Women in Revolt (1971)

An Exercise In Nonsense

This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

4/27/18. I watched this because it was an Andy Warhol movie. Sadly, the satire is lost on me. It's more pxxx (that rhymes with corn), and it's not even art house material at that. When this came out, 47 years ago, it was a movie of drag queens giving voice to women's liberation that was just starting up, pointing out the inconsistencies of the roles women were trying to define during the years of social change. So, the sexual exploitation is supposedly not as offensive because the women were men in drag. In the "metoo" "timesup" era the satire is pretty trite and offensive on many levels. In retrospect, Warhol had his 15 minutes, and not one minute more.

An hysterical-in-spurts skewering of the then-topical Women's Liberation Movement obviously inspired by the near-fatal shooting of Andy Warhol by a crackpot feminist a few years earlier. Paul Morrissey "directs" this ad libbed diatribe that owes a debt to Jackie Susann's VALLEY OF THE DOLLS as transvestites Candy Darling, Jackie Curtis, and Holly Woodlawn talk non-stop while going from dissatisfied society deb, teacher, and model to wallowing in the depths of despair after becoming P.I.G.s (Politically Involved Girls). The objectified males are merely peripheral and mostly naked but the Kim Novak-obsessed Candy is both funny and fascinating. It's a shame he/she died so young.

Women in Revolt is Morrissey's most Political Movie to date, It takes a satirical look at women's liberation which was gaining mass attention at the time this movie was made. The movie shows three Women who revolt against various oppressions. Joining forces they create a political group called P.I.G.S. an acronym standing for Politically Involved Girls. There are some interesting Parallels between the Movie and the shooting Andy Warhol experienced at the hands of Valerie Solanas in '68, She was a fierce Feminist, creating a manifesto called S.C.U.M. (Society for Cutting Up Men) and one can see the apparent mocking of the whole women's lib. movement with Casting three Transvestites/drag queens to play the Lead women. If this was intentional is unknown to me, but there must have Anti-feminist atmosphere at the factory after Valerie. The movie dosen't really touch up on Political issues for too long, and like any Movie from the factory is always filled with interesting character's, Like Mr. Morrissey says himself it's the character's that made the films. Some of the more memorable moments are Jackie Curtis having her boyfriend do her nails spraying him with air freshener, and then throwing matches at him to speed up his housework, having him totally naked with his flabby body exposed adds to his further degradation.

No one has reviewed this gem yet? Wow! This is the fourth Warhol/Morrissey film I've seen and the only one without Joe Dallesandro. But he isn't missed too much with the amazing talent and storyline given here!Jackie Curtis, Candy Darling, and Holly Woodlawn (the three top drag queen Superstars) are three members of PIGs (Politically Involved Girls). We see their trials, tribulations, relationships with men (and women), their feminist attacks on men, and how they all end up wasted and abandoned.Of the three lead actresses, Jackie Curtis is my favorite. She knows how to deliver dialogue to make it zing with humor, she knows which facial contortions display which emotions, and she certainly is a natural comedienne. I had only seen her previously in "Flesh" and was not impressed (by her acting or her drag get-up), but here, Jackie gets a look that suits her and delivers the goods. Candy Darling is a gorgeous willowy blonde (the only queen with a chest resembling a woman's) and she is just as great as the socialite member of PIGs. She is a lot better than she was in "Flesh" and gives a star-making performance. Now, Holly Woodlawn was Oscar-worthy in "Trash" and was the main reason why I bought this movie. Instead, her character here is badly composed and Holly is given little to do throughout the movie! Her one good scene: her opening scene where she's yelling at/beating/having sex with her boyfriend Marty. Other than that, Holly is wasted and just plain forgettable. It's not her fault, I blame director Paul Morrissey for spending unequal screen time with all three actresses!"Women in Revolt" has several hidden surprises for Warhol fans. Veteran Warhol actors make appearances, but don't live up to their previous performances. Jane Forth is a member of PIGs, but how could she top the rich girl in "Trash"? She has barely any lines and appears in three scenes. Geri Miller, another one of my favorites, is seen briefly in Lorraine's Bar and has no lines. Shame, her voice is cute and so is her personality. Maurice Braddell, the old artist in "Flesh", is Candy's stuck-up father. He also isn't as memorable as his previous role. Michael Sklar, the welfare worker in "Trash", plays a sleazy promoter who Candy sleeps with to get a job. He's not too good here. Jonathan Kramer, who was one of few Warhol Superstars to appear in "Midnight Cowboy" (as a transvestite), is a crummy journalist who humiliates Candy and gets into a fistfight with her! He's great! Martin Kove plays Marty, Holly's boyfriend, completely in the buff, quite a change from his appearance as a comic relief cop in "Last House on the Left"! Johnny Kemper is "Mr. America", a male gigolo who conforms Jackie to heterosexuality. I wonder if they were a real-life couple? An in-joke is evident when Candy mentions her new movie, "Blonde on a Bum Trip", an actual exploitation movie made in 1968!Overall, "Women In Revolt" is a forgotten Morrissey film, but is a whole lot funnier than his Dallesandro films, features a better ensemble cast than any of his other films, and is itching for a new modern audience to embrace it!