Eating Raoul (1982)

To me, this movie is perfection.

The Worst Film Ever

Such a frustrating disappointment

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Paul and Mary play The Blands, a wine dealer and nurse who dream of a better life. They're prudes who only believe in hugging and kissing, saving their passion for food and drink. They're also given to quick anger, which leads to Paul being fired from his job and those dreams fading. Throw in the fact that they live in a building full of swingers and things start to look bleak for the Blanks.After one of those swingers breaks in, Paul kills him with a frying pan and they throw him into the trash compactor. One day later, they do the very same thing and realize that just by killing people and getting their wallets, all their dreams may come true. After all, the bank only tried to get into Mary's pants (as everyone but Paul tries to do).After meeting with suburban dominatrix Doris, the Blanks make an ad. Believe it or not, the film's budget was so small, they couldn't afford to make a fake ad. So they ran a real ad in L.A. Weekly, but it only got one answer.Soon, they meet Raoul (Robert Beltran, Night of the Comet and TV's Star Trek Voyager), a locksmith con artist who breaks into their house the night after installing new locks. While in their apartment, he falls over a dead Nazi that Paul had just killed and cleaned up. He agrees to keep their secret and sell the bodies for more cash. Sure, he's selling those bodies to a dog food company, but he's also stealing their cars and selling them.The very next day, while Paul is buying groceries and a new frying pan (as Mary doesn't want to kill and cook with the same pan), a hippie client (Ed Begely Jr.) arrives late and tries to rape Mary. Luckily, Raoul arrives and kills the man with his belt. Soon, he and Mary are smoking the man's weed and making love. Raoul soon falls for Mary, despite her continually saying that it's all wrong and needing marijuana to relax. The lusty locksmith tries to kill Paul with his car (after a sequence where John Paragon plays a sex shop salesman. Paragon is better known as Jambi the Genie and the voice of Pterri the Pterodactyl on Pee Wee's Playhouse, as well as collaborating with Cassandra Peterson on her many Elvira projects), which leads to our hero working with Doris the Dominatrix to start a gaslighting campaign against Raoul, climaxing with prescribing him saltpeter pills that keep him from getting hard.After a giant swinger party, Paul ends up killing tons of rich swingers, taking their cars and money, finally able to achieve the dreams he shares with his wife. This leads to a drunken Raoul breaking back into the Bland house, disclosing the affair and telling Paul that he is taking Mary away. Of course, he has to kill Paul first, so he asks Mary to bring him the frying pan.Instead, Mary shows her true colors and love for Paul, killing Raoul. But wait! The real estate agent is on his way and there's no time to make him dinner! Of course, there's always...Raoul.The film ends with our cute little couple standing in front of their new restaurant, Paul and Mary's Country Kitchen, with the caption, "Bon Appétit."Bartel shot this film on odds and ends of stock in between projects. Some of the longer runs of stock given to the production had been rejected by others because their cases had mold grown on the cans that house the film. Often, the crew would have no idea if the film they were shooting was even usable. That said, this movie has a quick, bouncy, punk rock energy that seems improvised throughout.

Paul and Mary Bland (Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov) are a VERY goody-goody down to earth couple who want to open a restaurant but they can't get the money. One night Paul kills a man who attacks Mary. They find out he has lots of money. So they decide to put up a sexual ad, lure men into their apartment, kill them and take their money. Then hot hunky Raoul (Robert Beltran) finds out and demands a cut.I caught this back in 1982 at a theatre. Back then it was a VERY dark and funny comedy. A big hit too. Now, 30 years later, it's still funny but not even remotely as outrageous as it used to be. We've gone beyond this movie in terms of black comedy. Also I found it sometimes too low-key. Still it was enjoyable. Bartel and Woronov are both great in their roles. They were friends in real life and their affection for each other comes through. Also they are hysterical in their roles. Beltran is pretty good too. He's not as good as comedy as Bartel and Woronov but he's young, handsome and hunky and that's what the role calls for. Also Susan Saiger is great in her small role as Doris the dominatrix. This movie is not explicit--the murders are all off screen and there's no blood or gore. So it's funny but not that black anymore. I give it a 7.

Writer-director Paul Bartel co-stars with statuesque Mary Woronov as a prudish married couple in Los Angeles who hope to someday open their own quaint restaurant. Funding proves to be their sticking point, until one night a calamitous run-in with a wealthy swinger gives the pair a twisted new idea. Uneven dark farce with the germ of a great comic premise--and blessed with the talented leads to nearly pull it off successfully. Woronov, with her incredulous sexiness, gets possibly her best screen role here, and her sisterly rapport with Bartel is perfect within this context. It's a very slight movie however, with small, quirky laughs sharing space with frantic gags and dumb jokes. Bartel (as a filmmaker) doesn't trust himself completely, and his pacing is so slow that many potentially funny lines or ideas are muffled. Still, the plot is worked out satisfyingly and the film's better moments stay in the memory. ** from ****

Eating Raul Sexy, fun, wacky, silly flick. You have the normal married couple living their boring lives as a doctor and a wine seller. They are trying to save money for a down payment on their restaurant. When their the husband loses his job and a loan goes default....they think of other creative ways to earn their money. When an encounter from a swinger in the building turns bad and they kill him....they realize how much money they could earn by simply killing people. The normal couple turns very eccentric in their scandal....and start luring people into their homes for sex then killing them. It gets crazier and funnier as the movie progresses......and when Raul enters the scene the film takes off. Could life get any crazier.....the big scene climax is at the swinger party......they make tons of money and kill lots of people. I won't give away the ending cause you must see this film....but guess who really gets taking advantage of in the end? My vote for this film is a 7 out of 10.