Viva

Directed by Anna Biller
Jared Sanford, Bridget Brno

This periodically hilarious feminist revision of seventies sexploitation movies frustrates expectations of raunchy parody. Viva spreads itself thin as creator and star Biller’s suburban housewife covers a checklist of generic conventions (modeling, sex work, nudists, hippies, orgies, etc). If the narrative is demanding, the colorful awesomeness and ultra-tackiness of the set, costume and make-up design provide constant gratification. Better for an art gallery than a movie theater, Viva restores honest sexual politics to a genre that frequently masqueraded misogynist blackmailing as sexual liberation. (NR, 2:00)

This review will appear in the April 23 issue of The L Magazine.

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