she pays an unexpected visit to him, she finds that he is not teaching accordion, but he is actually a pedophile.

This segment of the critic Inácio Araújo begins with a tribute to "Rear Window", with a long take of a building from a rear window. Sandra Graffi has an awesome body and it is worthwhile to see her naked. The surprising conclusion is absolutely unexpected and amoral. My vote is six.

3rd) "Belinha, a Virgem" ("Belinha, the Virgin")

In São Paulo, the day of the wedding of the virgin Belinha (Vanessa Alves) with an upper-class young man is coming, against the will of his mother. Belinha does not permit intimacy with her fiancé, but she is actually an amoral call girl that exploits old men, allowing every kink sex provided she remains virgin. When her future mother-in-law asks the parochial priest to check whether Belinha is virgin or not, the girl uses her sculptural body to resolve the situation.

This amoral and exciting segment is very funny and erotic, supported by the sexy Vanessa Alves that is a slut luring a naive guy. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "As Safadas" ("The Lewd Girls")