The Coming of Joyce

I think of Terri Hall when considering the merging of ballet and porn, still a difficult combo to pull off as witness a recent Marc Dorcel import LA DANSEUSE in which there is no dancing. Richard Mailer attempts the trick in THE COMING OF JOYCE with mediocre results.

Weirdest element is the title - there is no character named Joyce, but rather Erica Havens as Julie, a sexy dancer in the central role. Straining to make some sense out of nonsense, I concluded (wrongly) that this was a vague reference to the Joyce, a venerable dance venue in my neighborhood. That place was the Elgin back in the '70s, a porn theater notable for its ground-breaking Midnight Movies programming, most famously making EL TOPO a hit.

One in-joke that is true is having the pompous dance master named Merce, after famed Merce Cunningham. David Pierce does a poor job in the role, and generally JOYCE has an underwhelming cast.

En route to their big night of dance, the students are treated to a '60s style group sex session led by Merce, which is intended to capture the spirit of collaboration for the troupe. This is the film's highlight, presented with a New Age mood and not at all dirty even in porn context.

Not one of Mailer's best efforts, just an assembly-line quickie.