Suburban Roulette

Suburban Roulette (1968)

** (out of 4)

Ilene (Elizabeth Wilkinson) and Bert (Ben Moore) move into a new community with their young daughter. Upon arriving there the husband promises no more drinking and the wife promises no more boyfriends. It doesn't take long (a few hours) before the happy couple are at a party where the husband is drunk and the wife is going off with another man.

Herschell Gordon Lewis made movies from just about every genre and this one here is his attempt at a dramatic one. You'd think with a story dealing with swingers that you'd have a pretty naughty little film but if you're expecting some sort of sleaze or even any nudity then you're going to be disappointed.

SUBURBAN ROULETTE is basically a melodrama about a troubled marriage and the destruction that is caused by their problems. Fans of A TASTE OF BLOOD will recognize Wilkinson and for the most part I thought she gave a decent performance here or at least for this type of movie. TWO THOUSAND MANIACS! fans will also recognize Moore. They make for a believable couple but there's no question that there are some unintentionally funny moments and especially with Moore's drunken rages.

At the same time, the film does have some effective moments and that includes a pretty intense scene where the drunken husband attacks his wife both physically and verbally for her "nature." I though this scene was very well directed by the drive-in legend and I might even argue it was technically the best thing from any of his movies. With that said, this is still just a cheap "B" picture but fans of the director will certainly want to check it out even with the lack of any sleaze.

You know you're in for a treat as soon as the montage of split-levels and a faux-Sammy Davis Jr. theme song ("Let's swap partners/Here's the game/Suburban roulette") hit the screen. This touching family drama opens with the Fisher family moving to a new suburban home, in hopes that the change of scenery will do them good--or, as Mr. Fisher tells Mrs. Fisher, "No more booze for me and no more boyfriends for you!"

As you can imagine, that doesn't last long once the Fishers fall in with their neighbors, the Elstons and the Conleys. The Elstons are the real fun couple in the subdivision: disdainful tramp "Mattress Back" Margo and her husband, leering blond stud Ron. Martini-fueled pool parties abound, as Ron embarks on an affair with the Jiffy Pop-haired Mrs. Fisher and Mr. Fisher sweats a lot and passes the time getting wasted with self-hating lush Fran Conley. Mrs. Conley resembles Judy Garland in full suburban housewife drag, which may be why the Conley's eldest son is already a vicious little queen at age 12. Meanwhile, Mattress-Back Margo looks bored and humps anything who comes within a three-foot radius since, as she repeatedly points out, her "pendulum" swings both ways. It doesn't take long for the Elstons to break out with the toy roulette wheel and begin spouse-swapping in earnest. There's bullet bras, there's ugly bedspreads, there's a fistfight under the sprinklers, there's too much other trash to list here. A fine, fine film.

Egad, what's all the hubbub about this snore-fest? This movie may have passed for controversial or racy in 1967, but now it's just boring. It's somewhat interesting for the bad hair (not as bad as the 70's, however), but that's about all. The husband who is always pie-eyed is THE highlight, folks. He probably used "method acting", as he MUST have been actually drunk, it's that authentic. Lots of fully-clothed groping. Yawn. There are some really mouthy brats in it, reminding parents of today that this phenomenon is universally true in the past, present, and probable future. Some unexpected blood and guts would have been nice. After all, "Suburban Roulette" was directed by that early Master of Gore, Herschell Gordon Lewis. Maybe I watched an edited version. Where's the sleaze, anyway? I feel gypped.