Watch Up! For Free

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

This 1976 movie was co-written, produced, and directed by Russ Meyer. It's the middle of Meyer's masterpieces, preceded by "SuperVixens" (1975), and followed by "Beneath The Valley Of The Ultra-Vixens" (1979). The movie starts with Adolph Schwartz (Edward Schaaf), an old German guy who looks like Adolph Hitler, being killed, when a hungry piranha is dropped into his bathtub. Early in the action, the legendary Candy Samples briefly appears as the Headsperson. Later, the breathtakingly beautiful Margo Winchester (Raven De La Croix) hitch-hikes into town, gets a job at the local diner, and becomes romantically involved with the sheriff. Since Charles Napier had moved on to mainstream movies, Sheriff Homer Johnson is played by Monte Bane. To help keep track of the plot, we have the Greek Chorus, in the form of a naked Kitten Natividad. However, it's not Kitten's voice doing the narration. Near the end of the movie, Margo discovers who the murderer is. However, that's not as important as one would think, since this movie is not a whodunit, but a who did who!

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.

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...

Russ Meyer does it again! Up! has something to offend anyone with any sensibilities. I have fond memories of wading through picket lines of feminists in Berkeley to see this in the theater. Meyer's perverse mix of humor, sex, and violence is at its best in this film. Not to be missed by people who....well, we know who we are, don't we?