Group Marriage

Not quite thirty minutes into this film, it's clear that neither good storytelling nor funny comedy were foremost in the film-makers' minds. As one might expect from a film in which two thirds of the lead actresses were former Playmates of the Year, the point here is T&A; no doubt about it. Needless to say, all three leads (Vetri, Jennings, Eccles) provide that abundantly.

Unfortunately, the only "actor" in this film who can actually act is Victoria Vetri. Saddled with a poorly written character and a few minutes' worth of bare breasts (undeniably enjoyable to watch, that; but not the stuff that respectable acting careers are made of) Vetri somehow makes the best of the role and her character does come to life. One of her last scenes, in which she is distraught and tearful, is a fine piece of acting by any standards... more than the script deserves. Claudia Jennings and Aimee Eccles don't fare so well. Also saddled with lifeless roles and a few more nude scenes, they each deliver their lines as if they were reading them from teleprompters: with complete lack of emotion, exactly what one would expect from a film of GROUP MARRIAGE's class. The three male leads are no better. They may as well have been played by cardboard cut-outs.

The picture's screenplay is, in all respects, typical of an exploitation film's. Chemistry between leads, snappy and/or humorous dialogue, deft comic timing? Nada. A liberal social message ("communes are okay and should be legal!") is in there, but it's presented ineloquently and is frequently lost in the barrage of skin and poor comedy. Besides, are we actually expected to take seriously the message of a film that spends more time doting over the snugly-clad busts of its actresses than showcasing coherent dialogue and/or comedy?

All in all, the picture is only worth finding if you're a rabid fan of Vetri, Jennings, or comedy that consistently falls flat on its face.

A parole officer is picked up by a bickering couple after his car breaks down. In strange turn of events he ends up sleeping with the girl, but feels bad after the guy catches them, so to make up for it, he introduces him to his own girlfriend (former Playmate of the Year Victoria Vetri), who has "a great personality". The strange foursome move in together and add a hunky lifeguard and a sexy female attorney (Claudia Jennings, ANOTHER Playmate of the Year) to the arrangement. Eventually they decide to formalize their "group marriage", but they encounter a lot of problems along the way--conflicts at work, nosy attention from the press and the legal authorities, bigotry and right-wing vigilantism, and even "infidelity" (Vetri's character does not want to remain "faithful" to the group).

Although this movie is definitely a product of the early 1970's, it is also a good satirical spoof of the whole institution of marriage. It was no doubt inspired by bigger-budgeted "Bob, Carol, Ted, and Alice", but it is both more racy AND more honest than that more mainstream film. It's surprisingly progressive even by today's standards--there is a gay male couple next door who also ultimately marry (even if some might find them to be offensive stereotypes). The director Stephanie Rothman has been strangely ignored by the feminist types who lavish praise on practically every other female director. True, she mostly worked in Roger Corman type exploitation films, including sex comedies like this one and "Working Girls", horror movies like the great sexy vampire flick "The Velvet Vampire", and superior women-in-prison fare like "Terminal Island" and "Sweet Sugar". Still, she is a lot more of credible feminist, not to mention a far, FAR more skilled director than the late Doris Wishman (who gets a truly inexplicable amount of feminist attention today).

It's, of course, not surprising that Victoria Vetri and Claudia Jennings are very appealing both in and out of their 70's duds, but they are also probably THE two best actresses to have ever emerged from Playboy. Vetri had appeared in Hammer flicks in England as well as real movies like "Rosemary's Baby", while Jennings would become the undisputed queen of the 70's drive-in before her tragic death in 1979. By coincidence, I saw this movie back-to-back with the godawful Canadian film "Autumn Born", which featured another ill-fated Playmate of the Year, Dorothy Stratten. Clearly, it makes a big difference whether the sexy women in your movie can actually ACT as well as undress (not to mention, whether the movie itself is worth a damn). This movie really does Playboy Playmates proud, whereas "Autumn Born" and about a thousand other movies really don't.

All and all, this is a pretty decent 70's flick. See it if you get a chance.

Group Marriage (1973)

** (out of 4)

Try to follow this. Chris (Aimee Eccles) and her boyfriend Sandor (Solomon Sturges) are fighting and she ends up in bed with Dennis (Jeff Pomerantz). This doesn't sit well with Sando so Dennis brings his ex (Victoria Vetri) into the mix and soon the four are living together. It doesn't stop here as the ex meets a lifeguard (Zack Taylor) who is brought in and finally a lawyer (Claudia Jennings) is brought in. By this time the media finds out and the six are front page news.

Yes, I'm pretty sure most people will know that this type of story was done in BOB, CAROL, TED AND ALICE and of course that film made a ton of money at the box office so naturally various smaller companies would try to get a piece of the pie by releasing rip-offs. GROUP MARRIAGE is pretty much a cheap version of that film without the talent, without as many laughs but it does offer up some decent sexploitation moments and of course the nudity.

The biggest problem with this movie is that it was clearly rushed as there's really not a decent screenplay at work here. We basically get a generic set-up that allows one person to keep entertaining the "marriage" and after a while it just gets to the point where there's no story as more and more sexual stuff starts to happen. None of the sex is overly graphic and it's kept to a comedic style but the nudity by the beautiful ladies is certainly a major plus (each appeared in Playboy).

I wouldn't say the performances were "good" by any stretch of the imagination but at the same time I think all six were good enough in their roles where none of them hurt the picture. The six work well together and I thought they at least kept you somewhat interesting in what was going on. As you'd expect from a 70's comedy, there are various stereotypes at play here, which are a product of their time and they're actually kind of funny.

This movie is a fun romp through the concepts of multiple living, and addresses some of the ups & downs that will happen in a group living, and loving, situation. These six people get together somewhat more casually than I would, but the characters seem to take each other's quirks in stride as they form this unconventional family.