Roxanna

Roxanna (1970)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Roxanna (Louise Thompson) is a stripper who just can't get enough sex. On her little journey she runs into a lesbian (Uschi Digard), a strange man, a transvestite and a nymph. This is my second sexploitation film from Phillips and I must say that I'm really enjoying his style that he brings to these films. This film plays out with just some narration as we watch all the action that's going on. For the most part we get four sex scenes in a row and this completes the short 51-minute running time, which is just long enough to get the film complete without making it drag on too long, which is often a problem with films like this. I've seen quite a few of these films from this era but Phillips' films have something different and that's the ability to mix erotic sex with an ugly subject matter. This film certainly wants and does become erotic but at the same time it doesn't shy away from the ugly nature that this young girl is getting herself in. There's only one road her type of lifestyle leads to and the ugliness is something that a lot of these films doesn't show but that's what makes this rather unique. The sex scenes are intercut with scenes of Roxanna in an asylum having a breakdown, which is very effective. Thompson is very good in her role or at least her visual appearance in the film. Digard, star of countless sexploitation and Russ Meyer films, is well....herself. This was my first time seeing her and she certainly won't be leaving my memory banks anytime soon.