Outer Touch

Spaced Out is a British sex comedy directed by Norman J. Warren, better known for his cult horror movies. As with most of Warren's films, the cast is very small and the film is shot primarily on one set, in this case a spaceship. This ship happens to be piloted by three sexy female aliens who are forced to make an emergency landing on Earth. They take three humans on board and, well, that's where the fun begins! The women are young, gorgeous, sexually curious and not afraid to experiment with human reproductive techniques (all in the name of scientific discovery, of course!). It's actually done pretty tastefully and makes a joke of the fact that the man they become crazy about is young Willy, a self-confessed virgin with mild acne whose only sexual experience is masturbating while reading porno magazines. Only in British sex comedies do you have young spotty boys like Willy managing to seduce voluptuous females who wouldn't be caught dead with them in reality! Of course, this is all part of the appeal of these movies, isn't it?

Overall the film is entertaining and well acted. The sub plot of a frustrated academic dealing with his frigid fiancé is amusing and well portrayed by Barry Stokes. Stokes seems to do a Clark Kent impersonation here, complete with pushing his glasses up his nose every few seconds. Ava Cadell, who plays the ship's engineer Partha, deserves the most praise of all the women in the film... she manages to be kooky and sexy at the same time and even helps drive the plot every so often. Interestingly enough, she's now Dr Cadell, founder of the Loveology university, and offers courses in all manner of sex-related subjects.

Spaced Out is definitely one of the better sex comedy offerings that are out there. It's amusing throughout, has a smattering of sex and nudity, and comes to a surprising conclusion. Well worth watching!

One of the unexpected sci-fi sex comedies that came out after the success of STAR WARS, SPACED OUT is from British horror director Norman J. Warren and one of his less well known movies, crammed in between his bloodier fare. This one's a low budget odyssey in which a trio of female aliens kidnap four people and subject them to various experiments aboard their spaceship. It's very low fi and only moderately amusing, although the Robin Askwith wannabe is funny enough. Inevitably the emphasis is on attractive starlets stripping off, although as with a lot of these British sex comedies, it's quite tame really.

The best thing about this was the typical dry delivery Brit humor is famous for.

A UFO full of sexy female aliens comes to earth to check out male sexuality. They take a medical approach that gradually turns into full fledged desire. The males are your basic cross section. The wannabe Lothario, the geeky student, etc.

The student had most of the best lines. He saw it all as scientific as well, for a while at least.

The technical aspects aren't that great though. The print I saw seemed dark and it was obvious they didn't have a lot of area to work with. It looked like they used 2 or 3 rooms in a local studio. Keep dressing it up different and no one will notice right? It was funny. Had some good bits. Call it another late night flick with beer and the gang.

My review was written in December 1981 after a Times Square screening:

"Spaced Out" is a hybrid film, the result of taking a 1979 British sci-fi sex comedy, "Outer Touch", and increasing the laugh quotient with Americanized low-humor commentary emanating from computer voices. Pic is a diverting trifle suited to the youth trade weaned on Benny Hill and Cheech & Chong gags.

Nominal plot concerns a trio of beautiful women from the planet circling Betelgeuse who take four Earthlings prisoner. Never having encountered men before, they test the males, with predictable sex comedy ensuing. The fourth prisoner, a prim and proper London girl, gradually succumbs to the advances of her fiance who is spurred on by the advice coming from a stoned jukebox-computerized psychiatrist.

Much of the film's humor comes from the cultural clash of stock British characters with the drug-culture and gay-oriented jokes penned by comedian Bob Saget and voiced over by him and Jeff Dehart. Norman J. Warren-helmed live action is cheap and silly, with hokey spaceship models, campy set design and costumes plus lots of pastel lighting effects. Cast is quite effective at this vulgar form of sex tease, with the British starlets (particularly the busty pinup Ava Cadell) easy on the eyes.

Okay, this movie is pretty cheesy, but it is funny in places, the stereotypical gay computer and "America's Funniest Home Videos" Bob Saget as a drugged out stoner juke box do some very amusing voice over work with lots of funny one liners. But the real treat in this sci fi sex romp is the fresh faced Glory Annen, who's whole part is basically an excuse for her to rollerskate around half nekkid! Ya gotta luv that! There's a particularly bizarre scene where Ms. Annen does a weird little dance number to some 70's style rock music and her clothes vanish suddenly for no reason. This movie doesn't make much sense but its in the same wacky vein as "Plan 9 From Outer Space", its not supposed to make sense I guess. Too bad Glory Annen quit show business a few years after this, she was one hot mama, in my somewhat less than humble opinion.