Alice In Wonderland: An X-Rated Musical Fantasy (1976)


Viewed January 13 2020
Directed by Bud Townsend
*****

My first 5 star film of the year. Don't hate me y'all.

 This is the most I've been entertained by a movie in ages. A silly porno musical parody of Alice In Wonderland should definitely not work and yet... It helps that Kristine DeBell is actually a good actress, but there's some surprisingly smart thematic work going on. Alice is a woman who believes she needs to grow up, to become more sexually active to keep her boyfriend on the line. While this suggests a very simplistic sex = maturity dichotomy, the film suggests that it's actually more complicated.

 Alice at one point states "If it feels good, it's usually bad." Another character gently tells her, "Trust yourself, if it feels good, it is good." That kind of instinctual understanding of sex and maturity is not something we often hear. Later, Alice has the revelation that growing up is not just having sex or doing adult things, it's about learning to trust yourself and your own instincts rather than listen to what other people tell you you should be doing. Having sex is a big step, but until you feel ready to trust your own desires, your own instincts and your own wants then you're never gonna be happy. And life is too short to let yourself be controlled by outside influences like the Church. A shockingly deep idea for something as silly as this is.

 But that's also why I adore this (I texted "this is my happy place" to my boyfriend halfway through). Because it doesn't take sex seriously and it's not all about the fucking. It's about sexual exploration and how humour has a role to play in that. So the entire Mad Hatter scene where he talks about his penis is ridiculously funny. Humpty Dumpty gets a song about how he can't get his dingaling up. The Tweedles (a boy and a girl) spend their scene Winnie the Pooh-ing it (t-shirt, no pants). There's a song about what's a nice girl doing on a (k)night like this. There's a joke as stupid as "We don't have any towels. We had one once, but it was stolen by a hotel."
Kind of my platonic ideal for an erotic film, smart, silly and kinda arousing (the Mad Hatter is hot, sorry). Okay, one thing though. The 1999 version of Alice In Wonderland is one of my favourites because it puts forth the idea that Alice went into Wonderland in order to grow in confidence. While that betrays Carrol's intent, it is more interesting in terms of narrative. But this film did it first and I am honestly shocked. I may love this more than I should. Sorry y'all.

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