Everybody Loves Lucy

EVERYBODY LOVES LUCY is an overall goofy, sometimes funny, sometimes dull, but oftentimes sexy parody of the classic comedy series from the 1950s. I initially resisted reviewing this title, if only because I'm not a fan of adult movies which make pop culture references to costuming and styles I find absolutely unappealing, no matter how accurate or inspired the production may be. In fact, one look at Audrey Hollander's hair and dress on the boxcover turned me off almost completely, though it's a credit to Director Jerome Tanner and his staff that they captured the look of the series so convincingly.

I also admit that I was never a fan of Miss Hollander (despite her reputation for extreme hardcore) but she manages to carry the film based on her performance and sexual eagerness. She doesn't have the voice and naturally whacky mannerisms of Lucille Ball (indeed, she sounds more like the Diane Chambers character from Cheers), but she delivers an acting job which is commendable and well-studied. Moreover, Audrey comes off as charming and extremely likable, especially during her Behind The Scenes interview, where she talks about tackling the role and offers her two cents on politics (which aren't necessarily in line with the Grand Ol' Party, in case you were wondering). Playing opposite her in the role of Ricky Ricardo is Otto Bauer, whose attempt at an accent frequently sounds more like Tony Montana from Scarface than from the singer of Babalu. Chenin Blanc is appropriately slovenly as Ethel Mertz, and Frank Bukkwyd (in a non-sex role) is near perfect as Fred Mertz.

The plot is pure situation comedy: Lucy wakes up one morning with a tattoo that has mysteriously appeared near private parts. With no recollection of how it got there, she goes on a mission to discover its origins before her husband finds out, because after all, only tramps and sluts have tattoos. The events which follow give our heroine an opportunity to meet up with other girls (such as lovely brunette Dylan Ryder, playing a waitress) and other beings (including "aliens" John Strong and Jay Lassiter, in an imaginary sequence). In the meantime, hubby gets his way with his English 101 teacher Ricki White, and is eventually reunited with his wife and neighbor, as Audrey, Chenin and Otto have a threeway in his nightclub. Just to add some variety (and some very helpful eye-candy) to the mix, blonde Kylee Reese (playing a showgirl) has a quickie with laborer Lee Stone in the dressing room of Ricky's Cabana Club.

There are a few awkward edits during the sex scenes (and throughout the movie in general), but the hardcore is overall well-performed, with plenty of anal and enough DP shots to keep raincoaters reasonably satisfied. Like so many adult satires and remakes, the direction and editing are not nearly as accomplished as the old series, which was shot-on-film and benefitted from being kept to less than 30 minutes an episode. With a running time of nearly two hours, it's easy for the whole Lucy novelty to wear out its welcome before the end credits, but the actors do their best to keep the energy going. There are also moments in the movie which scream "low budget," such as shots of the night club audience where there are more empty seats than attendees, and on the alien ship which recycles sets from other Hustler productions.

There is an option to view this video in black and white, or in color, which is a nice creative touch. The 2.0 audio is fine, though there are several points where the dialogue seems to drop-out, or else get drowned out by the often overwhelming score and laugh track, both of which seem to be dialed in randomly. For this kind of production, a mono soundtrack would have done just fine for the black and white version of the film. Video quality is excellent, particularly in the color version where reds and blues are crisp and bright, and details are almost microscopically vivid.

The Behind The Scenes segment runs for nearly one hour, and is composed of nearly 40 minutes of interviews with the female talent, with the remainder being devoted to the production itself. Director D. Pachard (widow to renowned pornographer Henri Pachard) does an excellent job with interviewing the subjects, even if her questions stumble a bit. I appreciate how the footage was put together as a real featurette, instead of through some random assembling which is typical of most pornos. Also worth noting is the Bloopers reel, which include one laugh out loud moment where a door slams behind poor Audrey and lunges her forward, as well as some forgotten lines and other on-the-set screw-ups.

In the end, I rather enjoyed EVERYBODY LOVES LUCY, despite my distaste for bouffant hardos and fifties fashions. None of the humor comes close to the level of professionalism and effectiveness of the original series, but it was an impressive effort on the part of the filmmakers. It seems as though Hustler has been producing these parodies at such a fast pace, that I can't help but wonder whether the overall quality suffers as a result.

Fortunately, EVERYBODY LOVES LUCY is likable enough to recommend to everybody else.

I just received this movie, and this is a parody of I love Lucy. Lucy wants to get in the club, similar to the television show. The film starts with Lucy waking up in the living room with a tattoo on her left pubic bone. She does not remember the night before and goes about trying to find out what happened.

There were a few aspects of the film I really liked. The storyline is great. It felt very authentic. I think the acting was above average. The actors did a great job on portrayals. The option of black and white or color was a great idea. Hustler could have improved in a few areas. The girl/girl scenes seemed to end too early. In scenes with 2 girls and a guy, I would have liked to see full interaction between the girls--not just some kissing. The sound seemed faint in various parts.

Scenes:
1. Desi is at school and stayed late after English class with teacher. She is hot, great scene.
2. Lucy goes to restaurant and remembers being taken by two aliens and receiving tattoo. Great double penetration scene.
3. Lucy finds out the waitress was also taken. The waitress shows her girl/girl fun while Fred, Ethel's husband, sees it. Great start but cut too short.
4. Desi goes to a club to await two big drums, while a showgirl has fun with band member, great scene and costumes
5. Drums arrive at club with the devious Lucy and her friend Ethel inside. They find out this is a sex club, not a regular dance/music club. Desi had this planned, and he has the two girls pleasure him in front of the mostly naked audience. Lucy does not want to; Ethel convinces her. This scene is a 2 out of 5, because the two ladies do not seem to enjoy each other, and the audience is no longer shown. It seems that the directors could have made this excellent by really displaying the two girls enjoying themselves, Desi enjoying himself, and the audience playing along. Instead, they focus more on just the three performers.

The movie ends after that scene. Hustler needs to take a cue from earlier movies and have the scenes expanded out allowing all to have fun. It is still worth buying for parody reason and for light sex, but only gets a total of 3 out of 5 from me.