Sugar Cookies

Although not a particularly good film, it is still loads better than anything Troma released in the 80's. This is the one of the first releases by Troma, a few years after the laughable "The Battle of Love's Return". Lynn Lowry plays a dual role(and cannot act in either of them) as Alta, a woman murdered by adult film-maker Max, & Julie, an actress pursued by lesbian Camila(the leggy Mary Woronov). It might have been a better film had there been better acting and if a stupid sub-plot involving Max's ex-brother-in-law had been deleted.

I am amazed Lynn Lowry never became a bigger star. She is beautiful in a unique way (not "movie star" beautiful; her beauty is much more natural) and actually manages to act (and act well!) despite the dreadful roles she is usually given. This is particularly the case in Sugar Cookies. Terrible movie no matter how you look at it. Unless you look at Lynn Lowry. It was her beauty, her charm, her grace, and yes her acting that kept me engaged throughout an otherwise dreadful experience. Mary Woronov is a good actress also, and she and Lowry played off each other well. Ladies & Gentlemen - you really have to check Ms. Lowry out! Her characters are always memorable, even in small roles such as the one Paul Schrader gave her in his remake of Cat People. Alas, we never did see this once budding talent be given the proper opportunities to fully develop her craft before our eyes. This is the only tragedy regarding Sugar Cookies that is worth discussing.

In 1973, the year before Lloyd Kaufman formed Troma Studios in order to churn out his particular brand of trashy low-budget B-movies, he helped produce Sugar Cookies, an experimental sexploitation flick starring Lynn Lowry (The Crazies, Shivers) as aspiring actress Julie Kent, who is tricked by lesbian seductress Camilla (Mary Woronov) into helping avenge the murder of her lover.

Loaded with dreadfully dull dialogue, languorous scenes of supposedly emotionally intense drama, and of course, plenty of nudity, this sort of ponderous, progressive, art-house styled erotic nonsense might have gone down well with a crowd of enlightened (ie., stoned), sexually liberated hippy types several decades ago, but will seem laughably dated to a modern audience. Even connoisseurs of cult cinema keen to see unconventionally attractive amazonian cult actress Woronov and frisbee-nippled Sissy Spacek-alike Lowry strip off and get it on will probably find this film a struggle.

If you want to know why the director's career when nowhere after SILENT NIGHT BLOODY NIGHT, here is your answer. SUGAR COOKIES means well, but it has no story. It has the idea of a story, but it is never fleshed out, never explored deeply, and never really developed. Outstanding performance by Lynn Lowry. Great to see Monique Van Vooren, an underutilized talent. The always interesting Mary Woronov doesn't appear all that comfortable in the part her husband wrote for her. A major plus: the Vinegar Syndrome transfer is outstanding.

The 2 lead females are stunningly sexy. The eroticism between Lynn and Mary is realistic and hot. Both of these women's acting is quality.. There is a gorgeousness to this film---for example the plush interiors and the tasteful stylish clothes the characters wear. The plot seems to come at the very beginning and at the end. Mainly what we have in between is Lynn and Mary becoming friends and lovers. There is a comic character---an overweight young guy---but his parts do not fit in very well with the rest of the movie. Nevertheless, whatever comic relief he provides helps to off-set the serious, heavy mood.