Myra Breckinridge DVD Review:

Film critic Myron Breckinridge undergoes a sex change and becomes Myra Breckinridge, “a woman whom no man will ever possess”. Myra visits her rich uncle who runs a film academy, and insists on claiming half the estate.

Myra’s ulterior motive is to “exact revenge on all of mankind and re-align the sexes”. Apparently the best way of doing this is to get her hands on young student Rusty Godwski, and his girlfriend.

Review

Based on the novel by Gore Vidal, this film has an impressive cast list. The list includes John Huston, pretty much the embodiment of evil in Chinatown along with Mae West and Raquel Welch, two of cinema’s most famous leading ladies.

Unfortunately, even with all this talent the film ends up a disaster. The movie has a lot of problems, but for me, the biggest was Mae West.

Mae was 77 when she made this movie, which obviously is not a problem in itself. However, she is playing a casting agent, that for some reason is irrestible to any man she meets. Her chat-up lines, (scripted by Mae herself), will make most viewers cringe. It’s hard to watch her seducing a young Tom Selleck without feeling just a little nauseous. Add to that a pointless scene where she sings two songs (which Mae insisted on) and you begin to understand why Welch had so many problems with her co-star.

Welch valiantly does her best with the role, however her performance can’t hide the fact that at times she is not sure of her character’s motivations. Rex Reed has a fairly thankless role as Myron, As for Huston, the only saving grace of this performance is that he seems to be having fun.

A gimmick used throughout the movie is the use of vintage film clips to propel the story along. The unfortunate side effect of this is that you actually find yourself wishing you were watching one of these, rather than the mess on screen.

A lot of the movie’s problems are displayed in the most notorious scene, where Myra exacts her revenge on mankind, in the form of Rusty (Roger Herren, who apparently has never made a film since). This scene should be disturbing, however the inclusion of yet more film clips and fantasy sequences drains any tension and ultimately makes this section quite dull.

The film is never sure whether it’s trying to be a sharp satire on sexuality and the decline of the Golden Age in Hollywood, or some slapstick sex comedy. It fails miserably on both counts.

Rating 1/5

Extras

For once I was praying for there to be no extras on this DVD, but alas, there are two separate commentaries. Which means watching the film 2 more times.

The first commentary is by Raquel Welch, and she is obviously watching the movie after a long time. She discusses the problems she had with Mae, and the script in general. The best thing about the commentary is realising that she is just as bemused as everyone else about the film.

The director, Michael Sarne, reveals his problems with the script and directing the film in general. As he is firmly in the Mae West camp, his commentary provides the other side of the story.



Dandeep Talati