The First Nudie Musical

This was a refreshingly bad movie about an industry that was simply bad without the refreshing part added. Like "Flesh Gordon" it tried to tackle several genres (business, porn, and low budget motion picture, in this case) and managed to skewer them all at once.

Okay, sometimes a movie is just for fun. Naughty fun, maybe, but fun. No deep meanings, no discussions in the lobby about how "the leafless black tree in the snow was symbolic of the director's inner child seeking the approval of" type of BS, just entertainment-- a chance to make us look at ourselves and laugh.

Now if we could do it without the porn. . . .

I just got done watching this movie about an hour ago. To be clear, this is not my kind of movie. I wanted to see something different, and this sounded interesting. In fact, I hadn't even heard of it. To its credit, this was certainly original and different. For starters, I've never seen so much hair in my life! (I was born in 1979, so it's before my time) All kidding aside, I applaud them for such originality; a porno musical called "Come, Come Now" would surely sell tickets. I did laugh when she said "We ran out of film" during the 'stunt cock' scene. I also thought it was funny when John came to the set a changed man; before, he was so uptight and inexperienced, then wow! What I didn't like were all the stereotypes. The stuck-up actress Mary LaRue, the ingenue, the Polly Pure girl from Indiana, and that Brenner character are tired characters these days. If you like musicals, and you like sex in your musicals, you'll like this movie. Keep an open mind and enjoy.

I found a copy of this film used for only $6, and since I'm into weird crap, I figured this should be good for a few laughs - and it was!!! The idea of a producer making a porno musical to save his studio is funny enough, but the songs are what make this film worth watching. "Dancing Dildos" "Orgasm" "Lesbian Butch Dyke" "Perversion" "Let Me Eat You" - you'll laugh your ass off! And sing a 'scale' or two also

Taking an intentional (or accidental) cue from Mel Brooks classic "The Producers", then toss in the erstwhile Broadway embarrassment "Oh Calcutta" (also a nudie) and possibly the inspiration in some very small way for Blake Edwards S. O. B where we get to see Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews) bare her chest, we get a slight deviation/ variation of a musical with a porn twist. However in this instance we get something staged as a Broadway theatrical production but presented as a film. For a mainstream release, there certainly is a LOT of nudity, both male and female full-frontal, but hey, its the 70's so we shouldn't expect anything less. After Hollywood received thousands of complaints from automobile drivers who had kid passengers witness violence, horror and nudity on the big drive-in screens, as they were passing by on the freeway, a rating-system was introduced that controlled the showing of films to different age-groups. However in this case, this film was released at the same time Laverne & Shirley hit ABC during primetime, riding on the success of the mega hit Happy Days. Cindy Williams plays a very conservative character that had been introduced on Happy Days and very similar in the classic "American Graffiti",both starring with Ron Howard. The Hollywood brass and/or the combined strength of Penny Marshall and her brother Gary, who created Laverne & Shirley as a show, did not see the wisdom of having their co-lead star (Williams) who starred in a movie that had her included in scenes with exposed female/and male genitalia, and trivialized pornography while simultaneously playing a character Shirley, who is somewhat chaste and is "holding-out" for marriage, would send the right message to family members. Ergo, The 1st Nudie Musical was quickly swept under the rug in favor for the ABC sitcom. Oddly enough the only 2-women I wanted to see nude (Williams and the cute Diana Canova) are the only 2 performers who remained fully clothed. Oh well....

Pornographic filmmaker Stephen Nathan (as Harry Schechter) is seeing red instead of pink. You didn't come to see his "Stewardesses in Cages" and "Teenage Sex Mutants". Consequently, Mr. Nathan's low-budget sex films aren't making money, and the movie studio he manages for his father is about to go down. Telling his investors, "genitalia is boring" at the box office, Nathan is inspired by steadfast secretary Cindy Williams (as Rosie) to change direction, and proposes "The First Nudie Musical". One investor (Hy Pyke) insists wet-behind-the-ears nephew Bruce Kimmel (as John Smithee) be hired as director; and Nathan is given two weeks to create... "Come… Come, Now".

This astounding, and frequently hilarious, film patterns its pornographic plot after Mel Brooks' similar stab at a Nazi musical in "The Producers" (1968); additionally, "The First Nudie Musical" captures the spirit and energy of old Hollywood musicals both directed by Busby Berkeley, and starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. That fresh, irreverent energy is why this film works so well. Full-frontal nudity (female and male) and bad language abound - an "edited-for-television" version would have been short 'n silent in the seventies - but, the vulgarity never seems dirty. Lesser comedies use nudity and language offensively and humorlessly - for examples, see present day comedies.

Paramount Pictures had a "midnight movie" classic on its hands, but had to give the film a cold shower after both Cindy Williams and the studio's "Laverne & Shirley" TV series became immediate hits. To Paramount's credit, they employed fellow "Nudie" travelers Bruce Kimmel (writer, composer, co-director, star) and Stephen Nathan ("Jesus" from Broadway's "Godspell") as guest stars on their program(s). And, it's easy to see why, as the threesome are obviously natural (and underrated) comics. Of the supporting cast-mates, Diana Canova (as Juanita) obviously stands out, due to a combination of heritage, "Perversion", and "Soap" - but, they are all cult classic characters.

********* The First Nudie Musical (3/76) Mark Haggard, Bruce Kimmel ~ Stephen Nathan, Cindy Williams, Bruce Kimmel, Diana Canova