Almost indescribably unique, yet clichéd, this rags to riches to raunchiness flick is a brilliant example of late 60's grooviness and tongue-in-cheek sexploitation. Read, Myers and McBroom are three band-mates who are managed by Read's boyfriend Gurian. Bored with playing proms, they truck out to Hollywood to visit Read's long-lost aunt Davis. That very evening, at a party, they are discovered by impresario Lazar and are soon swept up in the world of sex, drugs and rock 'n roll! Read dumps Gurian for golden boy gigolo-sponge Blodgett, Myers catches the eye of predatory lesbian Gavin and McBroom juggles straight-arrow Page and boxing stud Inglehart. Meanwhile Gurian is pursued by sexpot Williams. Their stories play out in episodic, melodramatic fashion leading up to a fateful night at Lazar's mansion when things come unhinged and a barrage of violence is unleashed. A hysterically stuffy voice-over then relates what everyone learned during the preceding squalor and a happy ending is shown for the survivors of the mêlée. Virtually unrelated to the earlier film "Valley of the Dolls", this is more of a wilder, accelerated, musical-remake. Most of the female cast consists of buxom, big-haired babes, most of whom were Playboy models and many of whom either never worked again or rarely did. (The men had even spottier track records. Gurian has no other credit visible on his resume!) Read is fresh and pretty, though she is unable to mask her British accent. She went on to marry Dick Martin and appear frequently on "Match Game". Myers gives a decent enough performance as does McBroom. None of the ladies has a particularly realistic or sensible role to play, however. The film is more about sensational situations and bodily curves than acting. Lazar is strange, to say the least, but he is memorable. Blodgett was good at playing selfish, degenerate punks like this. Williams is memorably slutty, refusing to take no for an answer from gullible Gurian and requiring sex anywhere but in a bed. Davis later went blonde and had a supporting role on "Vegas" in addition to other things. Napier, as Davis' estranged ex-fiancé, went on to a notable career in various films, often playing a square-jawed military man. The film employs quick-cut editing as well as flash-forwards. The music is fun and funky (despite the fact that the vocals bear little relation to the voice of lead singer Read!) Few on screen parties from the era can match the debaucherous goings-on at Lazar's, though the gay pairing is only suggested and fully-clothed while the heterosexual pairings are more graphic. Even with all the endless shots of massive breasts and heaving cleavage (the film is a breast man's dream come true!), there's still a remarkable innocence to it all in light of so many later, nastier and more explicit films. Unlike "Valley of the Dolls", a lot of the laughs here are intentional. Some of the dialogue is really out there, not the least of which is Lazar's line, "This is my happening and it freaks me out!", later immortalized a second time in "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" by Mike Myers. Fans of false eyelashes, bouffant coiffures, décolletage and kicky 60's fashion must not miss this once in a lifetime example of cinematic excess!
Review of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
Way beyond! A serio-comedic tribute to excess. Eye-filling, not to mention bra-filling!
9 May 2006
Warning: Spoilers