Group Marriage

Code Red has done a fabulous job on this Stephanie Rothman drive-in classic
Always been a fan of the drive-in exploitation flicks of the early '70s. Stephanie Rothman was a female director ahead of her time, and besides being in a world where directors were men (this was way before Kathryn Bigelow). This to me is one of my favorites by her. Some may be disturbed that there isn't more t&a with a title like Group Marriage. We do get the drive-in queen Claudia Jennings. Glad to see Code Red releasing Rothman's classics (along with Terminal Island and Working Girls). These are great looking transfers from Rothman's own private collection. Colors aren't washed out like you would think for the film stock from 1973. The only disappointment about these features are the lack of a Stephanie Rothman commentary. Don't know why, I would love to hear about the struggles of being a female director in an all male Hollywood. With this minor quibble, this title (and the other two Code Red releases) are worth the buy. Oh, did I already tell ya, this ones got Claudia Jennings...

70s california cult film about alternative, er, sex arrangements
This is a comedy that is supposed to make a controversial statement about marriage. At its base is sex: a group gets together and agrees that exchanging partners is fine, so long as the others are willing. They move into a house owned by a bumper-sticker entrepreneur who translates his hostility into money via nasty sayings. For what it's worth, there are a lot of laughs, titillation that never adds up to soft porn, and some pretty good characters. Unfortunately, the acting is ridiculously mediocre, though it is fun to see the old playboy bunny, Claudia Jennings in one of her better roles.

It is fun to view this as a 70s retro thing, where the free-love creed of the 60s is transmogrified into pure libertinism coupled with commercialism. Recommended for nostalgia's sake.

So Bad It's Good
The acting is overdone in some places, underdone in others, the plot is there but predictable...and I love it! I laughed so hard it stopped mattering whether or not I laughed because it is a comedy or just that bad.

The main girl decides to sleep with another man since her boyfriend is distracted with work. (While he is sleeping in the next room!) They talk about it and to even the score, her boyfriend plans to sleep with the other guy's girlfriend. All good? Well, no. First, we have to deal with jealousy in a very funny, obvious way. But it is resolved and moves pass "just sex" to the four of them moving in together and falling in love as a family. Through a few funny twists and turns, yet another couple joins them.

The writer mixes in real issues for those who choose to live this alternative life style (public opinin, "all that glitters isn't gold", working together as "one big family", a person wanting to "divorce" the group, legal issues, etc) but again, it's...

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