patchesalseier
I was surprised to see just how awful this movie was after all the buzz: "ultra-violent," "raunchy," "lots of booty," "savage," and many more superlatives are used to describe "Faster Pussycat." In reality it's dumb, dull, and docile. Yes, there are some buxom-y ladies (but no nudity--not even ni---ple-bumps, and no sex, etc.), and some people do die--or I guess they do, as there's almost no blood when it happens (even after a "brutal" stabbing--and we have to watch that from behind the stabber so nothing is seen. The victim falls bloodless to the ground, but I guess there's a little redness on the knife?).I think Faster Pussycat might really have been meant as a straight comedy instead of an exploitation thriller; the "fight" scenes are laughable (such as a large woman "karate-chopping" a guy hard enough to give him a slight massage--but it kills him anyway), and the dialogue is inane.The story is slight, the scenery is humdrum (arid landscape for most of it) and the acting is horrible. It's not bad enough to rise to a "good, bad" movie, and it's not good enough for a cult classic. I have no idea why this thing even rates a look. Frankly I was shocked to find the lowest stars this movie gets--besides my rating--is like only four or five. I'm giving this tripe a "2" just because it has some notoriety. My advice . . . don't see it, and above all don't pull this out for you and all your friends to enjoy--they won't.
morrison-dylan-fan
Before picking up a boxset of his films in the Christmas sales last year,I had heard about 2 Russ Meyer movies,due to both of the titles later being used as the name for some bands,with Mudhoney being one of the earliest bands from the Grunge sub-genre,and Faster Pussycat being a Hard Rock band,whose music video for the single "Don't change that song" was directed by Russ Meyer!.With having found Mudhoney to be a great,southern-fried Drama,I decided to find out how wild Meyer's cats could be.The plot:Searching round for a place to do some test laps before a big race,Tommy and Linda are pleased to find a deserted desert area,that will give Tommy all the room he needs to run his test laps.Reaching the centre of the area,Tommy and Linda discover 3 parked up cars,that belong to a group of go-go dancers called Varla,Rosie and Billie.Attempting to politely introduce themselves,Tommy and Linda are instead pushed around by the gang,who tell Tommy that if he wants to prove the he is a "real man",then he must go against them in a race,right now.Aggreing to the challenge,Tommy is left dazed and confused after the gang reveal their less than "traditional" driving skills.Taking advantage of the situation,Varla,Rosie and Billie grab Linda,and tell her that they are going to kidnap her,so that they can put Linda up for ransom.Rushing to save his girlfriend from being kidnapped,Tommy inadvertently runs into Varla's deadly karate chops,which lead to Tommy being left for dead,face down in the desert.Filling Linda up with sleeping pills so that she keeps her mouth shut,the gang head to a peteral station,so that they can fill the cars up,and get of there with Linda as quickly as possible.Waiting for the peteral station guy to finish filling up the cars,the gang notice a fellow,wealthy-looking,wheel-chair bound customer being helped into a truck by the man's son.Keeping their interest under wraps,the girls ask the peteral station attendant if he knows anything at all about the man.Taken by the girls sudden interest in local knowledge,the attendant tells the gang that the man lives in an isolated farm house with his two sons,and that their have been rumours going around the town for years that the man is sitting on a suitcase full of cash.Excited over the opportunity of grabbing more cash then she originally expected,Varla tells Rosie and Billie,that before they run off with their bounty in Linda,that it might be a good idea,if they pay this kind,wealthy old man a surprise visit.View on the film:Reuniting with co- screenwriter Jack Moran, (who wrote one of the last titles from Russ Meyer's "Nudie-Cutie" era with Wild Girls of the Naked West)co-writer/co-producer/editor and directing auteur Russ Meyer shows in his eye-catching stylised directing a tremendous skill in combining the cartoon style aspects of his Nudie-Cutie movies,with the Film Noir path that he is currently on,so that Meyer can create an unforgettably wild,cartoon-bonkers,deranged Film Noir.Introducing each of the rough'n tumble amazonian women, (played by the splendid,and very easy on the eye's Haji,Lori Williams and Tura Satana) in a go-go dancing nightclub,Meyer bravely keeps away from building a "safe" centre-ground that the movie can relay on,to instead push everything contained within the film right to the edge of the sanity,with each of the actress's delivering their cracking dialogue with extremely over exaggerated pronunciation,which helps to create an irresistible animated atmosphere.Keeping away from making any of the stunning girls mere 2D characters,Meyer shows a surprising amount of subtly in the way that he reveals the "true" relationship that Varla,Rosie and Billie have with each other,with the relationship between Varla and Rosie being one the is filled with glances that last just that bit too long,which become much more noticeably on repeat viewings of the film. (In an interview on the DVD,Haji mentions that Meyer did not give her the full details of Rosie's relationship with Varla until the movie had finished shooting,due to Meyer wanting the "true" meaning of their relationship to be one that was hidden from the suffice of the film.)Along with the deadly kittens,Meyer and co-writer Jack Moran give the film a strong Horror element,with the old man,who the gang think they'll be able to steal a huge bundle of cash from,being revealed as not being a kind old man at all,but instead being one who is wicked,that also holds some pretty unsettling "family values" close to his heart,which lead to the gang having to risk everything that they have got,in the hopes that they end up becoming the cats who got all of the cream.
Andrei Pavlov
The things in this movie that strike me most are: the six guitar strings in the beginning which vibrate as the human voice delivers the top news of the world (weird); the camera angles (in "drunken master" style); the jazzy/funky music that goes nuts now and then (very refreshing and exhilarating); Varla's vile face expressions (plain menacing and sophisticated), tight gloves (ready for battle!), and her evil bursts of laughter (quite hellish); the hysterical behaviour of the kidnapped girl who even before her boyfriend's grisly death is lunatic (careless in a most childish manner); the goofy gas station attendant nicknamed "Einstein" ("Do and think little but talk volumes, especially about other people's secrets!" must be his motto); the way The Vegetable "gives" the knife to Rosie (what does she expect from the highly controversial and unstable knot of muscles? "Here you are, take it, please"?); the simplicity of the whole production (a few characters, minimum sets, almost no special effects, the stunning b&w picture).The greatest disappointment (the major spoiler ahead!): the three heroines all die in the course of the movie. That is unfair. They are too groovy and too busty to die. They should have killed off every other character in this flick and survive, walking away in the sunset with the smoking guns, bloody hands, and swaying hips. How could the director be so cruel to this trio that remains the best female criminal gang to ever hit the screen? The technical side of the film is superb. Hardly anybody could make it better. The WWII did not pass in vain for Mr Russ Meyer, that's for sure.A 7 out of 10 (because of "the greatest disappointment" - minus 3 points, alas). Thanks for attention.
chow913
Grindhouse At Its Best! I've only recently gotten into Russ Meyer films and I find him to be one of the most underrated screenwriters ever. His films are a lot more than just sex and violence. Sure there's plenty of it. But it's done within the context of original characters and gripping stories that keep you hanging on to every last scene.One forgotten aspect of the grindhouse genre is the lack of profanity. While 1965 standards didn't allow four letter words Russ Meyer out smarts the sensors by proving just how imaginative he can be with sexual innuendos and dirty insults. Much like Frank Miller comics. It's much more imaginative than just the same old, "F you mother effer." The plot: Three bad girl beauties Varla, Rosie, and Billie are on the hunt for trouble in the deserts of the South West.After drag racing a couple, Varla beats the boyfriend to death just for kicks, and the trio keep his innocent girlfriend as their new plaything.A gas station attendant tells the girls about an elderly man "The old Man" whom recently got a huge cash settlement from the railroad after an accident left him paralyzed. The girls drive out to his desert ranch looking for a big and easy score.What they don't know is The Old Man lives with his two slow witted sons the peaceful Kirk and the dumb ox Vegetable. Ever since being paralyzed the family has been picking up pretty girls to murder for fun.It's the bad girls versus the psycho guys! Each thinking they're smarter than the other by pretending to be something they're not.
