michigindie
Joined Jun 2007
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michigindie's rating
Ever wonder what "The Many Loves of Doby Gillis" would have been like if Jack Benny had played Doby and Liberace had played Maynard G. Krebs? Well, wonder no more! "Frasier" gives us a pretty good idea.
In the alternate universe of "Frasier," a sometimes disconcertingly unphotogenic leading man (Kelsey Grammar), plays a womanizing chick-magnate who is often irresistible to lean, smirking 40-year old former supermodel types. Instead of mining more heavily from a goldmine of potential plots concerning life as a radio show host dispensing sometimes disastrous advice to callers, the series instead makes nearly every entry an improbable boy-meets-girl odyssey with a romance du jour for Frasier and/or his equally fay brother, Nils.
This choice seems inexplicably unlikely until one realizes leading man Grammar was also executive producer of the series...ah, now it all makes sense..."Frasier" becomes one man's sexual fantasy as well as a vanity project, which surprisingly was successful for years on network television.
The supporting cast is quite good, although they are often underutilized. Generally, they take a back seat to the flowery, effete babbling of Frasier and Nils. There are exceptions of course, individual episodes which finally give some air to stronger members of the cast - but nine times out of ten, the spotlight stays on one of the mincing poofs and their latest heavy date with another smirking, former supermodel type.
The success of the series proves most people see this show through a different, more charitable lens than this reviewer. Perhaps they were fans of "Cheers" and consequently able to transition their loyalty to "Frasier" after the former's cancellation. But for this viewer, the wall of improbability is a little too high to jump on most occasions. I think I'll stay with "King of Queens."
In the alternate universe of "Frasier," a sometimes disconcertingly unphotogenic leading man (Kelsey Grammar), plays a womanizing chick-magnate who is often irresistible to lean, smirking 40-year old former supermodel types. Instead of mining more heavily from a goldmine of potential plots concerning life as a radio show host dispensing sometimes disastrous advice to callers, the series instead makes nearly every entry an improbable boy-meets-girl odyssey with a romance du jour for Frasier and/or his equally fay brother, Nils.
This choice seems inexplicably unlikely until one realizes leading man Grammar was also executive producer of the series...ah, now it all makes sense..."Frasier" becomes one man's sexual fantasy as well as a vanity project, which surprisingly was successful for years on network television.
The supporting cast is quite good, although they are often underutilized. Generally, they take a back seat to the flowery, effete babbling of Frasier and Nils. There are exceptions of course, individual episodes which finally give some air to stronger members of the cast - but nine times out of ten, the spotlight stays on one of the mincing poofs and their latest heavy date with another smirking, former supermodel type.
The success of the series proves most people see this show through a different, more charitable lens than this reviewer. Perhaps they were fans of "Cheers" and consequently able to transition their loyalty to "Frasier" after the former's cancellation. But for this viewer, the wall of improbability is a little too high to jump on most occasions. I think I'll stay with "King of Queens."
A newspaper editor decides to jazz up circulation by releasing a series of articles on rape. He then assigns three of his staff writers (two of them quite handsome), to dig up the stories, interview the victims and start writing human interest stuff for the paper.
Initially, we follow the reporters as they track down and interview the victims--their stories shown in sexy flashbacks. As the film progresses, the stories start coming fast and furious, each more raunchy and entertaining than the one before.
Things peak halfway through with a wildly watchable tale about a South American girl imprisoned for no reason at all, who becomes the object of lust for two horny guards.
The most famous segment features porn actress Brigitte Lahaie, who is ravished by two truck drivers and then gets sweet revenge.
The film keeps up its sexy energy right to the end, the runtime flying by pretty quickly. This title is long overdue for a blu ray release! Recommended for lovers of Euro, sleaze, grindhouse and sexploitation films.
Initially, we follow the reporters as they track down and interview the victims--their stories shown in sexy flashbacks. As the film progresses, the stories start coming fast and furious, each more raunchy and entertaining than the one before.
Things peak halfway through with a wildly watchable tale about a South American girl imprisoned for no reason at all, who becomes the object of lust for two horny guards.
The most famous segment features porn actress Brigitte Lahaie, who is ravished by two truck drivers and then gets sweet revenge.
The film keeps up its sexy energy right to the end, the runtime flying by pretty quickly. This title is long overdue for a blu ray release! Recommended for lovers of Euro, sleaze, grindhouse and sexploitation films.
It's the Daliah Lavi Show starring Daliah Lavi! With special guest star Daliah Lavi. Now here's your host, Daliah Lavi!
As was common with films of the 1960s and '70s, the story here revolves around a woman...showcasing her daily life, her moods, her romances, her ups, her downs, her angst, her frustrations, her fears, her...oh, wait - wasn't this supposed to be a ghost story?
As with some of his previous works, director Mario Bava puts all his eggs in one basket, centering the attention on another wide-eyed but charisma-impaired actress, this time Daliah Lavi. The movie looks good thanks to beautiful sets, costumes and cinematography. But the pace is agonizingly slow, exacerbated by the constant, tedious presence of Lavi, who is not strong enough to carry the film.
In fact, Lavi is in almost every shot during the first 2/3 of the movie. Not until the 57-minute mark does she step aside and let her far more interesting co-star Tony Kendall take the reins. At this point we see Kendall clearly for the first time, Bava finally condescending to lighting the man so we can actually see who he is. As he does in most of his films, Bava flatters the female actors with soft, full lighting and crucifies the male actors with harsh, edge lighting that leaves only a crescent of their faces on display.
The third act of the film is by far the most entertaining, as Lavi's endless hand-wringing and wide-eyed whimpering finally give way to Kendall and the story itself. It comes too late however, as most audiences are either asleep by this time, or changing the channel.
Despite its excellent production values and rich Gothic atmosphere, "The Whip and the Body" was not a commercial success at the time of its release, thanks to Bava's molasses-in-January pacing and Lavi's lack of personality. These factors still hold it back for many; but for die-hard fans of Gothic movies, Mario Bava or Lavi herself, it may well be worth the watching.
As was common with films of the 1960s and '70s, the story here revolves around a woman...showcasing her daily life, her moods, her romances, her ups, her downs, her angst, her frustrations, her fears, her...oh, wait - wasn't this supposed to be a ghost story?
As with some of his previous works, director Mario Bava puts all his eggs in one basket, centering the attention on another wide-eyed but charisma-impaired actress, this time Daliah Lavi. The movie looks good thanks to beautiful sets, costumes and cinematography. But the pace is agonizingly slow, exacerbated by the constant, tedious presence of Lavi, who is not strong enough to carry the film.
In fact, Lavi is in almost every shot during the first 2/3 of the movie. Not until the 57-minute mark does she step aside and let her far more interesting co-star Tony Kendall take the reins. At this point we see Kendall clearly for the first time, Bava finally condescending to lighting the man so we can actually see who he is. As he does in most of his films, Bava flatters the female actors with soft, full lighting and crucifies the male actors with harsh, edge lighting that leaves only a crescent of their faces on display.
The third act of the film is by far the most entertaining, as Lavi's endless hand-wringing and wide-eyed whimpering finally give way to Kendall and the story itself. It comes too late however, as most audiences are either asleep by this time, or changing the channel.
Despite its excellent production values and rich Gothic atmosphere, "The Whip and the Body" was not a commercial success at the time of its release, thanks to Bava's molasses-in-January pacing and Lavi's lack of personality. These factors still hold it back for many; but for die-hard fans of Gothic movies, Mario Bava or Lavi herself, it may well be worth the watching.