Heavenly Bodies is an OK early Russ Meyer effort. Some of his trademarks are already apparent, most notably: A bevy of busty ladies lounging naked outdoors. There’s also a lot of narration and the rapid-fire editing Russ would be known for. It ultimately doesn’t quite work because of the fractured narrative.
The film is split up into little vignettes revolving around naked women. Models take their clothes off poolside, in the woods, and in game rooms. None of these sequences are especially sexy or memorable and since they are presented in a faux documentary style, they aren’t a lot of fun either.
Heavenly Bodies is sorely missing the usual humor and violence that hallmark the best Russ films. It also doesn’t help that many of the vignettes suffer from a similar kind of feel. The jazzy background music is often repetitive too and the narrator’s highly technical jargon about the photographic equipment used during the modeling sessions was completely unnecessary.
Meyer (who also appears in a segment orchestrating a modeling shoot) utilizes the usual set-ups found in nudie movies from the era. Models play volleyball, sunbathe, swim, and dance in the nude. The most novel nudist activity is when one of the bosomy models jiggles wildly as she uses a jump rope. I just wish there were more scenes of this caliber throughout the film.
All of this is pleasant enough I suppose but ultimately, Heavenly Bodies is slight and forgettable. (Aside from the jump rope bit, that is.) Meyer’s true gift was combining sex and violence with a deft moralistic touch, so a pseudo skin documentary isn’t exactly the best use of his talents. Since it does offer a bunch of busty beauties in the buff nearly non-stop, it’s hard to completely dismiss. Another plus: It’s under an hour long, so it moves along at a decent clip.
AKA: Heavenly Assignment.
No comments:
Post a Comment