What's interesting about Rinse Dream's "Party Doll-A-Go-Go" is that it serves the purposes of a porno movie but doesn't do it in a normal way. It contains good looking woman and a lot of sex, but, at the same time, we are treated to Dream's fantasies and crazy, loopy dialogue that seems culled from sixties lingo. That makes the film not only sexy, but fun and amusing. It's not as wierd as some of Dream's other work (i.e. "Cafe Flesh", "Nightdreams 2 and 3", "Untamed Cowgirls of the Wild-West"), but it may be his best work, because it mixes his wierd images with extremely good porn actress who know what Dream is going for. Truly, a great adult film.
3 Reviews
A porno that's actually worthy of serious attention
eluhnabroad21 April 2008
Without conceit (I hope), I think that this film is actually worthy of a serious critique. Along with "Night Trips," this is the only porn movie I know of that actually makes an effort to be creative.
So-called "adult" movies are, of course, rarely if ever given any serious thought by students and critics of so-called "mainstream" films. I think that it's worth exploring some of the reasons why.
The object of porn (just to give the genre a name, without too much prejudgement) is to titillate the viewer. As with any film, this is done by enabling the viewer to invest themselves in the situation, creating an emotional response -- in this case, sexual arousal. Unless one harbors moral opinions about the "worthiness" of sexuality in general, this is as valid a goal as with any other genre of film. But the depiction of sex in films brings with it some purely technical issues and limitations, which I believe both porn filmmakers and the students and makers of mainstream films have overlooked.
A sex scene is, by its nature, a "vertical" type of narrative as opposed to a "horizontal" one (no pun, if there is one, is intended). That is, while sex between characters can be an integral element of a story, the actual act does very little to advance the action of the story. While characters and situations may change as the result of sex, there is little to a sex scene other than the act itself, other than to explore in a lyrical way the nature of the characters and their relationship. Sex has been depicted with increasing frankness in mainstream films. But once the act of sex is introduced as a plot point in the story, there is not much more to depict other than the sex itself; and if the scene goes on for very long, viewers will often actually become impatient for the scene to end and the story to resume. Titillation is not the object (at least not the main one) of a drama or other "mainstream" genre; thus sex scenes, though increasingly graphic, are still usually fairly brief in mainstream films.
Porn has the opposite intent -- sex *is* the story, rather than just a plot point -- but faces the same narrative limitations. There have been porn films that have tried to "elevate" themselves to mainstream status by attempting to provide a plot and characters, and were doomed for the reasons given above. In attempting to provide an engaging story as well as the visceral immediacy of a sexual encounter, they have invariably failed at both. I believe it would take an inventive writer indeed to successfully merge the two demands.
Another reason why porn cannot sustain an extended narrative has to do with the "investment" of the viewer mentioned above. Introducing characters and story only increases the work that the viewer must do to project themselves into the story. Thus, what plot a porn film does have is usually very brief and perfunctory. Viewers will only go so far as to imagine themselves as plumbers or pizza deliverers before feeling that their suspension of disbelief is being unduly taxed.
But given these limitations, I have often wondered: why don't porn filmmakers try to do more with the depiction of sex itself? Given the wide cinematic vocabulary we now have, why don't filmmakers try to use that language to greater effect? There must be lots of creative potential in this area.
One reason, admittedly, is the nature of the industry itself. By any objective measure, adult films are in massive demand. With the decreasing cost of film-making thanks to video technology, all a porn filmmaker has to do to make a hefty profit is to put two (or more) naked people in a room and leave the camera running. But certainly there is room in the budget to at least experiment? As I said, I'm only aware of two films that have tried to do this: "Night Trips" and "Party Doll A Go Go." Rather than writing a separate comment for "Night Trips," I will mention it here briefly. It has no story or plot, so much as a premise: Scientists conduct laboratory experiments on a woman, using a machine that records her dreams. That simple premise, quickly established and put out of the way, serves its only purpose: To justify the remarkable and beautiful (for porn) photographic effects. "Night Trips" succeeds, both as porn and as film in general, because it doesn't try to be something it's not. It accepts and works within the limitations of its genre to create something fresh and interesting (once more, for porn).
"Party Doll A Go Go" does the same thing. It has no plot whatsoever; like literally countless other videos, it is plainly a compilation of sex scenes. Hectically edited, using a "Laugh-In" sensibility, with surf music, bizarre sound and voice samples, and intercut with go-go dancers spouting truly off-the-wall sound bites (some of these lines are genuinely funny), the film raucously refuses to take anything about itself seriously, including the sex. Depending on your sensibilities, you'll either be entertained by this approach or irritated by it. But you will certainly not be jaded. Most amazing of all, this film actually succeeds in conveying a message: "Sex Can Be Fun." Many in the porn industry claim to be trying to deliver this message to the world. Perhaps this film will give them some idea why they've been largely ignored.
I truly believe that the mainstream film community should take note of this film, to see that it's actually possible to accomplish something in this genre. And those in the adult industry should take note as well. If they truly wish to carry a sex-positive message to a puritanical world, they would do well to start making some real effort.
So-called "adult" movies are, of course, rarely if ever given any serious thought by students and critics of so-called "mainstream" films. I think that it's worth exploring some of the reasons why.
The object of porn (just to give the genre a name, without too much prejudgement) is to titillate the viewer. As with any film, this is done by enabling the viewer to invest themselves in the situation, creating an emotional response -- in this case, sexual arousal. Unless one harbors moral opinions about the "worthiness" of sexuality in general, this is as valid a goal as with any other genre of film. But the depiction of sex in films brings with it some purely technical issues and limitations, which I believe both porn filmmakers and the students and makers of mainstream films have overlooked.
A sex scene is, by its nature, a "vertical" type of narrative as opposed to a "horizontal" one (no pun, if there is one, is intended). That is, while sex between characters can be an integral element of a story, the actual act does very little to advance the action of the story. While characters and situations may change as the result of sex, there is little to a sex scene other than the act itself, other than to explore in a lyrical way the nature of the characters and their relationship. Sex has been depicted with increasing frankness in mainstream films. But once the act of sex is introduced as a plot point in the story, there is not much more to depict other than the sex itself; and if the scene goes on for very long, viewers will often actually become impatient for the scene to end and the story to resume. Titillation is not the object (at least not the main one) of a drama or other "mainstream" genre; thus sex scenes, though increasingly graphic, are still usually fairly brief in mainstream films.
Porn has the opposite intent -- sex *is* the story, rather than just a plot point -- but faces the same narrative limitations. There have been porn films that have tried to "elevate" themselves to mainstream status by attempting to provide a plot and characters, and were doomed for the reasons given above. In attempting to provide an engaging story as well as the visceral immediacy of a sexual encounter, they have invariably failed at both. I believe it would take an inventive writer indeed to successfully merge the two demands.
Another reason why porn cannot sustain an extended narrative has to do with the "investment" of the viewer mentioned above. Introducing characters and story only increases the work that the viewer must do to project themselves into the story. Thus, what plot a porn film does have is usually very brief and perfunctory. Viewers will only go so far as to imagine themselves as plumbers or pizza deliverers before feeling that their suspension of disbelief is being unduly taxed.
But given these limitations, I have often wondered: why don't porn filmmakers try to do more with the depiction of sex itself? Given the wide cinematic vocabulary we now have, why don't filmmakers try to use that language to greater effect? There must be lots of creative potential in this area.
One reason, admittedly, is the nature of the industry itself. By any objective measure, adult films are in massive demand. With the decreasing cost of film-making thanks to video technology, all a porn filmmaker has to do to make a hefty profit is to put two (or more) naked people in a room and leave the camera running. But certainly there is room in the budget to at least experiment? As I said, I'm only aware of two films that have tried to do this: "Night Trips" and "Party Doll A Go Go." Rather than writing a separate comment for "Night Trips," I will mention it here briefly. It has no story or plot, so much as a premise: Scientists conduct laboratory experiments on a woman, using a machine that records her dreams. That simple premise, quickly established and put out of the way, serves its only purpose: To justify the remarkable and beautiful (for porn) photographic effects. "Night Trips" succeeds, both as porn and as film in general, because it doesn't try to be something it's not. It accepts and works within the limitations of its genre to create something fresh and interesting (once more, for porn).
"Party Doll A Go Go" does the same thing. It has no plot whatsoever; like literally countless other videos, it is plainly a compilation of sex scenes. Hectically edited, using a "Laugh-In" sensibility, with surf music, bizarre sound and voice samples, and intercut with go-go dancers spouting truly off-the-wall sound bites (some of these lines are genuinely funny), the film raucously refuses to take anything about itself seriously, including the sex. Depending on your sensibilities, you'll either be entertained by this approach or irritated by it. But you will certainly not be jaded. Most amazing of all, this film actually succeeds in conveying a message: "Sex Can Be Fun." Many in the porn industry claim to be trying to deliver this message to the world. Perhaps this film will give them some idea why they've been largely ignored.
I truly believe that the mainstream film community should take note of this film, to see that it's actually possible to accomplish something in this genre. And those in the adult industry should take note as well. If they truly wish to carry a sex-positive message to a puritanical world, they would do well to start making some real effort.
Bizarre dialog and raunchy actresses make this great porn
jimt7 February 2007
As an experienced porn movie viewer who began with Deep Throat and earlier films on Super eight millimeter, I find this to be one of the best films out there. It shines mostly because of the off-the-wall dialog and the hipster raunchy attitudes. I especially liked Vivian, who plays Raven. Several other movies in this series, including Cafe Flesh, were a bit too sicko for my taste, but this film has just the right amount of gritty grinding greasy sex combined with surreal fantasy. The outfits, backdrops, and camera angles are all bizarre. There is nothing trite about this movie. The movie flashes from one scene to another, not a lot of boring crotch shots. I forgot the title of this film years ago, and was pleased to track it down by one of the earthy groans, "ride me stranger, like a Rocket 88." I just ordered parts one and two on DVD, and look forward to seeing if it as good as I remember. The fact that I remember it from seeing it fifteen years ago is a good sign. Plus, I was pleased to find that others agree it is one of the best out there.
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