Superchick

SUPERCHICK is so godawful that it is hysterically funny. Terrible acting, the worst fight staging ever seen, dialogue that makes you rewind just to make sure you heard it right ("Last one in bed gets no head" said by Superchick) Superchick is a dowdy brown haired stewardess who changes into a sexy long blonde haired daring adventurer who picks lovers like a kid picks candy. She's a sexually liberated woman who does what she wants - which mostly is baring a little breast, having sex under garish bedsheets and doing the worst karate moves ever done on Earth. The lead is played by Joyce Jillson who went ont to become a successful syndicated astrology columist.In fact, she became Nancy Reagan's personal astrologer and got a lot of press during Regan's presidency when it was revealed that Jillson's "readings" so influenced Nancy that she would have Ronnie follow them. Yikes!!! Hopefully she's a better astrologer than actress because she's very very bad. There's lots of quick nudity shots from what looks like washed-up, old strippers. There is a "verbal sex scene" that has to be seen to be believed. With an annoying yet catchy score, this movie has everything for the Ed Wood School Of Enjoyment.

Joyce Jillson seemed to be a shaggy dog type waiting for the studio bosses and celebrities to adopt. She did well on stage, but on screen a peculiar deadpan voice seemed to emerge not very appealing in this film. Since she wasn't given many chances to improve, she found a niche for herself as an astrologer. Her suggestions for new projects weren't that bad, after all, The Love Boat became a long running hit TV show. Superchick is of course a low budget spoof of Superman and Supergirl. Meanwhile disguised as homely airline stewardess Tara B True, Superchick fought for truth, justice and the American way! Not a bad idea for a TV series, either. But you know nobody ever wants to put a good show on TV, so we're stuck with this turkey. Tara has 3 men she's in love with in different cities, and can't decide which one she wants to marry. Nice karate work, though. Somebody younger might have given the part a little more enthusiasm.

Tara B. True works for Crown International Airlines (yes, really) as a demur airline hostess by day. By night, she becomes…Superchick! Under the guise of the latter she transforms into a blonde bombshell who not only proves irresistible to men but who also fights crime whenever necessary. She holds a black belt in karate and has a doting man at every major flight destination, namely unwitting dopes in New York, Miami and Los Angeles; while at 40,000 feet different rules apply and she bags a young army stud in the airplane restroom.

Despite what its title and poster suggest, this one only barely qualifies as an action movie at all with a very thin supply of martial arts combat. The focus is squarely on comedy scenes. We follow the Superchick go from man to man, from one episode to another and marvel at the japes that accompany her. Truthfully, the comedy is only occasionally amusing and is often pretty clunky stuff, although the whole endeavour stays just on the right side of likability. It definitely has one foot in the sexploitation genre though, with a smattering of nudity throughout. Lead actress Joyce Jillson isn't too shy here and there are also a couple of very eye popping appearances for us to savour from busty 70's icons Uschi Digard and Candy Samples - going under the moniker of Mary Gavin. Yummy. We also have John Carradine turn up for one of the many bizarre cameo roles he made in all manner of low budget fare, in this one he is a retired actor with an S&M fetish and, needless to say, his character makes absolutely no sense and has no impact on the story as a whole but, as the saying goes, it's nice to know he was there. In the final analysis, this is one strictly for forgiving fans of 70's b-movies. While it has its problems, it ultimately ticked a few boxes for me.

Back in the 1970's there was a lot of exploitation films: Sexploitation, Blaxpoitation, and others to mention. In "Superchick", you won't find it in a comic book! Here you have a stewardess(Joyce Jillson, 1945-2004) who wears her stewardess uniform. When she's off duty, she goes from brunette, to long hair blonde. The short hair brunette her is meek and mild. Her Superchick mode is adventurous and uninhibited. Consider this, the ultimate lover. She has three: A brain surgeon in New York; a beach bum in Miami; and a musician in Los Angeles. Each one knew nothing about the other. But the one in Miami was involved with a criminal mastermind. Unaware of the situation, she does her regular job as usual. In California, she goes to karate class where she meets the champion who is secretly bilingual. After a fine jostling, he gets the surprise of his life. After thwarting a hijacking, she has her "coming out" party. The funny part during the interview is when has her "news flash". This one is subtle, still true to its name. At least she didn't wear a cape and fly all over the US looking for love. That would be too corny! 2 out of 5 stars.

Tara B. True (Jillson) is the ultimate party-girl; she has enough love to share with the world, so she became a stewardess to romance the world. With a guy in every port, Tara hides her blonde bombshell body disguised as a brunette. This movie is so 1970's, that the fashions have returned. For those fans in the know, poor Louis Quinn probably went blind (see Archie Bunker's Place) by Tara's dazzling beauty. John Carradine has a wonderful cameo.