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Blue Money was made during the golden age of porn in the 70's when feature length hardcore films were made with story lines and some production values to them. This was the era when these kinds of films were made on film and shown by necessity in cinemas. It all seems so very odd nowadays but seemingly that was the way it was back then. Blue Money is one of the exploitation films that tapped into this territory and set a drama around the sex industry. It's about a man who tries to secure the future of his family by making adult movies. Meanwhile the feds hover in the background secretly filming the film-maker to bring him down on obscenity charges.

This was one of the many b-movies put out by Crown International Pictures. Their output was notable for featuring plenty of nudity to draw in the crowds but surprisingly Blue Money is not especially salacious stuff given its subject matter and distributer. In fact it seems to be trying to be a serious drama first and foremost. This isn't precisely a bad idea but it ultimately fails on account of the poor characterisations and an overly underplayed storyline. Probably the biggest single issue though was the thoroughly under-par performance of the lead actor Alain Patrick who also directed, wrote and produced this as well! Fair play for trying to do everything but he is a terrible actor. At the end of the day, this is a movie that promises quite a lot given its interesting subject matter but it's sadly a pretty tedious affair for the most part.

I have to confess that I haven't seen that many true pornographic films, because what I've seen has left me both bored and depressed. However, I have enjoyed a number of movies that have dealt with the pornographic industry, from "Boogie Nights" to "Orgazmo". "Blue Money" could have been another interesting look at the industry, since it deals with the porn film industry when it was starting to become mainstream yet still falling afoul of the law. However, it is a crushing bore. There's very little story, and it's stretched out way past the breaking point. The characters aren't very interesting as well. If you are thinking of watching the movie anyway to see sex or nudity, let me warn you that there isn't a terrible amount of this material, and the little there is isn't presented in an erotic light. I have no idea why Crown-International picked this up for distribution, because it's unlike their usual product, which usually made an effort to deliver the goods. I guess there is some curio value, but not enough to make it worth searching for.

This movie was just plain bad but I spent most of the time thinking that the main actor Jim is actually Tommy Wiseau 31 years prior to The Room and pre-car accident. There is literally no information on the main actor, he sounds like Tommy (French accent)and even has the same smile. It makes perfect sense...love interests name is Lisa and he plays the role of Director, star and writer. Hmmm. A thinker.

This snooze-fest makes Tommy Wiseau look Oscar-worthy. In fact, there are many similarities with The Room - an actor/director with an accent, topless women, and a guy who argues with his wife. But at least Tommy is kind of funny and constructs interesting scenes. The guy shoots porn films to get money to build a boat. His wife doesn't like it. Occasionally cops act like they might do something. That's about all that happens. Somehow, they stretched that premise to over an hour. The porn angle is not interesting either. I almost fell asleep, but the only thing keeping me awake is wondering if they made it this dull on purpose. I can only recommend watching this if you want to brag to your friends about having sat all the way through it.

French-Canadian man (Patrick) does his best to secure his young family the freedom and future they crave aboard the boat he's lovingly restoring, on an income derived from his work as an adult film-maker. But the pressures of the business and political crackdowns take their toll forcing his wife (Caron) to leave their rented pad while Patrick frantically attempts to get his last few movies in the can to finance their dream and rid the family of their ignominious past.

Patrick stars and directs this low-key drama in which his central character goes from porn-artist to money-hungry assembly line producer, turning would-be starlets into harlots to feed his freedom frenzy. Caron as his pot-smoking former actress wife protests a lot, but never seems to have the conviction to make a lasting stand against his chosen "profession", manacled by the material trappings and constant promise of a better life aboard the grand ship freedom, where they plan to sail the seven seas, trading coconuts and trinkets, smoking dope, drinking wine and living the dream. Jeff Gall is suitably sleazy as Patrick's partner and enthusiastic co-producer, while Gary Kent is a familiar face and voice in a small role as a vice detective.

Some humour (the quirky auditions should make you chuckle), lots of bare flesh and simulated sex (as you'd expect) and a manuscript full of dumb dialogue ("you can't come to work when you've got your period") the film never really hits the high notes, remaining low-key and melodramatic, like a balloon fizzling to its limp conclusion, which is especially disappointing, leaving little resolved. Looks a little experimental and obviously dabbles in a taboo subject particularly in its era and political context, might be worth a look if you can appreciate B-grade trash cinema.