Up! (1976)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Russ Meyer

Writers:

Roger Ebert (writer)
Russ Meyer (writer)

Release Date:

7 December 1983 (France)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Meet Margot the Magnificent Superchick!

Plot:

This kicks off with the murder of one Adolf Schwartz (who bears a striking resemblance to another famous...

Plot Keywords:

Piranha | Rape | Surrealism | Nazi | Male Frontal Nudity

Cast

Edward Schaaf	...	Adolph Schwartz
Robert McLane	...	Paul
Elaine Collins	...	The Ethopian Chef
Candy Samples	...	The Headsperson (as Mary Gavin)
Su Ling	...	Limehouse
Janet Wood	...	Sweet Li'l Alice
Linda Sue Ragsdale	...	Gwendolyn
Raven De La Croix	...	Margo Winchester
Monty Bane	...	Homer Johnson
Marianne Marks	...	Chesty Young Thing
Larry Dean	...	Leonard Box
Bob Schott	...	Rafe
Foxy Lae	...	Pocohontas
Ray Reinhardt	...	The Commissioner
Kitten Natividad	...	The Greek Chorus

Also Known As:

Over, Under and Up!
Russ Meyer's Up
Up! Smokey

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:18 (video rating) (2005) | UK:18 (video rating) (1998) (1999) (cut) | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | Australia:R | Finland:K-15 (DVD) (2006) | Finland:K-18 (video) (199?) | Italy:VM14 (DVD) | Canada:(Banned) (Ontario) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | France:-16 | New Zealand:R18 (cut) | USA:X | West Germany:18 (cut)

Trivia:

Kitten Natividad's lines were dubbed by another performer.

Quotes:

Rafe: Double-chili, heavy mustard, behold the onion.

Movie Connections:

References Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970)

Up there with the best of Meyer's work!

It's clear from the outset that Up! is going to be in extremely bad taste - and the rest of the film certainly doesn't disappoint! This film was made later in Meyer's career and is more along the lines of Supervixens and Beyond the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens rather than Beyond the Valley of the Dolls and Vixen - and that's OK with me. Naturally the plot doesn't make a lot of sense and seems more like an excuse for lots of buxom women to take their clothes off - and again, that's OK with me! There is a slim plot line in this film - revolving around the murder of a man named Adolf, who looks a lot like Hitler. This plot is rather inconsequential, however - a buxom blonde narrator pops up ever now and then to remind us the film has a murder backdrop, but it's hardly the main focus of the film. The film really focuses on the absolutely stunning Margo Winchester, a sexy lady who waltzes into town shortly after the murder and gets into a scuffle with a man who tries to pick up her up, and ends up killing him. The local cop gets her out of trouble, and she takes a job at a local cafe...

Russ Meyer endows his film with a truly surreal style, and that helps to ensure that Up is the hilarious fun time that it is intended to be. As is usually the case with Meyer films, it is not the plot or the style of the film that is the main standout, but the beautiful lead actress and this film is certainly no different as it features the hottest of all Meyers stars, Raven De La Croix. This girl is absolutely amazing and pretty much makes the film worth watching on her own, the fact that the rest of it is so good only increases the appeal of Up. The narrator idea comes off as being a bit corny, but it fits in well with the style of the film and the way that the topless girl telling the story goes about her business never fails to amuse. The fact that the film stars a Hitler look-alike might make you think that Meyer has some sort of point to make - but if he did, I didn't catch it. It all boils down to a hilarious ending that sees the women show off their assets, and it turns out that nobody is quite what they seem - the final revelation is the best! Overall, Up isn't my favourite Meyer movie, but it's a very good one and comes highly recommended!