Before finding fame as one half of influential film critic duo Siskel and Ebert, Roger Ebert tried his hand at screenwriting, penning several scripts for cult sexploitation director Russ Meyer: Beyond the Valley of the Dolls in 1970, Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens in 1979, and between those, wacky sexploitation comedy Up! in 1976.
Up! opens in full-on unhinged mode, with an ageing Hitler (Edward Schaaf) - hiding behind the pseudonym Adolph Schwartz - indulging in a variety of perverted sex acts conducted by well-endowed 'pilgrim' Paul (Robert McLane). Shortly after, Schwartz is murdered while in his bath-tub, the killer putting a piranha in the water. A naked Kitten Natividad, as narrator Greek Chorus, introduces several suspects, including Paul's attractive wife Alice (Janet Wood), buxom black-haired babe Margo (Raven De La Croix), local policeman Homer (Monty Bane), Asian beauty Limehouse (Su Ling), chesty gimp The Headsperson (Candy Samples), and The Ethopian Chef (Elaine Collins). Are any of these characters responsible for the Nazi's fishy demise?
With numerous big-breasted hotties, several scenes of forced sex, lots of consensual soft-core sex, frequent full-frontal female nudity, and some graphic violence towards the end (which includes an axe to the chest and a chainsaw through the stomach), Russ Meyer's movie is quite the eye-opener, a wild ride that forsakes things like narrative cohesion and logic in favour of boobs, bush, and satirical humour. It's a fairly uneven film with a plot that feels like it was written on the fly, but there is enough energy and spirit (and nudity) from all involved to ensure that, if anything, it is never boring.
To rate this Siskel and Ebert style: one and a bit thumbs Up!
