Vixen

It doesn't take long to recognize the method of Russ Meyer.  He's of course best known for his obsession with women's breasts, the larger the better.  Many who cite this may never have actually seen his films, but rather discount them as softcore sleazery.  Everything I've written thus far is true, but there was always a wink eminating from the former U.S. Army cameraman.  You might say his er, body of work is a collection of films that satirize the often humorless porn genre.  You might also say that he would sneak in a few social and even political statements among the moans and groans.

This is especially true of 1968's VIXEN, his breakout success.   So popular was this X-rated movie that major studios would roll out the red carpet soon after, leading to the 20th Century Fox epic BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS.   But here, Meyer finally had cut loose from mere innuendoes and provides the faithful a fair amount of bumping, grinding, and nudity.  Just breasts and rears.  No genatalia.  No penetration.  Meyer did not do hardcore.  But he did feature a lot of thrusting, often played for comic effect.  In VIXEN, some is lensed to titilate, no question.  I've never had any use for porn and of the little I've seen, most were quite dull and depressing.  But Meyer deserves a place in film history for upending the skin flick with a wry sensibility. A critical but adoring eye.  There are good reasons why his naughty films are highly regarded among cineastes, including the late Roger Ebert, who collaborated with Meyer on a few screenplays.

Vixen (Erica Gavin) is married to straight arrow charter pilot Tom (Garth Pillsbury), who is often away from their home in the wilderness.  He believes she's good and faithful, but the first glimpse we get of her is underneath a Canadian mountie.  In fact, Vixen makes it with nearly everyone she meets, including the wife of one of her husband's clients and even her own brother.  She does not have interest in her brother's friend Niles (Harrison Page), a Vietnam draft dodger who is black. Vixen's an unrepentant racist, you see, and is not at all intrigued by the whole Black Male Mystique.  There will be some pointed arguments between these characters, as well as some epithets and slurs that will make contemporary viewers' blood boil (and cause them to mistakenly call the film itself racist).

Late in the film, a beared Communist arrives as Tom's latest client.  He sizes up Niles' plight and offers a solution that will drive the last section of the film, during which there will be more pointed social and political discussions that may seem at odds with the carnival of sex witnessed in the previous fifty minutes.  But that was Russ Meyer.  This time, it may seem shoehorned at the end rather than interspersed throughout the movie.  Nevertheless, it's fascinating.  Some will feel he takes down Communism in less than ten minutes, others will charge him with being a right-winger.  Maybe both are true.

VIXEN thankfully does not include Meyer's usual penchant for grisly violence, which often went overboard. As randy and energetic as the numerous sex scenes are (and despite the taboos of incest and lesbianism), this movie feels essentially rather tame.  Nothing really dark here, and it could've easily gone that way.  Gavin certainly gives it her all, and despite being her character being a faithless slut who sees no issue with her infidelities, does in fact care for and help several folks.  Maybe even save a marriage.  Many viewers will disagree with my character sketch and admire and envy her abandon.  But will she get over her racism?