Eating Raoul

This review is an excerpt from my book “Killer B’s: The 237 Best Movies On Video You’ve (Probably) Never Seen,” which is available as an ebook on iBooks. If you enjoy this review, there are 236 more like it in the book (plus a whole lot more). Check it out! EATING RAOUL: Paul and Mary Bland (Bartel and Woronov) don’t fit into the “psychopathic environment” of Hollywood. They certainly don’t fit into the Swingin’ ‘70s. Paul’s a retro kind of guy, a bow-tied wine snob; Mary’s a lovely nurse continually accosted by horny morons. They live for their dream of opening a cozy little country restaurant. Just as they see that dream slipping away for lack of money, Paul accidentally kills a swinger attacking Mary. Turns out the perv has a walletful of cash—just like all those sex-crazed maniacs who don’t deserve to live, Paul and Mary reason... So they set up a mom & pop S&M business, catering to rich degenerates. Mary lures them in; Paul pops ‘em with his frying pan and grabs the cash. Things are really cooking until charming Raoul (Beltran) stumbles across their scam and suggests a partnership: they get the cash; he gets the rest—including the bodies. But Raoul is an ambitious dude, and the body he really wants is live, hot—and Mary’s. Only Paul stands in his way... “What a world!” Mary marvels about one of the wacky, kinky fantasies she’s been forced to enact. What a world indeed, in which a warped and wicked satire on the Swinging Singles scene is even needed. What a world that could pull off a black comedy about murdering perverts, featuring blind nuns, sex shops and the amazing things you can do with a cheap piece of meat. What a world in which this low budget pre-cult comedy continues to be rediscovered and recommended. (If it doesn’t have a large following, at least it has a long shelf life.) And what a world where the creator of the “Bland enchilada” discovers that you can indeed keep a good man down.

Dated? No doubt. But this film is so darn funny it doesn't matter. A cult classic, and director Paul Bartel's masterpiece. Perhaps best viewed with others who share your appreciation for campy, over-the-top filmmaking.