Up! (1976)

Just what I expected

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This is something like the odd film out in Russ Meyer's later film career. In no way is it as well crafted as "Vixen", "The Supervixens" or "Beneath the Valley of the UltraVixens." Of course it's far superior to "Blacksnake," "The Seven Minuets," or "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls." As far as its "plot" is concerned, well, in order to have ANY appreciation of Russ Meyer films in general, you really can't be too concerned with the "plot" to begin with.What makes this movie worth watching (especially if you're a hetero male) is Raven De La Croix in the role of Margo Winchester. This Beautiful-Busty-Lovely-Dynamo Brunette Chick is IT--the bottom (and TOP) line.Actually, she's a little over-the-top, but that's part of her charm!This is Raven's one and only movie for Meyer, and it's a shame that he didn't use her as much as he did Uschi Digart or Kitten Natividad. It is truly a shame that Raven didn't get as many featuring roles as she should have in the 70s and 80s.As I said in another review, this movie makes for a fine half of a double feature with one of Raven's other movies, "The Lost Empire." You can watch them back to back believing that "Margo Winchester" is just an alias of "Whitestar." It has been joked about that a remake of this film should be done. Well, only if we can get Salma Hayek to play the part of Margo.

The film begins quite mysteriously in a dungeon where a young man is torturing an Adolf Hitler look-alike… We then quickly cut to a stunning nude, played by Kitten Natividad, who teasingly introduces the audience to the setting… We are in Northern California, in a small, rural community… Just outside of town, a very beautiful, buxom young lady is hitchhiking along a lonely country road… She is picked up by a young man, who happens to be the infant terrible of the local rich set... He tries to take advantage of the girl's abundant sexuality but after a short sequence involving a brutal rape, she turns the tables and ends up killing him...Russ Meyer has never been one to linger too long on a single shot… He likes to cut, especially to ladies running naked as jaybirds around the lush countryside… In this case, however, he has added more than just a tease with Kitten Natividad, who narrates the events of the story with a husky, British accent while displaying her terrific figure… The true star of the show, however, is Raven de la Croix, whose piercing dark eyes and fully rounded, voluptuous figure combine with some firmly loyal acting for an explosive performance

Russ Meyer's movies have always struck me as a cross between porn and the Loony Toons. (The bleedin' obvious, perhaps...) Hence I don't see why RM even bothers with his quasi-plots, because it's really just the (large) breasts and the rest that matter. UP! has that unique and wonderful 70s look, but without the fast-forward button it is almost unwatchable, because far too repetitious and uninteresting. Plus, occasionally it has nonsense that cannot possibly appeal to any healthy heterosexual male: Hitler getting raped?? Who the hell wants to watch that? The bottom line is that isn't funny (and the other bottom line is that we need nore female bottoms). But what can one expect from the "renowned" film-critic and gourmet, fat Roger Ebert? He co-scripted this crap, a fact that neatly fits in with his horrible taste in movies (and, I presume, food, too). Perhaps the Hitler-rape has something to do with Ebert's clandestine sexual inner fantasy world? The dialogue, as in nearly all RM films, is dull and fast-forward-worthy.UP! was made in the golden age, when implants very rarely infested the bodies of luscious Russ Meyer women. RM's later produce is full of silicone, hence totally worthless. I guess he must have been just like any other hick who cannot differentiate between a beautiful pair of naturally formed breasts and a pair that looks like it's been pumped at NASA.UP! succeeds only as a "live" large-breast calender, to be viewed with the remote control close at hand. As usual, there is a fair amount of imaginative directing and wild editing, but when there is no plot (or even worse: an Ebert "plot"), it isn't of much use.And the Fedor Award For Movie's Best Pair Of Large Breasts goes to (after much, much deliberation)... the Asian woman in the early scenes (Su Ling).The Fedor Award For Movie's Prettiest Face goes to... Alice (J.Wood).I wonder if these women were forced to undergo couch-casting with Ebert?... An awful thought. Perhaps only the Hitler actor had to...

My personal favorite of Russ Meyer's films. The script, by Roger Ebert (!), is loaded with brilliant sexual dark humor. For example, the opening sequence finds an aging Adolph Hitler lookalike being whipped by a stud in a Pilgrim outfit; meanwhile, "Hitler" is tortured (erotically) by a variety of buxom ethnic babes ("Ah! Limehouse!"). Later, the Pilgrim really gives to Adolph what the rest of the world always wanted to give him - and sticks it to him good! And the ending wraps up a murder mystery by rising to outrageous absurdity. Along the way, our Greek Chorus narrator (Kitten Natividad) keeps us UP to date on the proceedings. Beautifully photographed (Meyer's best acheivement, I think). See what I call "The Indian Flip," and learn something new to do with a light socket. An absolute must for - as someone said - you know who you are...