Outer Touch

A friend of mine, who's something of an authority on low-budget British sex films, once told me 'as far as I'm concerned, there's Eskimo Nell, and then there's everything else'. After seeing this entertainingly wacky soft-core sci-fi spoof, with its jukebox / computer combo, special effects cribbed from the Gerry Anderson archives, end-of-the-pier revue-standard gags and an unlikely super- stud in the form of a spotty nerd who we first see masturbating frantically over a copy of the delightfully titled 'Bouncers' magazine, I'd say 'as far as I'm concerned, there's Spaced Out, and then there's everything else'.

Consider this for a moment. Does Eskimo Nell have the most gloriously seventies collection of analogue technology hardware since Graeme Garden's computers (with their enormous tape spools) in the Goodies? Does Eskimo Nell have Glory Annen doing numerous costume changes, one of which is a sexy Beefeater on roller skates? Does Eskimo Nell have the very cute and busty Ava Cadell as an insatiable space nympho? Does Eskimo Nell have a computer with a prissy Anthony Daniels as CP30- type voice, or a snarky electronic psychiatrist housed inside a Wurlitzer jukebox which basically advises henpecked boyfriends to rape their fiancees to show 'em who's boss? Does Eskimo Nell have a jarringly out-of-place downbeat finale that reminds everyone in the cinema that they're watching a film from the director of Satan's Slave and Terror? Does Eskimo Nell have a spacecraft whose interior looks like a combined leftover set from the Tomorrow People and a swinging bachelor pad? Does Eskimo Nell have a Clouseau-style fight scene where the injured party's exclamations are doused in enough echo to make the viewer feel like he's stoned, even if he's on nothing stronger than orange squash? Does Eskimo Nell have a special chair that performs sodomy by stealth on the unfortunate fool who sits on it?

The answers to all these questions and more is NO!

I'm not going to sugar coat it, you have to be a certain type of viewer to get a kick out of Spaced Out. It's a film aimed at people who like cheapskate exploitation films, big boobs, dumb jokes and plots that play out like a live action Tijuana Bible. It also has a surprisingly excellent soundtrack. After years - no, decades - in obscurity, Spaced Out has received a welcome (if bare-bones) DVD release in the UK from Odeon, and it's well worth tracking down if you're in the mood for something that will make you laugh, make you wince, and make you feel a bit randy. And deep down, you know that's what you want.

Lynne Ross as Prudence is quite good in this silly mildly erotic fun movie. The rest of the cast is quite good with all the lady's doffing there tops at one point or the other. A couple of site gags latter and we have a enjoyable affable little film.

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.

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.

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!