Written and produced by the distinguished and highly-resourceful
David F. Friedman, Henri Pachard’s MATINEE
IDOL (1984) arrived considerably later than many of Friedman’s mostly-memorable
run of sexploitation films from the ’60s and early ’70s, and despite his dogged
persistence to avoid working in hardcore films (“It just wasn’t any fun”), Friedman still retained much the of
same playful mindset here as he did in many of his earlier, strictly softcore films. One of the only four hardcore titles produced
by Friedman, MATINEE IDOL is
considered by some to be the best of the lot, which is all the better since
it’s now been made available as a pristine new Dual Format Blu-ray from those
indefatigable individuals at Vinegar Syndrome.
At Sensational International Pictures, producers Bernard
Kuntz ([!] David F. Friedman) and Harvey Cox ([!!] Elmer Fox) find themselves
in a bit of a conundrum when their two biggest stars, Lance Hardy (John Leslie)
and Linda Hand (Jesie St. James) wind up continually squabbling with one another,
which eventually causes production of their latest ‘sextravaganza’, entitled Matinee Idol, to grind to a screeching
halt. Linda subsequently befriends her
pool-boy, Bud Cochran (Herschel Savage) in hopes of grooming him as her
potential new co-star, while Kuntz and Cox (!!!) become smitten with wannabe
starlet Daisy Cheney (Angel), after she answers an open casting-call by the
producers in hopes of replacing the increasingly unmanageable Linda. But when the unfinished Matinee Idol’s proposed distributors demand a ‘Hardy Hand picture’ in
order to recoup their monetary outlay, Lance and Linda may have to set aside
their differences and finish the delayed skin-flick just the same; a professional
move which might quite possibly rekindle their badly-frayed relationship in the
process.
This is very much a comedy, and Friedman’s lighthearted
script – which is loaded with his usual innuendos and (quote) “well-known puns”
– takes a fond, nostalgic look at Tinseltown, even as it’s viewed through the ’80s
skin-biz; and in that respect, it’s much like an updated version of Richard
Kanter’s STARLET (1969), which he also
produced. In a nice touch for those
‘in-the-know,’ posters for much of his earlier work – such as SPACE THING and THAR SHE BLOWS (both 1968) – adorn the walls of S.I.P.’s head office,
which also functions as their casting office (“It ain’t easy, but somebody’s gotta do it!”).
Veteran adult stars Jesie St. James and John Leslie are
both excellent as the quarrelling couple, and at times, as they clash with one
another, their behavior emulates those of their equivalents in the zany screwball
comedies of the ’30s and ’40s; while, typical of the genre, Angel and Herschel
Savage have a few surprises of their own in store for them. As expected, Friedman essentially plays
himself – or rather, more accurately, a broad caricature of himself – as the
cigar-chomping co-owner of S.I.P., and Elmer Fox is the more-cynical of the two
business partners, who firmly believes his actors have (quote) “got their
brains between their legs!” In what are
essentially extended cameos, Colleen Brennen (a.k.a. former softcore star,
Sharon Kelly) appears as Linda’s rambunctious friend, eager to sample her new
man, Bud, whereas Kay Parker, as S.I.P.’s secretary, has a stab at Lance’s
lance right atop the desk in Kuntz’ office.
Scanned in 2K from the original camera negative, Vinegar
Syndrome’s Blu-ray is, without question, a terrific transfer of an already good-looking
film and, to be honest, there are no real issues to speak of. The DTS-HD MA 1.0 mono audio also sounds very
good, coming through just fine both in the many fast-paced dialogue scenes and
during the – ahem – sexual
shenanigans. Extras are sparse, but the
real treat here is an archival audio interview with Friedman conducted by Casey
Scott via telephone, which more or less doubles as an audio commentary that
lasts the entire length of the feature film! Anyone who’s ever listened to any
of the articulate and animated Friedman’s previous interviews and/or
commentaries knows full well what a raconteur he is, and this epic interview is
no exception. He begins by discussing
the uneasy, game-changing transition from softcore to hardcore product and
(quote) “the end of a very nice little business,” even though he had no real
moral objections to the shift. He also
talks about the formation of the Adult Film Association of America in 1968 at a
Hotel in Kansas City, which also included the owner of Distribpix, Arthur
Morowitz and genre director Donn Davis, among others. Of course, Friedman also has many stories
about a number of people in the business, including directors Chris Warfield,
John Hayes and producer Dan Cady. In
addition, the legendary sexploitation producer reveals that it was Bill Castleman
(his line producer and credited director [as William Allen Castleman] on such
Friedman-produced flicks as his sleazy rock-musicians-and-groupies potboiler BUMMER! [1973] and his violent ‘Indian
revenge’ actioner JOHNNY FIRECLOUD
[1975]) who helped convince him to edge his way into making films that weren’t
(quote) “any fun”, at least to Friedman. Fans of his work, on the other hand,
may be of a distinctly different opinion!
An
original, teaser-type trailer finishes off the extras.
Though produced in
the ’80s, at the tail-end of the “porno chic” era, MATINEE IDOL appropriately enough, patterns itself along the lines
of Friedman’s heydays in the business and, as such, is a sufficiently engaging
film – one which now, more than ever, can be fully appreciated thanks to
Vinegar Syndrome’s highly-welcome Blu-ray.
Order it directly from Vinegar Syndrome or DiabolikDVD.
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