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DVD Explores the Frontiers of Female Sexuality

by Kam Williams

Female Misbehavior

When Meg Ryan faked an orgasm in When Harry Met Sally it was thought of as one of the more daring demonstrations of female sexuality in the history of the cinema. But we've apparently come a long way, baby, since 1989, when you consider this unexpurgated celebration of women's eroticism.

Directed by Monika Treut, this shocking documentary dares to discuss virtually every taboo in the process of taking you deep inside the female mind and body, both literally and figuratively. The picture is constructed as five separate bio-pics about uncompromising individuals on the kinky fringe, including Carol, a bondage enthusiast who has no problem disrobing on camera to show why she enjoys certain S&M accoutrements.

Another features an interview with performance artist Annie Sprinkle whose federally-funded act includes inviting members of the audience to examine her private parts thru a speculum. Annie is followed by the relatively-cerebral Camille Paglia, who keeps her clothes on, but is no less outrageous in terms of her all-out assault on conventional thinking, including that of those ostensibly ossified feminists who misunderstand her pro-pornography point-of-view. Paglia, author of the groundbreaking best-seller Sexual Personae, is brilliant here, ruminating at breakneck speed about everything from date rape to radical lesbianism.

The film's fourth act belongs to Max, a transgendered Native American who is now a well-adjusted, post-op male. Finally, there's a chapter on the recently-deceased Eva Norvind, a Norwegian beauty who, after a brief career in legit Mexican movies in the Sixties, made her way to New York City for a celebrated career as a dominatrix.

A captivating quintet of erotic adventurers.

Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated Running time: 80 minutes
Studio: First Run Features Home Video
DVD Extras: Biography of and interview with director Monika Treut, plus a biography and photo gallery of actress Eva Norvind.