Eating Raoul (1982)

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Straight-laced middle-class couple Paul (a fine and likable performance by Paul Bartel) and Mary Bland (the always great Mary Woronov) are forced to murder decadent perverted swingers in order to raise the necessary money so they can realize their dream of opening a restaurant. Shrewd and unscrupulous con man hustler Raoul Mendoza (smoothly played by Robert Beltran) helps the pair dispose of the bodies of their victims.Director Bartel, who also co-wrote the witty script with Richard Blackburn (who appears as nice guy real estate agent James), maintains a deliciously dry'n'deadpan tone while poking wickedly hilarious satirical fun at uptight traditional American values, debauched rich folks, the moral erosion caused by the sexual revolution, how the hedonistic excessiveness of the 1970's was rebuked by the oppressive conservatism of the Reagan-era 1980's (the swinger victims are all total raunchy products of the 1970's while the Blands represent the staid'n'standard status quo-abiding types who voted Ronald Reagan into public office as President), and the desperate measures ordinary decent folks must resort to so they can achieve their goals in an amoral society. The spot-on winning and natural chemistry between Bartel and his frequent co-star Woronov gives this picture a teeming surplus of pure radiantly loopy heart; indeed, the Blands are perhaps the most appealing murderous couple in the history of cinema. It's this singularly good-natured screwball charm which in turn makes this movie so special and delightful. Susan Saiger positively shines as the sweet Doris the Dominatrix, who happily dispenses business advice while doing her laundry and feeding her infant son. Popping up in neat small parts are Buck Henry as smarmy bank president Mr. Leech, Garry Goodrow as the Blands' aggressively lascivious drunken first victim, Ed Begley Jr. as a horny hippie pothead, John Paragon as a pushy sex store clerk, Don Steele as obnoxious party host Howard Swine, and Eddie McClurg as the ditsy Susan. Kudos are also in order for Arlon Ober's bouncy jazzy score and the bright cinematography by Gary Thieltges. An absolute hoot.

Outrageous black comedy for those with an appetite for the unusual and the deranged cinema of the bizarre. It has the right tone of nonviolent violence and unsexy sex that produces a world of the completely corrupted, crazy atmosphere of satirical simplicity.Nothing is presented as anything but just the way it never could be. A made up fantasy film that is unique and refreshing in its audaciousness. Deadpan acting helps and you have to listen closely for some of the best lines. A number of punches come from under the breath and ride quick transitions. This is the hallmark of very talented work from a very good ensemble of players and movie makers.More fun and frolics than most of the major budgeted comedic SNL alumni ventures that have been churned out in the last thirty years. Because talent will out where pretenders and posers play.

Here is a retro comedy from 1982 written and directed by Paul Bartel. Bartel and his wife, played by Mary Waronov are a sexless couple looking to raise $20,000 to open a gourmet restaurant. They kill a guy with a frying pan and take his money.They then hatch a plan to lure swingers to their apartment with a sex ad and proceed to make money with this scheme. The problem is that this grows tired with the repetition of the same frying pan scene over and over.The style is grade b porn with a few laughs now and then. The lead actor and actress are likable enough to give this a 5/10.

Eating Raul Sexy, fun, wacky, silly flick. You have the normal married couple living their boring lives as a doctor and a wine seller. They are trying to save money for a down payment on their restaurant. When their the husband loses his job and a loan goes default....they think of other creative ways to earn their money. When an encounter from a swinger in the building turns bad and they kill him....they realize how much money they could earn by simply killing people. The normal couple turns very eccentric in their scandal....and start luring people into their homes for sex then killing them. It gets crazier and funnier as the movie progresses......and when Raul enters the scene the film takes off. Could life get any crazier.....the big scene climax is at the swinger party......they make tons of money and kill lots of people. I won't give away the ending cause you must see this film....but guess who really gets taking advantage of in the end? My vote for this film is a 7 out of 10.