New To Blu: Racy Reels from the Something Weird Vault Vol. 2 – Female Chauvinists (1976) / Hot Connections (1972)
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| Ben reviews Racy Reels Vol. 2 |
Female Chauvinists
The “free love” movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s bred a significant number of pornography films. It also generated mainstream films intended for adult audiences that tackled the satirical nature of scripted-pornography films. Jay Jackson’s Female Chauvinists was recently remastered and released as a part of the Racy Reel from Something’s Weird Volume II.
Featuring an all-star cast including Marge Anderson, Sunny Boyd, Roxanne Brewer, Cheryl Cato, Wayne Chapman, Uschi Digard and Rick Dillon, the story is centered around a photographer who sends his assistant to infiltrate a “training” camp run by militant lesbian feminists. The ladies who run the camp turn the tables on the photographer.
Jack Holtzman’s script touches on several of the issues that affected everyday people, but it never paints an issue in a bad light. Part of what made the “free love” movement so popular was how freeing or liberating it could be to express yourself in a sexual situation.
The film doesn’t treat sex or sexual identities as taboo. Instead, the characters and the actors use the script to enjoy themselves and the camera work by Fred Goodich doesn’t focus on any one specific thing. It also catches us in our most vulnerable moments.
Female Chauvinists is not high-brow cinema. But one couldn’t be faulted for wanting to be recruited into a camp run by those who are fighting for equality.,
Revenge can be as sweet as the sex at the switchboard in James Young’s Hot Connections, the second film in the Racy Reel from Something’s Weird Volume II. This film’s satirical look at the pressures of being in an office environment, especially when the manager is sexually charged and the ladies are alluring.
Featuring a bevvy of beauties including Rene Bond, Elena Casey, Peggy Church, Tallie Cochrane, Cindy Daly, Sandy Dempsey, Lynn Harris, Margie Lanier and Starlyn Simone, the story is centered around a married telephone company manager whose pregnant employee seeks revenge for his transgressions. Worry not, the satire in the film is not as serious as my description just made it out to be. And that’s because the wives of the managers also seek sweet revenge.
Director James Young makes excellent use of the film canvas as the story unfolds. Steve Carver’s cinematography doesn’t make the adult nature of the film feel awkward; it is tastefully done. The male cast is just as solid as they take their revenge almost gleefully.
Hot Connections makes the right connections as the remastered version makes its way to Blu-ray. Here’s an interesting bit of trivia, thanks to IMDB: the director, James Young is actually James Hong (Big Trouble in Little China), who also has a cameo in his own film.
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-Ben Cahlamer