Review of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) by Aimee . — 15 Apr 2007

Russ Meyer's stupendously trashy, excessive and gloriously over-the-top horror-splatter-comedy-rock n roll-musical-soap opera extravaganza still stands tall and proud as one of the greatest and most bizarre satires on Hollywood decadence and debauchery to ever explode across the screen in a whirlpool of psychedelia.

Far superior to its predecessor, The Valley of the Dolls, this film is more of a tribute than a sequel. It merely plays on similar themes associated with fame and the downward spiral it can cause.

Meyer directs with his usual enjoyably overheated dynamic style, filling the frame with loud blinding Day-Glow cartoonish colours, voluptuous women, frenzied editing, a furious non-stop pace, broadly drawn caricatures, sumptuously stylized visuals (the use of super-impositions is absolutely breathtaking), and delightfully overblown acting by John LaZar in particular. This is enhanced by the soundtrack of 60s garage rock songs, the positively insane violent conclusion and the splendidly campy dialogue is priceless leaving no cliché unaccounted for in a highly quotable script by none other than film critic Roger Ebert who commendably forsakes taste and subtlety in favour of pure crude, raunchy and hilariously bawdy lowbrow humour. A true cult classic that's not to be missed by devout fans of delectably deviant, deranged and depraved oddball cinema.

Long live The Carrie Nations!