ALICE
GOODBODY (1974)Director: Tom Scheuer
Code Red DVD
ALICE
GOODBODY (1974)Breaking into the movie business isn’t easy. It takes talent, drive and determination. Of course if you happen to be lacking any of those, a willingness to sleep with anyone already in the industry can be just as helpful. Lascivious tales of the casting couch are as old as Tinseltown itself and for writer/director Tom Scheuer to provide a perfect set up in which to mock the inflated egos and sex driven nature of the Hollywood machine.
Sharon Kelly (DELINQUENT SCHOOL GIRLS) is Alice Goodbody, a busty redhead
who spends her days busting tables at Mr. Popadopalous’s (Vic Ceaser,
who also composed and conducted the film's score) Hollywood diner. Fate turns
its attention toward Alice one fine morning in the form of Myron Mittleman (Daniel
Kauffman), a 2nd assistant production manager who thinks Alice has what it takes
to be in pictures. It doesn’t take a lot of convincing on Myron’s
part to get Alice to turn her back on the food service industry, just the promise
of a role as a background extra on his latest gig, “Julius Caesar, Crowd
Pleaser”, a blatant send up of "Jesus Christ, Superstar". Over
the moon at finally fulfilling her silver screen dreams, Alice’s spunky
spirit and Hollywood dreams are cut short by an unexpected boom mic mishap but
a black eye and a bruised ego are not about to keep Alice from reaching for
the stars. She may have to sleep with clean freak production manager Arnold
Nern (Norman Sheridan), assistant director and culinary aficionado Roger Merkel
(George 'Buck' Flower, TENDER LOVING CARE), self absorbed lead Rex Livingston
(Keith McConnell, WILBUR AND THE BABY FACTORY), paranoid director J.C. van Himmel
(Norman Fields, VIDEO VIXENS) and flatulent head of the studio Manny Spearman
(Arem Fisher, MAFIA GIRLS) but one way or another, Alice is going to make it
big.
ALICE
GOODBODY, also known as GOSH!, isn’t laugh out loud funny but it is a
Hell of a lot of fun. Filled with numerous sight gags and running jokes, the
film's humor is sillier than one might expect from a picture whose lead is seen
more naked than clothed. While the humor is of a sexual nature, ALICE comes
across as more ridiculous than raunchy, keeping a lighthearted tone that blends
pies in the face and guys in gorilla suits with boobs in the face and guys getting
blown.
While
most of ALICE's characters are presented as caricatures of their own particular
quirks, Daniel Kauffman’s smarmy Myron Mittleman and Sharon Kelly’s
well-intentioned but naïve Alice stand out from the pack as both are in
particular spot-on in their depictions. When she’s not being hit on by
the head of the costume department (Lorna Thayer, FIVE EASY PIECES), Alice’s
accident-prone nature finds her being rushed from the set in an ambulance time
and again. Undoubted, Alice bounces back from each injury without a second glace,
and with the aid of Myron, is able to screw her way from a background extra
to a talking role opposite the film's lead. The bit does get a bit old but it
works thanks to Sharon who is able to play the innocent, doe-eyed Alice to perfection.
Save
for a brief scene in which Angela Carnon (BOOBY TRAP) plays a harmonica with
her vagina, Sharon bares the brunt of the film's nudity and is absolutely eye-catching
throughout. Sharon got her start in such sexploitation fare as SASSY SUE and
A SCREAM IN THE STREETS before transitioning to hardcore, and the name Colleen
Brennan. Filming over 75 titles in her adult career alone, Colleen, a noticeable
standout thanks to her red locks and top heavy bosom, proved to be quite the
prolific porn queen throughout the whole of the 1980s, staring in such titles
as HOT BLOODED alongside Harry Reems, DIRTY SHARY and 69 PARK AVENUE, and those
are just a couple of the titles she filmed in 1985.
Released on VHS through Media Home Entertainment, which sported a brilliant
cover that replaced the Oscar’s familiar stately statue with Sharon’s
shapely frame, Code Red brings ALICE GOODBODY into the digital age with an anamorphic
widescreen (1.78:1) transfer. Colors fair well, with skin tones looking natural,
and while the film does suffer from the occasional debris, such speckling comes
and goes as quickly as do reel changes. The mono audio fares well, with no overly
noticeable errors.
A commentary track featuring writer/director Tom Scheuer and producer Gary Maxwell
proves to be every bit as entertaining as the feature itself. Guided by moderator
Lee Christian, the two delve into a number of amusing and often hilarious anecdotes
including memories of shooting on the streets of L.A. with no permits, recycling
set pieces from Woody Allen’s SLEEPER and negotiating crotch shots with
the MPAA. The film's original trailer and alternate “GOSH!” opening
title are also on hand alongside a collection of trailers (THE STATUE, THE WORKING
GIRLS, GROUP MARRIAGE, TEENAGE GRAFFITI, LONELY WIVES and FAMILY HONOR) listed
on the disc's extras menu under the self-deprecating title “Crappy Code
Red Trailers”. A handful of the trailers appears to be culled from video
sources but come on guys, give yourself a little credit. Sure THE STATUE is
pretty hard to watch and TEENAGE GRAFFITI just seems to go nowhere, but I quite
enjoyed LONELY WIVES and would whole heartily recommend ALICE GOODBODY to anybody
who liked a little nudity with their slapstick. (Jason
McElreath)