Megavixens

I love Russ Meyer movies! It's really difficult to explain the appeal of them to those that are unfamiliar with his work. Best thing is to watch one yourself, and Up! is as good a starting place as any.

Prepare to enter a world like no other! Full of women - good ones, "bad" ones, powerful ones. Women who are IN CONTROL. The plot here doesn't really matter. It's a kinda murder mystery involving the death of a pervert who may or may not be Hitler. That's really just an excuse for a slew of scenes like none you've ever seen, and dialogue (co-written by Roger Ebert!) that continually astounds.

Kitten Natividad makes her mark as "the Greek Chorus" but the real star here is Raven De La Croix (as Margo Winchester) who is the most stunning women to ever grace a Meyer flick. You've got to see her to believe her! Raven (according to her web site "psychic counselor to individual members of the Hells Angels Worldwide") energizes the movie everytime she is on screen, but is especially unforgettable in a water fight sequence with Janet Wood which surely must be one of the high points of exploitation cinema!

So, sit back, relax, and prepare to be astonished by Up! Your world will never be the same again!

My personal favorite of Russ Meyer's films. The script, by Roger Ebert (!), is loaded with brilliant sexual dark humor. For example, the opening sequence finds an aging Adolph Hitler lookalike being whipped by a stud in a Pilgrim outfit; meanwhile, "Hitler" is tortured (erotically) by a variety of buxom ethnic babes ("Ah! Limehouse!"). Later, the Pilgrim really gives to Adolph what the rest of the world always wanted to give him - and sticks it to him good! And the ending wraps up a murder mystery by rising to outrageous absurdity. Along the way, our Greek Chorus narrator (Kitten Natividad) keeps us UP to date on the proceedings. Beautifully photographed (Meyer's best acheivement, I think). See what I call "The Indian Flip," and learn something new to do with a light socket. An absolute must for - as someone said - you know who you are...

With no expectations of what to expect but being roughly familiar with the type of work from director Russ Meyers and knowing the type of artwork. It is relatively a silly over the top overly sexual comedy of sorts. The plot is quite bizarre and muddled with somewhat different subplots but the main theme seems to be random. Lead by Raven De La Croix showcasing as what we would expect with the other supporting women shedding as well.

Yet to further narrate, with keeping track of the plot, we have the Greek Chorus (Kitten Natividad fully nude). As well as a twist somewhat where near the end of the movie, Croix discovers who the murderer is. However, that's not as important as one would think, since this movie is not murder mystery and we have already forgotten. The film is simply a showcase for the women to undress with brief subtle far distant camera shots of explicit scenes.

Russ Meyer does it again! Up! has something to offend anyone with any sensibilities. I have fond memories of wading through picket lines of feminists in Berkeley to see this in the theater. Meyer's perverse mix of humor, sex, and violence is at its best in this film. Not to be missed by people who....well, we know who we are, don't we?

Up! (1976)

*** (out of 4)

Insane Russ Meyer flick written by Roger Ebert. A dictator (a Hitler spoof) is assassinated but who did it? That's pretty much the storyline for this film because the other 79-minutes are nothing but sex, big boobs, lumberjacks, more sex, lesbians, a fake penis and more wild and kinky sex. Pretty much everything that could possibly happen sex wise is thrown into this thing including three different rapes, which makes me wonder why Ebert went out of his way to try and get certain films banned due to their "treatment of women". The lack of plot really helps matters because in the end this is a very fun film full of laughs but it's mostly the outrageous sex scenes that make it so memorable.