Over 18... and Ready!

Over 18...and Ready! (1969)

** (out of 4)

Another sexploitation flick from 42nd Street. A secretary wants to get into the movies so she sleeps with her sleazy producer who promises to put her into one of his skin flicks. However, the sex doesn't stop there because the producer's wife also wants a piece of the young girl. Once again, if you know what to expect than this film really isn't all that bad and God knows it's certainly a lot better than most in this field. The main girl is quite a looker and her constant nude scenes don't hurt. There's some funny dialogue and funny sequence, which helps keep things going but even at 70-minutes the film seems a tad bit too long.

Funny nudie film, with some incontinuity. Mary McRea is definitely hott with a nice set of naturals, but in the first nude scene we discover she is shaved. That was a nice refreshing twist to see in a movie made during this time - the women usually have those huge scary bushes that frighten men and boys. But not our heroine, she is nice and smooth - EXCEPT in the scene at the beach with the producer's wife. The producer's wife is sexing it up with Lyn, rubbing suntan lotion all over her luscious breassus, and we look down to see - a scary bush! And I'm not talking some excusable overnight stubble growth, I'm talking a whole honking two week's worth or more of scary bush growth! Now, my question is, why? Was this the first scene shot? The last? Or, irony of ironies, was a body double used for Ms. McRea, even though she shows all in the rest of her scenes? Just a little incontinuity I found strange. Maybe I'm paying too much attention to a film shot in 2 days for $20.

She is a double of my wife. Specialy in the bathtube. Zo damned hot.

As the title suggest this is about a girl who is "over 18" (quite a bit over 18 judging from the looks of her) "and ready". . . to star in a sleazy sex film (not unlike this one). This girl is literally willing to do ANTHING just to land a role in a sleazy sex movie. Now of course, a halfway decent-looking girl who is willing to do ANYTHING probably wouldn't have all that much difficulty landing a role in a sleazy sex film either today or back in 1969. (And "halfway decent-looking" definitely describes the very, um, voluptuous leading actress here--from some angles she looks pleasantly plump, from other not-quite-so-pleasantly plump). But although she has a job working as a secretary for a sleazy sex producer (and he definitely didn't hire for her typing, given a scene where she--or the actress playing her--tries to type), he is strangely reluctant to cast her in his sleazy sex movie, at least until she, uh,sweetens the deal. Of course,in real-life Hollywood it's more often the "serious" actresses who are trying to get parts in "real" movies who end up doing their audition on the casting couch than the porno actresses, but we're obviously in some sleazy porn producer's fantasy here about what it's supposedly like to be sleazy porn director.

Anyway, she gets the small part from the producer (and she also gets to be in the movie too). The film itself is really a hoot. One scene has the heroine being tied up naked and whipped. I'm not sure if it's the inept acting of the lead actress or if it's the inept acting of the character she is playing (although I strongly suspect the former), but this is the most unconvincing cinematic whipping scene I've ever witnessed (and, unfortunately, I've witnessed quite a few). They don't even manage to sync up her incredibly unconvincing whimpers of pain with the obviously fake sounds of the whip supposedly hitting her (entirely offscreen). Still I would have liked to see more of this "movie" because it looks a lot more entertaining than the one we're watching.

Unfortunately instead of the any more of the movie-within-the-movie, we're stuck with just the movie where our intrepid "actress" gets sexually involved with the homely bisexual wife of the sleazy producer (you'd think even a sleazy Hollywood producers could do a lot better)and her black maid. The black maid is easily the most attractive woman in the movie, but she has very dark skin, and thanks to the substandard transfer in the DVD I saw, she often appears only as kind of muddy silhouette whose body you can hardly make out. Anyway, there's plenty of permutations of straight sex, lesbian sex, interracial sex, and (of course) interracial lesbian sex, as well as many not-too-flattering longeurs of the heroine reclining in a bathtub that is several sizes too small for her slightly overweight body. This is definitely not very erotic and it's often pretty boring, but it is entertainingly ridiculous in a few places.

Lloyd Allen's 1969 film, Over 18... And Ready, exists as a curious artifact of its time, a snapshot of the burgeoning youth culture and shifting social mores of the late sixties. The film ostensibly follows a group of young adults navigating the complexities of relationships, independence, and self-discovery as they cross the threshold of adulthood. However, its approach often veers into the exploitative, framing its narrative through a male gaze that prioritizes fleeting glimpses of skin and suggestive scenarios over genuine character development or insightful exploration of the era's societal changes.

The performances, while earnest, are often overshadowed by the film's preoccupation with its titular theme. The young cast members navigate the sometimes-awkward dialogue and contrived situations with varying degrees of naturalism, but their efforts are frequently undermined by a script that seems more interested in titillation than in crafting believable characters or compelling storylines. The plot meanders through a series of loosely connected vignettes, touching upon themes of first love, rebellion against authority, and the allure of freedom, but rarely delves beneath the surface to offer any meaningful commentary.

Visually, Over 18... And Ready reflects the low-budget aesthetic common to many films of its ilk. The cinematography is often rudimentary, relying on soft focus and lingering shots that aim for a sense of sensuality but often fall flat. The soundtrack, a mix of period-specific pop tunes and generic instrumental pieces, attempts to capture the youthful energy of the time but often feels disconnected from the on-screen action. The overall impression is that of a film more concerned with capitalizing on the perceived sexual liberation of the era than with offering a nuanced or artistically significant portrayal of young adulthood.

Ultimately, Over 18... And Ready serves more as a historical curiosity than a compelling piece of cinema. While it offers glimpses into the fashion and attitudes of the late 1960s, its exploitative tendencies and lack of narrative depth ultimately prevent it from being anything more than a fleeting and somewhat uncomfortable look at a bygone era. The "readiness" of its characters feels less like an embrace of newfound independence and more like a thinly veiled excuse for gratuitousness, leaving the viewer with a sense of unfulfilled potential and a lingering question of what might have been.