FASTER, PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL!
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1995 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 6.9
U.S. Availability: initial release 1966; special re-release 1994-95 Running Length: 1:23 MPAA Classification: No MPAA rating (Double entendres, violence, deep cleavage)
Starring: Tura Satana, Haji, Lori Williams, Susan Bernard,
Stuart Lancaster
Director: Russ Meyer
Producers: Russ and Eve Meyer
Screenplay: Jack Moran from a story by Russ Meyer
Cinematography: Walter Schenk
Music: Igo Kantor and the Bostweeds
Released by Strand Releasing
Russ Meyer's resume reads like a list of B-movie exploitation classics. Remember BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS? How about MONDO TOPLESS, BENEATH THE VALLEY OF THE ULTRAVIXENS, THE IMMORAL MR. TEAS, and WILD GALS OF THE NAKED WEST? Then there's the director's current project-in-development, THE BRA OF GOD (co written by movie critic and DOLLS scripter Roger Ebert). Of all of Meyer's films, however, perhaps the most memorable is 1966's FASTER, PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL!, the flick described by film maker John Waters as "beyond a doubt, the best movie ever made." Considering the source, that just about says it all.
In the 1960s and 70s, Meyer was to the silver screen what Hugh Hefner was to the printed page. In fact, the paths of the two often crossed. Meyer did several photo sessions for PLAYBOY (behind, not in front of, the camera) and a number of Playmates appeared in his movies. The director's ... ahem ... fondness for certain oversized female attributes is well-documented. He cast all of his actresses based not on talent or ability, but on breast size. A small-busted woman in a Russ Meyer film is as rare as one dressed conservatively.
Although it features no nudity, PUSSYCAT is classic Meyer. The three leads are all topheavy, the action-packed plot is paper-thin, there are loads of double-entendres amidst the cheesy dialogue, and the style is pure low-budget. This is fun stuff, to be sure, but definitely of the "guilty pleasure" sort. PUSSYCAT promises an entertaining eighty-plus minutes without offering one redeeming tidbit of social commentary. This is camp at its best.
The three women who strut their way through the film are Varla, the leader (played by part-Apache, part-Japanese Tura Satana); Rosie, her lesbian lover (Haji); and Billie, the bouncy blond (Playmate Lori Williams). The wardrobe of the trio consists largely of leather boots, tight halters, and hot pants. They love fast cars and when they encounter a clean-cut, all-American guy who's interested in racing against one of them, Varla takes up the gauntlet. First, she defeats him on the track, then, out of the car, physically beats him to death. This leaves his helpless, apple pie-sweet girlfriend (Playmate Susan Bernard) in the clutches of the ruthless pussycats, whose next target is an old man (Stuart Lancaster) living with his two sons on an out-of-the- way ranch. Somewhere, he has a fortune stashed away, and Varla wants that money. She doesn't care what--or who--she has to sacrifice to get it.
The sexes will probably enjoy PUSSYCAT for different reasons. While the attraction for men should be reasonably obvious, the draw for women (the heaviest renters of this "epic" on videocassette) isn't hard to understand, either. This is a prime example of female empowerment. The pussycats consistently dominate the male characters, showing them up as wimps, dolts, or both. Those who accused THELMA AND LOUISE of "man- bashing" will probably pale at what goes on here--if they can stop staring at the canyon between Tura Satana's breasts.
All this is probably terribly politically incorrect, but who cares? FASTER, PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL! is entertainment of the lowest and most pleasant caliber, and it slips into art theaters and retro venues in the midst of a 60s and 70s resurgence. Times have changed, however. On its original release, this movie was considered adult fare. Thirty years later, had this been submitted to the MPAA, it would have garnered a PG- 13--suitable viewing for teenagers. I guess plunging necklines and tight shorts aren't what they used to be.... Not that such a realization will hamper anyone's enjoyment of this, or any other, Meyer endeavor.
- James Berardinelli (jberardinell@delphi.com)
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