Starring - Edward Schaaf (Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Addams Family), Robert McLane (NET Playhouse, Blue Summer), and Elaine Collins (Fantasm Comes Again, Deep Jaws)
Release Date - 1976
Genre - Comedy/Erotic
Tagline - "A robust American fun movie!"
Format - UHD (Personal Collection) (Screener)
Rating (out of 5):
When I hear the name Russ Meyer I immediately think of classics like Vixens!, Faster Pussycat Kill Kill!, and Motorpsycho! However, he had a career that spanned almost 60 years and directed over 30 films. A lot of his films are new to me but I have yet to find one that I didn't like. A few weeks back I received the press release for two upcoming releases from Severin Films that just happened to be two Russ Meyer's flicks. One is a film I had seen several times from 1965 titles Motorpsycho! but the other was new to me. That film was 1976's Up!. A few days later I received both films in for review from Severin and added them to my watch pile. I started my double feature with Motorpsycho! because it was one I was familiar with and liked. However, Up! didn't look that interesting to me. I was fucking wrong!
The film begins with the murder of a sexual deviant named Adolf as a busty drifter wonders into town. What she doesn't know is that everyone in town has their own kinks and the man murdered was a sex warlock hiding a secret.
I went into Up! knowing absolutely nothing about it and it quickly became my favorite release of the year so far. The movie was completely batshit crazy and very unpredictable. The movie is very raunchy and remains off the wall from start to finish. The acting in this one is very enjoyable. We get a lot of memorable characters ranging from Adolf to the busty hitchhiker and all the sexual fiends in town. The cast does a fantastic job while bearing it all in front of the camera. Some of the scenes are a bit more inconsistent than others but the energy and humor more than makes up for it. The story for this one is not what I was expecting at all and held my attention from start to finish. The film is a comedy first an foremost with the nudity coming in a close second. Not all the jokes find their marks but most of the film had me laughing. We then get some quick character development, some mystery, and a lot of soap opera quality love triangles. Honestly, it's a hard one to describe but it's a lot of fun. Finally, the film has a little blood and a lot of skin. The death we get is funny with no effects needed but those looking for beautiful women will appreciate what the film has to offer. Overall, Up! was one of the most unexpected films I've reviewed this year. It was so much and I highly recommend checking out this awesome release from Severin Films.
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