Café Flesh

Here in the UK many films with explicit sexual acts are being passed with an 18 (but not adult) rating in their uncut format, providing the sex is within context to the piece. Cafe flesh, the epitome of late 70s early 80s porn is probably one that would pass with glowing colours.

What makes this film so extraordinary is it tackles themes that are interesting beyond pornography that probably couldn't be expressed any other way. Mainly it's focus is on sexual frustration, but also inadequacy and betrayal are taken in.

The story follows a rag tag band of nuclear war survivors who can no longer make love. Sexual contact makes them feel violently sick (the negatives). A lucky few (the positives) are forced to perform sex acts on stage as entertainment for the negatives.

Enter Nick, a negative ex football star, and his negative girlfriend Lana. They spend their nights watching the action at cafe flesh wallowing in their own self pity at being sexually incapable ....except...! Lana is really positive and hiding the fact to stay with the man she loves. When sleazy club compere Max discovers this, he antagonises Nick and entices Lana until she eventually is brought out of the audience and onto the stage by desire and sexual need. The final shot of Nick, crouched down and distraught while the club laughs at his inadequacies, his girlfriend being screwed on stage willingly, and with Max revelling in Nicks failure as a man, gives an emotional kick of considerable force you wont forget quickly.

As it stands, the technical film making skill is at the poor end, the production values are low, and even the best DVD transfer is cheesy to say the least. But that doesn't matter as the strength of ideas and the emotional jolt it gives you seems far too talented for a sci-fi porn romp. The sex is normal, short, and played by ordinary people with lumps and bumps, not like the glossy super babe pictures of today. If you're expecting an earth shattering porn movie you may be disappointed.

A very interesting film.

This is the best of best, or the less pathetic porn movie (that depends on your view).

It is so good that precisely the only flaw point in the whole movie are the unnecessary long hardcore scenes, surely made by pressure from the producers.

This movie has little of everything, scify, fantasy, sexual dreams, drama, comedy, good shows, good photography, good acting, amateur acting, low budget look, exceptional atmosphere, some very high stetics points, lots of psychological and conceptual ideas, etc.

The ending of the story is also a very high point. One of the best endings that I have seen on cinema.

In brief, if you like art get this movie, cut all the unnecessary hardcore out, and you will get a little gem.

A disturbing, dark story set in a post-apocalyptic world where the majority of people have been rendered sex negative - they become violently ill when they attempt any sexual activity, even kissing. These unfortunates enjoy sex vicariously through live sex performance art staged at special clubs, where the rare "sex positives" are forced into a sort of sexual gladiatorial status, partly slaves, and partly celebrities.

The story centers on a couple of Cafe Flesh sex negative regulars, and their sad obsession with the club lifestyle.

The best acting performance in the film is Andy Nichols as Max, the mean-spirited emcee at the club who likes to taunt the audiences he is there to entertain, and stirs up trouble whenever he can. The sex scenes are not romantic, but they are imaginative and highly choreographed, with creative and surreal sets. Great camera work, an excellent soundtrack, surprisingly good acting, and some hot sex as well. It's a real good example of how a good porno movie SHOULD be. Very worthwhile

Definitely worth watching.

For those who can get their minds to accept hard-core porn, this film is definitely a must-see. Set in a post-apocalyptic dystopian future, the people are split into two types: Sex-Negatives who make up ninety nine per cent of the population and Sex-Positives who are the other one per cent. The Sex-Negatives are violently sick if they engage in sexual activity and it is compulsory for the Sex-Positives to put on a sex-show in establishments such as Café Flesh.

The sex acts, or tableaux, are surreal in themselves: a giant rat and cannibalistic babies and a pencil-headed boss just to give you a flavour of the utter weirdness of it all. All this and more accompanied by a deranged musical sound track but it is the characters who really make the film.

All the characters are grotesque in their own way; but maybe not Angel the virgin who is the new star turn for obvious reasons. The real standout grotesque performance has got to be Max Melodramatic (Andy Nichols) the merciless mocking compere whose mockery of the Sex-Negatives knows no bounds. His performance alone makes this film the classic that it is. Even if you not keen on hard-core porn, this is one film that you should see.

In the aftermath of a nuclear war, the majority of the population are 'sex negatives', unable to make love, becoming violently sick should they try. Those that can still 'do it' - the sex positives - are forced to perform on stage in special clubs for the entertainment of the negatives. One of these clubs, Café Flesh, plays host to famous sex positive Johnny Rico* (Kevin James) whose sexual prowess stirs feelings in supposed sex negative Lana (Pia Snow AKA scream queen Michelle Bauer).

Café Flesh might be porn, but it's still a film that any self-respecting fan of crazy cult oddities should see. A new-wave post-apocalyptic arthouse adult movie, it presents sex as avant-garde performance art, making it a bizarre yet strangely compelling experience. And at the risk of alienating its target audience, it also works as an allegory of the frustration felt by those who can only get their kicks from watching hardcore movies.

Hosted by the enigmatic Max Melodramatic (Andy Nichols), the stage shows at Café Flesh are the film's highlights, not because of their XXX content, but because they are so incredibly surreal, the performers dressed in strange costumes, moving robotically to electronic/industrial/jazz music by Mitchell Froom (Vonda Shepard's husband).

The first act sees a man dressed as a rat seeing to a sexy lady while three men dressed as babies in highchairs move rhythmically in the background. The next performance has a guy with a giant pencil for a head going at it with his co-star while a naked secretary bashes away at a typewriter, repeating the line "Do you want me to type a memo?". Another scene features a couple of women in military outfits become well-acquainted with each other's nether regions, and the penultimate act -- the debut for sex positive virgin Angel (Marie Sharp) -- has arms poking through the stage floor, clicking their fingers while two men in telephone masks (?!?!) break in the newbie.

Johnny Rico's act is probably the least extravagant, the star of the evening only requiring a bed as his prop (what a pro!), the stud luring Lana from the audience to join in the fun, much to the annoyance of her sex negative husband Nick (Paul McGibboney), who is destined to see his wife as a regular performer at Café Flesh.

8/10. An unreal experience quite unlike any other.

*NOT to be confused with Johnnie Rico from Starship Troopers (Kevin James is a better actor than Casper Van Dien).