Hal is a reporter doing an expose on wife swapping. His editor is convinced underworld types are placing ads in swinger magazines and luring couples into compromising positions as part of an extortion racket. He sends Hal and his girlfriend undercover (and under the covers) as wife swappers to investigate. Their first outing is ruined by an overly pushy husband, and next couple get their kicks from listening to them get it on. They also attend a “key party”, go skinny dipping with couples, and one swinger party goes awry when Hal gets dosed with LSD. (The great ads played up this angle and proclaimed, “Mix S-E-X and L.S.D. and you get Unholy Matrimony!”)
In theory, the premise should work. Too bad it’s all rather tame. Even the episodic nature of the film wouldn’t have been such an issue had the wife swapping scenes delivered the goods. Much of the problem has to do with the character of Hal, who is a real lout. I mean it’s bad enough when he’s too busy banging other broads to save his partner from nearly being raped. It’s another thing when he tries to get her in the sack later that night.
The film suffers from a sluggish pace to begin with, but the whole thing stops on a dime when our couple take a break from their undercover work to take in a folk bubblegum combo called The Warmest Spring who sing a total snoozer called “Suddenly, You’ll Find Love”. It’s not all bad though. The acid freakout scene where Hal imagines he’s being whipped by a topless cowgirl is kind of fun, although it’s a long time coming. The underwater photography during the swimming pool scene is very good too.
The supporting cast is also memorable. The ladies, including Indecent Desires’ Sharon Kent as a topless cheesecake model, and Monica (The Imp-Probable Mr. Weegee) Davis as a swinging wife, are lovely to look at, which makes up for some of the bumps in the road. Unholy Matrimony is also notable for featuring actors who went on to have long careers in respectable Hollywood films such as Billy Green Bush, Alan North, and Lane Smith, all of whom appear as swinging husbands. That doesn’t necessarily make it worth a look though.
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