Russ Meyer - genius, pervert, visionary, sleazeball, lunatic, exploiter of carnal desires, grass-roots statesman, slick entrepreneur or all of the above?
Of all of his films I've seen, this has to be the one I'd class as THE definitive Russ Meyer movie. Not his most outrageous, not his most well-made, not his most offensive, but this one has just about everything in it that sums up the entire body of work of the film-making giant that was Russ Meyer.
There's a storyline that holds all of Russ's obsessions together, sort of. A very happily married couple in Canada, Tom & Vixen, run a type of getaway lodge. Tom's a pilot & is away a lot of the time, leaving Vixen very lonely & itching for just about anything that will get her motors running. When Tom's back, she still needs non-stop lovin' 24 hours a day, even though she loves him, & he's the one who can do more for her than anyone else in the world. She's just way too much for one man.
Vixen's first victims are an uptight young couple - bored husband & sexy, frustrated wife. She nails both of them, & they leave happier in their marriage than ever. Er, moral of the story? Then she's off to find new prey. Hanging around the lodge are two bikers - her younger brother, Judd, & his Negro friend Niles, a draft-dodging fugitive from the US . Vixen's only dialogue with them is sleazy, teasing come-on lines to her brother, & racist abuse to Niles. Eventually, she seduces her brother, but completely freaks out when he brings Niles in for seconds. Incest, fine, but inter-racial relations? That's where Vixen draws the line.
Needless to say, this is not your average tit-flick.
Meanwhile, dear old pilot Tom has found an expensive charter, a ridiculously stereotyped Irishman called O'Bannion, complete with green suit, peaked cap & a full red beard. He's supposed to go to San Francisco, but instead convinces Niles to help him hijack the plane & head to Cuba. Vixen manages to come out of this twisted tale somewhat redeemed & ready for more action than ever.
Utterly wrong on so many levels, but there's a weird charm about this film that's hard to resist. The characters are so hard to sympathise with in any way, you don't bother judging them & just enjoy watching their idiotic exploits with a type of voyeuristic, morbid fascination.
For anyone yet to experience the cinema of Russ Meyer, this is the perfect film to start with. If you don't like it, don't go any further. If you do, though, then you've taken your first step into a larger world.
