Katy-13

"Darktown strutters" uses the most elaborate, colorful, and huge props and sets like the interior of the "pot-sicle" freezer complete with an igloo. The costumes are some of the most outlandish in the blaxploitation genre. The biker women wear rhinestoned pink and bright yellow jumpsuits and feather head dresses. The comedy is very basic slapstick which relies a lot on the props and action (like kung-fu moves, pies in the face and other uninteresting activities) rather than interesting dialogue or inventive action. Its overall "weirdness" was so obviously trying to be weird that it became sort of routine.

It's a travelogue/sex-comedy with great photography of Rio, funny jokes and a pleasing early eighties feel. All the typical aspects of life in Brazil are shown like Carnival, native gods/religion, topless sunbathers, street dancers, the monolith dome with Jesus on top etc. There are a lot of funny lines that will keep you entertained and Michael Caine delivers them well. The soundtrack has a lot of bossa nova strains (composed by Ken Wannberg) and adds to the sexy, lighthearted mood.

Sharon Leslie plays a super model with amnesia. She's staying in a psychiatric hospital where her doctor is trying to uncover the repressed psychological trauma that put her in this state. It's partly a mystery, with the doctor as detective, in which they try to figure out who/what did this to her. Of course, it's also an exploitation movie with a lot of nudity and softcore sex. Sharon Leslie is attractive, and she looks a lot like the actress who played "Nola Darling" in Spike Lee's "She's Gotta Have it". The director of the original "Black Emanuelle", Aldaberto Albertini, also directed this one. His movies seem to focus more on character relationships/ psychological drama and are more cohesive than director Joe D'Amato's later movies. The movie is full of trippy flash back sequences and sexual suspense. Recommended!