Heavy Petting (1989)

Directors:

Obie Benz
Joshua Waletzky (co-director)

Writer:

Pierce Rafferty (writer)

Release Date:

22 September 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

Celebrity confessions about their first sexual experiences.

Plot Keywords:

First Sexual Experience | Celebrity | Orgasm | Interview | Sex

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

David Byrne	...	Himself
Frances Fisher	...	Herself
Sandra Bernhard	...	Herself
Allen Ginsberg	...	Himself
Ann Magnuson	...	Herself
Spalding Gray	...	Himself
Josh Mostel	...	Himself
Laurie Anderson	...	Herself
John Oates	...	Himself
Abbie Hoffman	...	Himself
Jacki Ochs	...	Herself
William S. Burroughs	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Wayne Jobson	...	Himself
Frederic Lahey	...	Frederic Lahey
Paul Longendyke	...	Himself
Paula Longendyke	...	Herself
Zoë Lund	...	Herself (as Zoë Tamerlis)
Elvis Presley	...	Himself (archive footage)

Directed by
Obie Benz
Joshua Waletzky		(co-director) (as Josh Waletzky)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Pierce Rafferty		writer

Produced by
Obie Benz	....	producer

Cinematography by
Sandi Sissel
Dyanna Taylor

Film Editing by
Judith Sobol
Joshua Waletzky

Sound Department
Lee Dichter	....	sound re-recording mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
David Eubank	....	additional first assistant camera
Karola Ritter	....	assistant camera

Music Department
Hal Willner	....	music producer

Thanks
Rick Prelinger	....	acknowledgment: archival footage provided by

Production Companies

• Americas in Transition
• Fossil Films

Distributors

• Skouras Pictures (1989) (USA) (theatrical)
• Academy Home Entertainment (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Big D Films (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• New Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

74 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | USA:R

Company:

Americas in Transition

Movie Connections:

Edited from Bus Stop (1956)

Soundtrack:

Little Bitty Pretty One

first you get a little, then up a little...

I guess it is up to us Australians commenting here (both of us) who want to tell you HEAVY PETTING is a very funny documentary. Barely released (no pun there) in 1989 and seen sometimes on a double feature with DIRTY DANCING, this look at sex hygiene and teen social short films of the 50s manages to be laugh out loud funny in between so called celebs offering smirking advice on how they first managed to grope, be groped or get a bra off a prom date. Probably teenagers will get the best from it, shrieking at seeing 50 year olds who look like their parents (or older) tell about their clumsy 1950s finger fests or worse, why they gave up after a few sessions. Much of the footage was already seen in LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL and is seen again in the dance DVD TWIST from 1992; Whilst reviewers in mainstream media might be deflated, this film plays fairly well to any audience. As a cinema owner of the 80s, it was a lot of fun to watch the teens in the crowd scream at the revelations from the wrinklies on screen. My summary above is a lyric from the 1933 Busby Berkely musical GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 sequence: the called PETTIN IN THE PARK which is also as risqué as anything seen in HEAVY PETTING