Babyface

Alex de Renzy's "Babyface" is a notorious entry in the annals of adult entertainment. With a bizarre blend of upbeat fun and skin-crawling moments, this hardcore classic is a rollercoaster of explicit thrills and unsettling twists.

The film follows two intertwining narratives. In one, we meet the titular character, a teenager (played by Lyn "Cuddles" Malone) who, despite appearing to be in her mid-twenties, encounters an older construction worker, Dan (Dan Roberts), and experiences a deflowering that is as comical as it is explicit. The other thread focuses on Dan's attempt to evade the consequences of his actions by seeking refuge in "The Champ's" (Kathryn Reed) all-male bordello, leading to a series of raunchy and often humorous encounters.

"Babyface" is a peculiar beast. On the one hand, it embraces female pleasure and desires, with a surprising amount of wholesomeness amidst the graphic content. The film leans into its comedic elements, finding humor in the campy dialogue and the over-the-top situations that unfold. However, the film also ventures into darker territory, with themes that some may find disturbing. The "jailbait" setup, a mother's unsettling obsession with her daughter's teenage love interests, and a relentless, cum-soaked gang bang scene showcase the film's ability to venture into the realm of the uncomfortably explicit.

The performances are committed, and the film delivers some genuinely shocking moments. The knife-wielding mother's showdown is a standout, as is the cling film-clad hilarity of Dan Roberts. Yet, with a runtime of almost two hours, "Babyface" feels overly indulgent, testing the patience of even the most dedicated viewer.

In conclusion, "Babyface" is a hard-to-define piece of pornography. It's not for the faint of heart, but within the genre, it offers a unique blend of humor, shock value, and a nod to female pleasure that sets it apart. A curious artifact of adult cinema that, despite its flaws, remains a must-see for those who can appreciate its particular brand of provocative entertainment.

Well, what can anyone say about this little gem! I saw it first in 1982 aged 15, and only last week came across it again.

Superlatives cannot describe this absolute, genuine classic - strong narrative, humour and a myriad of peachy one liners delivered by a posse of 'actors' who take the 'method' to its logical conclusion and genuinely look like they are enjoying themselves. There are times, my friends, when the delivery is so good you feel like you're almost in the room.

Unlike many films of this ilk, Babyface has a strong story with a fantastic twist you don't see coming till the Nutcracker's identity is finally revealed. I won't spoil it for you folks, but you'll be clinging on for dear life once you finally find out.

After a series of adventures and one serious er 'misdemeanour' our hero, Dan, finds himself at the Training Camp run by the redoubtable 'Champ' - a pint sized madam who makes Atilla the Hun look like a Red Cross volunteer. She reads Dan the Riot Act before introducing him to a small coterie of high achieving yet libidinous females who, over the course of the next ninety minutes, shag him senseless. That's about it, but watch out for the Nutcracker folks. She's heavy, really freaky....

The 'Citizen Kane' of adult entertainment, and not a zither in sight.

I have to agree with Daernoult (above), the stand-out scene in this movie is the Paul Thomas/Desiree West (aka Patricia Lee) scene, and its continuation when Amber Hunt joins in. One of the hottest scenes in all porn IMO. It really helps the eroticism of this scene that the underrated Desiree West could REALLY act (for my money porn's best actress). You have to see it to understand why, for once, good acting is important here. Note: you have to see the uncut version - which is available - the "contentious" dialogue in this scene is cut in at least one DVD release.

The notorious Kristine Heller gang-bang scene is also fantastic and runs the above a close second. In fact all but a couple of the sex scenes are really hot (and there's loads of them!).

The acting is mostly pretty good, though I have to disagree with the guy who singled out Joey Silvera and Sandy Pinney for special praise: Silvera's acting is mostly poor and Pinney's not much better, though both are good performers when it comes to the stuff that matters.

Filthy, funny and hugely entertaining, this is a well made, humorous, slightly subversive movie from the days when porn was a semi outlaw, counter-cultural activity in (mostly) San Francisco. Within a few years porn relocated itself to LA and became plastic and air-headed. Ah well...

See this movie if you want to find out just how inventive and exciting 70s porn could be at its best.

Babyface (1977)

*** (out of 4)

Dan (Dan Roberts) is one day working on the docks when 15-year-old Priscilla (Lyn Malone) approaches him. Before long the two are having sex but her mother Molly (Molly Seagrim) shows up and now the daughter cries rape. Dan is shot by a cop and falls into a body of water where he's eventually dragged out by a couple ladies. After being cleaned up Dan joins a male prostitution group but soon he runs into Molly again.

Director Alex de Renzy ended up having a very successful run starting in 1977 with this film and the notorious LONG JEANNE SILVER before following these up the next year with the classic PRETTY PEACHES. For my money PRETTY PEACHES is the best of these three films but there's no question that all of them have a special place in the history of adult cinema. In fact, the more I watch of de Renzy the more I'm starting to enjoy and respect his work as it certainly has its own vibe and laughs.

Obviously the subject matter here will probably put some off even those who enjoy watching dirty movies. What's so hilarious about the film is that its naughty subject matter really leads to some very funny scenes including the meeting between Dan and Priscilla. The dialogue is certainly campy and I'd argue that the entire sequence is somewhat campy in a good way. Obviously if the subject was taken seriously there wouldn't be a need for laughs but de Renzy brought his typical comic style and it works.

For the most part Roberts makes for a good lead and he manages to make you believe the scenario that this poor guy is going through. Malone would apparently only appear in this one film but she too is quite memorable in the role of the teenager who is a lot naughtier than her mom thinks. You've also got Desiree West who is always fun to watch and Amber Hunt.

BABYFACE runs a bit too long at 105-minutes but fans of the genre and the director will certainly enjoy it.

For an adult movie it has a decent plot with some storytelling. A guy "accidentally" does it with an underage girl and has to go on the run. (Don't worry, the actress was well over 18 at the time). He ends up at a brothel and must stay there or be turned over to the police. He services various women as best he can before getting frustrated. Some of them are nicer than others. He also has flashbacks to other encounters in his life.

One amusing fun-fact is most of the performers here were in one and only one movie, this one. Including our hero, Dan.

The action scenes are great and well shot especially for this era. Lots of variety including groups and interracial.

Earlier DVD releases range from just OK to pure garbage. The HD release looks excellent except for a minor nitpick. In the 2nd half of the movie the frame jiggles a LOT. They used the cheap process of scanning the film while it played and the quality varies. Like the guy who did it was an armature or very pressed for time. Audio is mono but good quality, no scratches or weird sound compression or anything like that. You should probably look for the HD version wherever you buy your golden age smut.

Highly recommended movie especially for fans of the classics.