What Do You Say to a Naked Lady?

WHAT DO YOU SAY TO A NAKED LADY is basically a risqué "Candid Camera" episode stretched out to feature length with, um, lots of full-frontal action from both genders.

But that's not (really) the interesting part. It's a fascinating glimpse into the public's newly relaxed attitude towards sex, circa the sexual revolution, covering the public's opinion towards everything from public nudity to interracial dating. Truly a time capsule, with wildly varied reactions from a cross-section of Americans - racial, ethnic and age differences are all included.

The most revealing segment was the one with the college instructor. (Do I need to mention she was naked?) Interesting that the "mature" older women were reduced to giggling schoolgirls while the young students kept their poise. Or were both groups aware of the ruse but the elders weren't compelled to respect authority as the kids might have been?

Anyway, my favorite victim was the woman who kept her cool while chatting with the nude male model. Loved her reaction when the jig was up. What a stitch.

I love the first part where the elevator doors open and a lovely naked lady stands there to greet passengers. The candidly diverse reactions are amusing and at times surprising. The movie debuted in 1969, clearly maestro Funt's filmic response to the blooming sexual revolution of that unconventional decade. Mostly it's an entertaining collection of candid set-ups gauging people's responses to the new-found explicitness, both male and female. For example, there're women being suddenly situated with a nude male model, college kids being instructed by a nude female teacher, but mostly probing interviews with folks of all ages on changing sexual mores, some of which are over-extended, perhaps the docu's only drawback. At the same time, the setups with the elderly ladies may be the most entertaining and revealing of all. Then too, I'd love to see some of the out-takes that weren't included; I wonder what they would be.

Overall, there's not as much full frontal nudity as you might expect (strategically placed purses, etc.); nonetheless, it's a naughty and compelling Candid Camera of an unconventional era that's lost little interest over the intervening decades.

God bless Allen Funt.I grew up loving Mr Funt's gentle humor on CANDID CAMERA,a sharp contrast to the mean-spirited "humor" of today's reality shows.The movie is a documentary in the CC style where Funt explores how people feel about sexuality.From the opening images of a nude young lady confronting men in public places,where tittilation seems so naughty,the film instead shows us incredible imagery of folks confronting their prejudices and self-images.A crowning achievement.

My new wife and I saw "What Do You Say To A Naked Lady" in the theater back around 1970 when it was released. Thirty or so years later, I bought the VHS release of this film. Although I certainly don't claim to recall everything I saw in this film in 1970, I do recall some scenes that are omitted on the VHS release. Also, the VHS release seems to have more talking and other less interesting content, such as original reactions of the test screening audience.

In particular, I recall several iterations of the man knocking on the door, which falls in, to reveal a naked lady on the phone, who then asks him to put the door back. In the VHS release there is only one brief episode.

Also, the scene where the man is sent to wait in a room, and all other occupants are naked ladies. That is completely omitted in the VHS release. My complaint is that these scenes, which depict how different people react, contain much of the value of the lesson this film teaches.

I rate the VHS release only about 6 or 7 of 10 because of these omissions. Still, it represents a great lesson in how people react to these unusual situations, and worth seeing.

This movie remained a hysterical look at sex that i could not help but enjoy. The editors cut the footage perfectly in the "Spray can scene" and made me break out in laughter just watching the difference between the girls' orgasms. Different sequences with different sex related themes made this a documentary great. This docu-comedy is pure genius ***1/2 out of ****