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Women in Revolt | Year: 1971 Classification: Drama Directed: - Paul Morrissey A Talented Mess This is such a miserable mess. And I really wanted to like it since I regularly watch the other Paul Morrisey flicks like "Trash," "Heat" and "Flesh." About the only fascinating angle to this jumbled work is to see it as a snapshot of a vanished era when Candy Darling and Jackie Curtis and all the others are frozen on film at their peaks. If John Waters had taken control of this movie, it would have become a genuine underground classic that you could enjoy even today--like Water's "Mondo Trasho" and of course, "Pink Flamingos." But no one appears to know anything about camera angles, or editing, or script writing. I know, I know, some find this the charm of Morrisey's work with Warhol's gang--their ad libbing and their natural qualities. In some scenes, you see the elbows of others on the set but the camera never shows them. Towards the end, you see Holly Woodlawn stumbling along the Bowery as an alcoholic. In last week's, NY Post, Page Six noted that Woodlawn was in an alcoholic coma, a tragic turn-of-event for one of the Warhol gang's most likeable personalities. We're young, we're beautiful, and we're miserable! Paul Morrisey's Women in Revolt, while a satire of Women's Liberation in the early 1970s, is really an homage to classic movie cinema of the 1930s, 40s, and 60s. In it, Morrisey alludes to the popular "woman's picture" or, "weepies" of those eras by presenting us with the story of three career girls -- a set up that is most reminiscent of How to Marry a Millionare.<BR>Candy, the beautiful and more aloof one of the trio, has her head in the clouds and aspires to become an actress. It is Candy who makes allusions to old time movies and stars by quoting such campy lines such as "I want to live" from Susan Hayward's movie, and the above. Her scene when she auditions for the movie agent is so reminscent of Lana Turner's audition with the agent in Imitation of Life (the set is so similar, right down to the swinging door!)<BR>In real life, Candy Darling was obsessed with old movies and old movie stars. Her mother was a big fan of them and Candy used to entertain her by impersonating Joan Crawford or Garbo and dressing in drag. Candy is also the more convincing woman when compares to Jackie Curtis.<BR>Curtis, a school teacher and a repressed lesbian, is also fighting for women's rights. But she, too, is a character grouneded in cinema. A "working woman" or "career girl," she is single, beautiful, and a survivor. But Jackie's character is annoying: she gets upset at her houseboy for no apparent reasons and is very cruel to him, at one time throwing matches at his naked body. Still, Curtis is a fantastic performer to watch. He is so alive and funny, having starred and written many off broadway plays. It is ineresting to note that the only reason Curtis started dressing in drag was because he wanted to become a star and knew that Andy Warhol was intrigues by transvestites. Holly Woodlawn, however, just knew how to lie.<BR>When he was preparing to shoot Trash, Morrisey says that he cast Holly without even meeting her. Having read a story in a magazine in which Woodlwan described herself as a Warhol Superstar (without officially being one), he was curious and cast the talented Woodlawn. Unlike her perfomance in Trash, which was brilliant and funny, Woodlwan is reduced to a supporting role that leaves her with less screen time. In her memoir, Woodlawn wrote that she felt intimidated by Darling and Curtis who just dominated every scene and thus she handed the movie over to them. This is a shame because I was really impressed by Holly's acting in Trash and in this movie, she plays a kept women who simply screams and has sex with many men. <BR>Overall, Paul Morrisey's Women in Revolt is a gem. If you like old movies and obscure cult films, you might be able to recognize the allusions to old Hollywood in the film. If not, that is okay too because this is really a good movie. It is funny, interesting, and good.<BR>My only regret is that Image Video does not issue a commentary for this film. There are so many stories on the making of and background "The classis that made Candy famous" The world has gone around to many times to keep this one on the shelf.The movie is so funny and a feminist classic about the low life getting together to make it rich life.The movie makes me sick it is so funny.Jane Forth... makes a part as a foot rubber.Jackie,Candy and Holly start a womens liberation group against men.... Buy Women In Revolt at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Women In Revolt Search with the Priority Search Engine on Women In Revolt This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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