Viva (2007)

Two suburban couples experiment with sex, drugs and bohemia in early 1970's Los Angeles.

Director:

Anna Biller

Writer:

Anna Biller

Stars:

Anna Biller, Chad England, Bridget Brno

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anna Biller	...	Barbi / Viva-Rick's wife
Chad England	...	Rick / Barbi's husband
Bridget Brno	...	Sheila / Candy-Mark's wife
Jared Sanford	...	Mark / Sheila's husband
John Klemantaski	...	Arthur / theater advocate
Barry Morse	...	Sherman / hair stylist
Veronica Alicino	...	Miss Marker / Model agency assistant
Cole Chipman	...	Reeves
Robbin Ryan	...	Agnes
Andrea Lain	...	Kelly
Sam Bologna	...	Mr. Humphrey / Barbi's boss
Johnny Holiday	...	Mr. Carlisle
Barry O'Rourke	...	Chris
Mark Wood	...	Doctor Collins
Carole Balkan	...	Mrs. James / Brothel pimp

Storyline

Barbi is a beautiful but blasé suburban housewife whose handsome mate, Rick, is more interested in his career than in quenching his wife's sensual thirsts. When up-and-coming actor Mark and his open-minded wife, Sheila, move in next door, Barbi discovers they're more than willing to help her find the thrills she's been missing. Before long, Mark and Sheila part company, and when Rick finds out about Barbi's extramarital dalliances, he walks out on her. Free to do as she pleases, Barbi changes her name to Viva and teams up with Sheila to join the front lines of the sexual revolution, enjoying assignations with a dizzying variety of partners, including hipster artist Clyde, psychedelic naturalist Elmer, experimental theater advocate Arthur, glamorous lesbian model Agnes, and sexually ambiguous hair stylist Sherman. But will Viva's appetite for the ecstatic lead her into dangerous and unexpected places?

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Plot Keywords:

1970s | nudist camp | sexual revolution | sex scene | female pubic hair | 

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Taglines:

They were housewives seeking kicks, in a world of swingers, orgies, booze and sin that was the sexual revolution!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Musical | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content, nudity and some drug use

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Anna Biller posted on Twitter that Viva was inspired by old Playboy cartoons; placed side by side, the sets were exact copies, down to the pattern of the wallpaper.

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Goofs

When Sherman goes into his kitchen, the blender is empty. He then opens a cupboard and takes out some powder before turning back to the blender - which is now full of milkshake mix.

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Quotes

Clyde: The girl wants to be my friend. But honestly, who wants to be friends with a girl?

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Connections

Featured in SexTV: Pornscapes/Viva/Forbidden City (2007)

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Soundtracks

Jet Generation
Written by Gerhard Narholz
Provided by Associated Production Music LLC

User Reviews

The GONE WITH THE WIND of retro feminist sexploitation films.

The demented genius behind A VISIT FROM THE INCUBUS strikes again. Seriously, though, what is VIVA? Caught this about seven months ago and am still trying to take it all in. I loved this film because I never knew what was going to happen next, despite it following the model of '60's/'70's sexploitation films pretty closely. The first few minutes are simply exhilarating. A young housewife leafs through a skin mag in her bathtub, gets herself ready for the outside world, and blasts off in some bad-ass muscle car, just as the wonderful piece of vintage loungecore music on the soundtrack reaches a crescendo. (At least that's how I remember it.) Sublime; I'm at a loss to think of a better opening scene. (TOUCH OF EVIL, studio cut, perhaps? It's too close to call.) Then we settle in for the long haul. The housewife is hanging out with her friends, a married couple. Things get inappropriate. How far will it go? Exactly what kind of a movie is this? That's really the question that VIVA dares the viewer to answer. I'm still not sure. Satire or pornography? Happily, the answer is yes.

The film is two hours. That would be hard to justify if it were just a slavish imitation of vintage softcore porn. Or just a spoof of same. Instead, it's almost a suspense film. How long has it been since an American film had me wondering who among the cast was going to disrobe? Who was going to disrobe NEXT? Who will have sex next? Will it even be consensual?! All those people constantly cruising each other. Predatory. With the color-soaked visual panache of Radley Metzger in Eastmancolor, but with a storyline from a Joe Sarno film where everyone thinks and talks about sex all the time, has weird, anonymous, masked sex all the time, and never enjoys it. Almost exactly like the adult world seemed to me in 1972. Plus deadly serious feminist self-reflexivity for the unwashed masses and nude dancers with their wieners bobbing hilariously for intellectuals like myself, courtesy of a nudist camp scene that is exactly like Blake Edwards WOULD have done it in A SHOT IN THE DARK, if Hollywood censorship had already relaxed, and he was on angel dust. And all the while, the deliciously arch Jared Sanford does his best to act dozens of naked people off the screen. Two hours was barely enough. Bring on the 70mm IMAX release, the three-disc DVD special edition with the signed and numbered lithographs, and the "Vote for Viva" t-shirts in every trendy mall novelty store.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Forum Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 May 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Viva

Filming Locations:

Culver Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Anna Biller Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min 102 min (R-rated)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1