The Double-D Avenger

Well-endowed film stars Kitten Natividad ("Beneath the Valley of the Ultravixens"), Haji ("Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!"), and Raven De La Croix ("Up!") battle bikini bar owner Al Purplewood and his gang of killer strippers in this silly yet sexy flick. The lighthearted picture (you know things aren't serious when the tag line is "She gives villains tit for tat!") is an over-the-top adventure that wonderfully captures the sci-fi silliness and bawdy humor of Russ Meyer's classic work from the 1960s and early 70s.

It's all in good fun -- there is admittedly a ton of suggestive material, but there's no nudity -- and director/writer/producer William Winckler does a good job emulating the not-so-subtle nuances of the Russ Meyer milieu. Filmed in "Booby Vision," it's definitely worth a look…Like the best of Meyer's works, you've just gotta see it to believe it!

Dennis Harvey, respected film critic for VARIETY, the top Hollywood trade publication, gave The Double-D Avenger a very positive film review in 2001, and I fully agree with his opinion. He stated in his written review for Variety that the movie was a "cheerfully silly ode to larger than life femininity." Essentially the movie is the one and only reunion film of Russ Meyer's famous stars, and it's a silly, fun little farce! A total low-budget spoof. It is not a pornographic film, it is a Benny Hill type z-grade comedy.

The film's been a huge financial success for the producer William Winckler, and it's sold all over the world . . .there is a French language version, a Japanese language version, etc. . Many fans see it as the unofficial "last Russ Meyer film." If you want to watch a happy, goofy, fun B-movie, this is it! If you're looking for porn, or soft core, or are expecting a $ 200 million dollar Hollywood epic, look elsewhere.

Dreary. Schlocky. Just plain dreadful and awful. Let's be honest, when you sit down to watch something called The Double-D Avenger you aren't expecting great art or even mild mainstream entertainment. You are probably expecting a cult film type and maybe get some good looks at some impressive busts. You don't get really either of these in the video. The story, as it consistent with most of these types, is inane: Kitten Natividad runs a local pub, finds out she has breast cancer, flies down to South America for a fruit that claims to be a panacea for any ills and a super-human abilities giver, returns and fights, dressed as the Double-D Avenger, a group from a local strip club wanting to edge out the competition. As stories go, I have seen a lot worse, but as another reviewer noted the execution is horrendous. The action sequences lack zip, drive, motivation, and are tissue thin. The acting isn't even properly campy and the dialog is the pits. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING is funny from the wincing puns to the heavy-handed boob references. All could be forgiven if the girls could make up for it, but they all fall way short. Kitten, Haji, and Raven de la Croix are all quite older(still lovely in their own ways) yet expose nothing and become the antithesis of what they are trying to be: older, campy caricatures of their former selves. Instead, they look so lame and desperate - more because of the vehicle they are "starring" in rather than their own abilities. There are some other lovely ladies, but you really do not see much of anything. PG -13 definitely could be an appropriate rating for this. The material, the actresses, and director are all tired, tiresome, and dated - and again - NOT FUNNY! It was a brutal hour plus sitting through this, and that is a shame as I was expecting something campy and fun. The guy playing Bubba by the way was the only real laugh for me. Not that he was good at all mind you, but every time he opened his mouth I kept thinking how truly awful he was. The lone bright spot here at all is seeing Mr. Sci-fi himself, Forrest J. Ackerman, play the curator of a wax museum and chatting to his wax Frankenstein affectionately called Frankie. Other than that this is a complete bust - now how is that for another tired, dreadful, trite pun!

Well, I suppose the good news concerning William Winckler's 2001 opus, "The Double-D Avenger," is that it manages to unite three of Russ Meyer's mammarian marvels--Kitten Natividad, Haji and Raven de la Croix--in one picture. (I can only assume that Lorna Maitland, Tura Satana and Babette Bardot were busy the week they shot this thing...or else managed to see a copy of the script in advance!) The bad news, though (and there's plenty of it), is that this film--if it can even be called that, having been shot straight to video--is a complete misfire, a total abortion, an out-and-out atrocity, an absolute abomination, and truly one of the worst pictures that I have ever seen. Look no further for the lamest superhero movie ever made! The plot here, such as it is, deals with Kitten gaining superpowers after fellating the rare cockazilla plant in South America to cure her breast cancer (oy), and later battling a trio of megalunged bikini dancers back in L.A. Too bad that every lame boob joke trotted out falls completely (you should pardon the expression) flat, that there is ZERO actual nudity in the film at all (other than some old photos of Kitten in her heyday), and that some shaving cream and a papier-mache boulder are the sum total of the special FX. The Meyer gals here are a bit long in the tooth/saggy in the chest, to put it kindly, although Sheri Dawn Thomas, as bikini girl Ooga Boobies (!), does manage to, uh, stand out nicely. So why have I given this juvenile, unfunny, failed embarrassment of a movie 2 stars instead of 1? To be succinct: Joe Bob Briggs. His voice-over commentary in the special features of the DVD I just watched is absolutely hilarious, especially when he pulls out around 100 synonyms for the word "breast" from the 1,000+ on his Web site's "Canonical Hooters List." The man is a national treasure, and he manages to upgrade this skeet of a disc to coaster status!

First off, I didn't know what to expect when I started the video.

Anytime someone brings back a cult type movie genre and adapts it into the present, something gets inexplicably lost in the translation.

That's not the case here. This movie just starts off on the right track. It's part familiar territory but manages to take it over the top as well. Crockzilla scene anyone? That has to be seen, and just try and keep a straight face. This movie takes some of the old fun cult movie classics and manages to blend it seamlessly into a modern production. It's good to see someone is filling the need in this market. Very well done.