Vixen!

Russ Meyer's VIXEN was one of the first films to receive the newly-formed MPAA's X rating. There were stories that in some theatres, people would pay just to see the trailer for it then leave before the main feature(shades of THE PHANTOM MENACE!). Comparing it to other adult films of that era or even to some of Meyer's other films, VIXEN looks almost tame. Erica Gavin stars as a sexually voracious woman who lives in Canada with her bush pilot husband. During the course of the film, Gavin has sex with her husband, a Mountie (apparently they always get their WOMAN too), both members of a married couple that they guide through the Great White North and her own brother(!). Oddly enough, the only name I recognized from this movie was Harrison Page, the black friend of Vixen's brother. Page, like Gavin, also appeared in Meyer's BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, but he also had a sitcom in the Seventies (LOVE THY NEIGHBOR . . . and no, it wasn't about wifeswapping!). As with Meyer's other work, there is no way you can watch this and keep a straight face . . . nor should you want to.

SYNOPSIS: The escapades of an insatiable wife living in the backwoods of Canada.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER The sexual revolution and the concept of hedonism. Pushing the limits of what is acceptable to show.

PROS AND CONS I have always been a big fan of Russ Meyer. Along with Federico Fellini, I consider him a true innovator in film. Many write him off as a sexploatation film maker of the "B" movie genre. I beg to differ, he was a true pioneer and a maverick and his films have stood the test of time.

What always captivated me about Meyer's work was how he got so much out of a film by doing the basics and doing them well. His films are low budget and look it, but they captivate you regardless. The dialog is crisp and quick, the editing is sharp and the story moves along quickly. This film is only an hour long but you wouldn't know it when it is all over.

Meyer financed most of his own movies, used the same troop of actors, did his own cinematography and writing along with most of the editing. He ran the whole show and answered to no one. What you see on the screen is his vision and no one elses. You have to admire an artist that can create such a large body of work under those terms.

This was Meyer's first 'big' film that got wide release. It was also the first mass distributed film to be given an "X" rating, which is laughable by today's standards. There is no explicit sex scenes or graphic nudity in this film. But there is a lot of implied sexuality and topless women. What made the film controversial in its day was its portrayal of wanton sexuality and taboo subjects such as incest and lesbian relationships.

The plot is rather simple. Vixen likes to fool around and does so with wild abandon. Thrown into this mix are subjects of infidelity, racism, patriotism, honesty and morals. You don't really like Vixen in this film. She is beautiful to look at, but she is a bitch to almost everyone and only appears to seek self gratification and cares for no one but herself.

A movie about Vixen (Erica Gavin) who has a Mountie husband who she loves...but she loves sex too! In the course of the movie she gets multiple men in bed--including her husband AND brother! Also there's a (tame) lesbian sequence.

This film put Russ Meyer on the map and was (I believe) the first critically acclaimed X rated film ever. It was a big hit when it came out. Unfortunately, it doesn't date well.

It is well-directed and Erica Gavin is just great (whatever happened to her), and it was VERY colorful...but by today's standards it's extremely tame. I'm surprised it has an NC-17 rating now--there's no hardcore sex and it only has topless females and no male nudity at all. Also it's (sadly) pretty dull and the addition of politics at the end was confusing (and pretty silly). It is worth catching though to see what was considered very shocking in 1968. Purportedly I saw the cut version (which has an R rating) but I've heard only a few seconds here and there are missing.

Meyer's next film "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" is much better and dates VERY well. Catch that instead.

I love this film. So many Meyer fans seem to undervalue it and I don't understand why. I prefer the early films and find the bigger more farcical movies harder to take, so I guess as usual it's all about horses and courses. Nobody can deny, though, the masterful camera-work and editing. The scenes in the woods, the 'rape' and the glorious helicopter ride are so well shot that one is always wishing he could have harnessed these skills to more cinematic effect. The racial taunting surprises now and must have divided audiences at the time (some probably shouting along with them - how times have changed) and similarly the references to Vietnam and communism, whilst now of socio/historic interest must have been far more directly involving. Ms Gavin does well as do the rest of the cast and if she has trouble with her facial expressions once or twice (particularly during the girl on girl scene) there is not much wrong with her breasts, even if she and Meyer thought them a bit small! Very enjoyable and lacking the campy aspect of later output.

Vixen! (1968)

*** (out of 4)

Vixen Palmer (Erica Gavin) is the wife of a bush pilot in Canada and when he's out of town she undresses and does anyone she can get her hands on. Vixen's sexual charms turns on her brother who she will have sex with without an issue but she refuses to sleep with any black man as she feels they are dirty animals. Yes, this is Russ Meyer's take on racism mixed in with everything the cult director is known for. If you're afraid of sex and nudity then you might as well skip this film because we see the beautiful Vixen taking on various men, her brother and even a woman. Needless to say, Gavin has very big breast and Meyer isn't afraid to show them at any chance he gets. Gavin's beauty certainly shines through and I also felt she gave a pretty good performance as she's able to handle Meyer's dialogue and deliver all the goods. Harrison Page is also very good as the black guy Vixen is constantly throwing racial slurs at. It's rather strange how Meyer deals with the racism because he clearly gives the message off that it's wrong but the first half of the film tries and gets comedy from the subject as Vixen throws out all sorts of watermelon jokes as well as other slurs. At the end of the film is when the comedy stops and Meyer pours on the drama about racism in general as well as the Vietnam war. It's rather amazing at how he can make you laugh for half the film and then turn on a dime and deliver a message but he pulls it off. The film runs 70-minutes, which is the right running time to get everything covered and in the end the cult director manages another fine film if you can handle his type of movie.