This movie is criminally underrated. I guess this is in part because it is not a big Hollywood production, in part because its title evokes expectations of nudity and gore that it thankfully does not fullfil (except for some bathing cannibal women at the very beginning), and in part because the theme of feminism raises expectations of one-sided campaigning that the movie also thankfully doesn't fullfil. Maybe it's also a little harder to enjoy some of the jokes and allusions if you are not an academic.
Formally speaking, this is probably a parody of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". But there is no need to know that book to enjoy this film. (As a German, I haven't yet got around to reading it myself, and I love this film.) It appears that the book just provides a narrative structure that is known to work, and which is here turned into an excellent comedy spoofing B movies, Indiana Jones, 2001, and whatever else was at hand.
This film is yet another proof that you don't need a large budget to create a nearly perfect movie. Roger Corman, who was not involved in the present film, is well known for his approach: getting all the cheap things right enough and not doing anything expensive. This has allowed Corman to produce so many films that accidental hits such as The Little Shop of Horrors (1960) were practically guaranteed to occur. It seems that J.F. Lawton, script writer and director of the present film, used a variant of this approach; only he made success more likely by starting with a perfect script that takes the budget limitations into account.
The 3 principal actors are each fully competent, perfectly believable in their roles, and work very well together as an ensemble:
Playboy Miss November 1981 Shannon Tweed, then still not far into her acting career, must have been eager to get a lead role in which she could prove her competence without muddling things by taking her clothes off (which she didn't). Clearly a good actress, she is convincing as Margo Hunt, the feminist professor who is pressured to go on a dangerous jungle mission by two military types from the Department of Agriculture and from the Avocado Affairs division of the National Security Commission. ("Miss Hunt, this is a matter of national importance. We need to speak to you immediately. Alone.")
Naive student Bunny ("I've been thinking of changing my major from Home Economics to Feminist Studies, but I wasn't sure if you had any feminist cooking classes.") was inexplicably allowed to attend the confidential briefing by the military types. Prof. Hunt, realizing that the jungle may be less dangerous for Bunny than the imminent frat party ("For special girls like you, we are going to have a wet t-shirt contest." - "But all my t-shirts are dry."), eventually allows her to join the expedition. Bunny is played by Karen M. Waldron, who had recently appeared in Return of the Killer Tomatoes! (1988).
The uncharted avocado jungle controlled by cannibal women is located in California, spreading from Bakersfield to the Mexican border. With all the required teaching supplies fortunately in stock at Spritzer College (including ten manila envelopes and 1,000 rounds of ammunition, half hollow and half teflon to combine maximum stopping power with armor piercing qualities), Prof. Hunt and her student drive to San Bernardino, a "rough speck of civilization on the edge of the Avocado Belt", where they enter the saloon to look for a local guide. After teaching an unsavory character a lesson and scaring away a black Rambo, a ninja and a masked avenger, Prof. Hunt settles for Jim - a poor Indiana Jones imitator who happens to be a former one-night stand of hers and whose main qualification is owning an out-of-print guidebook. Jim is played by Bill Maher, then still early in his career.
It appears that Adrienne Barbeau was hired for name recognition only - for only a day to save money. No wonder she is a bit unremarkable as Dr. Kurtz, the feminist author turned jungle cannibal empress. The name "Kurtz" is taken from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, which provided the overall structure for this film.
The building chosen as the Piranha Women's temple is impressive and perfectly appropriate. I found it easy to identify with a quick web search.
The happy ending, which turns this movie retroactively into a romantic comedy, isn't a big surprise, but like everything else it is just right.
Overall, I am in awe at how much was achieved here with how little expense. Now I'll stop writing and watch the movie once more to look for things I haven't noticed last time.
Formally speaking, this is probably a parody of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". But there is no need to know that book to enjoy this film. (As a German, I haven't yet got around to reading it myself, and I love this film.) It appears that the book just provides a narrative structure that is known to work, and which is here turned into an excellent comedy spoofing B movies, Indiana Jones, 2001, and whatever else was at hand.
This film is yet another proof that you don't need a large budget to create a nearly perfect movie. Roger Corman, who was not involved in the present film, is well known for his approach: getting all the cheap things right enough and not doing anything expensive. This has allowed Corman to produce so many films that accidental hits such as The Little Shop of Horrors (1960) were practically guaranteed to occur. It seems that J.F. Lawton, script writer and director of the present film, used a variant of this approach; only he made success more likely by starting with a perfect script that takes the budget limitations into account.
The 3 principal actors are each fully competent, perfectly believable in their roles, and work very well together as an ensemble:
Playboy Miss November 1981 Shannon Tweed, then still not far into her acting career, must have been eager to get a lead role in which she could prove her competence without muddling things by taking her clothes off (which she didn't). Clearly a good actress, she is convincing as Margo Hunt, the feminist professor who is pressured to go on a dangerous jungle mission by two military types from the Department of Agriculture and from the Avocado Affairs division of the National Security Commission. ("Miss Hunt, this is a matter of national importance. We need to speak to you immediately. Alone.")
Naive student Bunny ("I've been thinking of changing my major from Home Economics to Feminist Studies, but I wasn't sure if you had any feminist cooking classes.") was inexplicably allowed to attend the confidential briefing by the military types. Prof. Hunt, realizing that the jungle may be less dangerous for Bunny than the imminent frat party ("For special girls like you, we are going to have a wet t-shirt contest." - "But all my t-shirts are dry."), eventually allows her to join the expedition. Bunny is played by Karen M. Waldron, who had recently appeared in Return of the Killer Tomatoes! (1988).
The uncharted avocado jungle controlled by cannibal women is located in California, spreading from Bakersfield to the Mexican border. With all the required teaching supplies fortunately in stock at Spritzer College (including ten manila envelopes and 1,000 rounds of ammunition, half hollow and half teflon to combine maximum stopping power with armor piercing qualities), Prof. Hunt and her student drive to San Bernardino, a "rough speck of civilization on the edge of the Avocado Belt", where they enter the saloon to look for a local guide. After teaching an unsavory character a lesson and scaring away a black Rambo, a ninja and a masked avenger, Prof. Hunt settles for Jim - a poor Indiana Jones imitator who happens to be a former one-night stand of hers and whose main qualification is owning an out-of-print guidebook. Jim is played by Bill Maher, then still early in his career.
It appears that Adrienne Barbeau was hired for name recognition only - for only a day to save money. No wonder she is a bit unremarkable as Dr. Kurtz, the feminist author turned jungle cannibal empress. The name "Kurtz" is taken from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, which provided the overall structure for this film.
The building chosen as the Piranha Women's temple is impressive and perfectly appropriate. I found it easy to identify with a quick web search.
The happy ending, which turns this movie retroactively into a romantic comedy, isn't a big surprise, but like everything else it is just right.
Overall, I am in awe at how much was achieved here with how little expense. Now I'll stop writing and watch the movie once more to look for things I haven't noticed last time.
