Probably because it seems for most of its running time to be just a banal, routine-sex porn film, SKI HUSTLERS catches one off-guard with a clever final plot twist. I'll get to that in a final spoiler, describing this picture reissued on Vol. 95 of Something Weird's Dragon Art Theatre series.
John Seeman and Ken Scudder topline as a fun-loving (read: sex-loving) pair of con men, sort of the XXX precursor to the team of Vaughn & Wilson in WEDDING CRASHERS. They're dead broke, but planning to score some cash from a group of girls staying at a ski resort. The plan is to bed 'em and then hit 'em up for some long green.
That's essentially the entire premise for the usual wall-to-wall sex format of cheapie hardcore porn. There are some driving around shots and the cast occasionally shown on a ski lift, but otherwise the snowy setting is superfluous.
For the bulk of its running time I was unimpressed with SKI HUSTLERS for a very important reason: the 5 or 6 women in the cast are all ugly. Mid-'70s porn had a talent pool of some amazingly beautiful performers, like Annette Haven, Abigail Clayton, Desiree West and many others, and even some of the chintziest 1-day wonders often presented a knockout girl.
So why were these actresses hired? No acting ability is demonstrated, and though the roles call for freshness they seem like hookers. One girl playing Charlotte, is styled as a waif with the identical hairdo Carey Mulligan is currently popularizing, but even the most open-minded (or air-headed) porn fan would have to call her a paper-bag case. Low point of the film is a closeup of Charlotte squinting after Seeman lives up to his moniker by ejaculating into her eyes and all over her face.
The male leads do a good job of being despicable characters and deliver many a money shot. A creepy long-haired guy addicted to big hats named Archie appears as a local white slaver, and his big moment of ejaculation looks 100% faked. IMDb has subsequently given big-name director of the era Rik Taziner credit for the Archie acting role, further evidence of phony money shot.
SPOILER ALERT
The finale is worth waiting for. Seeman and Scudder have been plotting to "deliver" the girls to Archie at a price of $500 a head for enslavement in his local "escort service", but time is running out as vacation for the femmes is over. In a very effective reversal the women get the upper hand and it is S & S who are being shanghaied, presumably to finish their existence as male sex slaves. A nice comeuppance, and one to keep in mind if Wilson & Vaughn decide to remake this baby (I think the plot would play extremely well as a mainstream R instead of a XXX).
John Seeman and Ken Scudder topline as a fun-loving (read: sex-loving) pair of con men, sort of the XXX precursor to the team of Vaughn & Wilson in WEDDING CRASHERS. They're dead broke, but planning to score some cash from a group of girls staying at a ski resort. The plan is to bed 'em and then hit 'em up for some long green.
That's essentially the entire premise for the usual wall-to-wall sex format of cheapie hardcore porn. There are some driving around shots and the cast occasionally shown on a ski lift, but otherwise the snowy setting is superfluous.
For the bulk of its running time I was unimpressed with SKI HUSTLERS for a very important reason: the 5 or 6 women in the cast are all ugly. Mid-'70s porn had a talent pool of some amazingly beautiful performers, like Annette Haven, Abigail Clayton, Desiree West and many others, and even some of the chintziest 1-day wonders often presented a knockout girl.
So why were these actresses hired? No acting ability is demonstrated, and though the roles call for freshness they seem like hookers. One girl playing Charlotte, is styled as a waif with the identical hairdo Carey Mulligan is currently popularizing, but even the most open-minded (or air-headed) porn fan would have to call her a paper-bag case. Low point of the film is a closeup of Charlotte squinting after Seeman lives up to his moniker by ejaculating into her eyes and all over her face.
The male leads do a good job of being despicable characters and deliver many a money shot. A creepy long-haired guy addicted to big hats named Archie appears as a local white slaver, and his big moment of ejaculation looks 100% faked. IMDb has subsequently given big-name director of the era Rik Taziner credit for the Archie acting role, further evidence of phony money shot.
SPOILER ALERT
The finale is worth waiting for. Seeman and Scudder have been plotting to "deliver" the girls to Archie at a price of $500 a head for enslavement in his local "escort service", but time is running out as vacation for the femmes is over. In a very effective reversal the women get the upper hand and it is S & S who are being shanghaied, presumably to finish their existence as male sex slaves. A nice comeuppance, and one to keep in mind if Wilson & Vaughn decide to remake this baby (I think the plot would play extremely well as a mainstream R instead of a XXX).