| |
Flesh Gordon meets the Cosmic Cheerleaders
|
|
| Year: |
1990
|
|
Director: |
Howard Ziehm
|
| Stars: |
Vince Murdocco, Robyn Kelly, Tony Travis, William Dennis Hunt, Morgan Fox, Bruce Scott, Dee Lux, Stevie-Lyn Ray, Sharon Rowley, Blaire Kashino, Melissa Mounds, Michael Metcalfe, Sandy Jafferay, Jayne Smith, Michael Coulter, Neil Grossman
|
| Genre: |
Comedy, Sex, Trash, Science Fiction |
| Rating: |
  3 (from 1 vote) |
| Review: |
Flesh Gordon (Vince Murdocco) pilots a spaceship through the galaxy accompanied by three young ladies, but when it comes to landing on an alien world what he pulls off is more of a crash landing. He is pleased nevertheless, or he is until they open the door and a big green monster storms in and starts causing havoc, but when one of the ladies falls into Flesh's arms and wants to kiss him, he refuses: there's something on her nose. "Cut!" shouts the director, because we've been watching a film being made all along...
And if that wasn't confusing enough, you should see the rest of it. When writer and director Howard Ziehm opted to sequelise his 1974 Flesh Gordon, this time without his co-director Michael Benveniste (probably because he had sadly committed suicide in the intervening years), the results were not as well received even among fans of softcore porn spoofs. The original had been, in its way, a triumph of ingenuity over budget yet this in version the lack of cash translated into a lack of wit as well.
Even the animation was ropey this time around, and the entire project appeared to be deliberately shoddy looking, with effects that were, incredibly, little better or worse than the nineteen-seventies movie. As for the plot, it was a mess of confusion that had come to rely on bodily functions for most of its humour. And not solely the sexual ones, either, which are neglected for a stream of jokes and set ups built around farting, shitting and pissing (is King Kong relieving himself from the top of the Empire State Building funny? You be the judge).
As far as can be ascertained, the narrative follows the kidnapping of Flesh after he is sacked from the film studio. Why is he kidnapped? Because the Cosmic Cheerleaders, led by Robunda Hooters (Morgan Fox) have suffered a mass outbreak of impotence on their planet, and apparently Flesh is the man to attend to their needs. However, there is an "Evil Presence" behind this tragedy, and if you can't work out his true identity you're not paying attention (or you haven't seen the first film, one of those). He's even played by the same actor (William Dennis Hunt).
Flesh's girlfriend Dale Ardor (Robyn Kelly), having witnessed the kidnapping, rushes off to see Dr Jerkoff (Tony Travis) - who bizarrely is supposed to be Scottish, although how you'd tell by his Polish accent is a mystery - and they bullet off into space after him in a craft powered by chickens. Soon they are separated and it's Dale who is abducted, this time by the baddies, but Flesh meets up with Jerkoff and they set out on a long, rambling adventure that takes in a giant homosexual penis monster (complete with handbag), turd people and a cafe that turns men into infants, all guaranteed to make the viewer feel more queasy than anything else. It's certainly energetic, but that's not necessarily a recommendation and with far less nudity, sex and, most importantly, laughs than the original it's safe to say you're better off with that first one. Music by Paul Zaza.
|
| Reviewer: |
Graeme Clark
|
| |
|
|
