PEEKARAMA BIG 2 UNIT SHOW!: PUSSYCAT RANCH (1978)/HERE COMES THE BRIDE (1978)
Director: John Christopher
Vinegar Syndrome

Vinegar Syndrome's latest Peekarama DVD pairs two comedic adult films from New York filmmaker John Christopher with PUSSYCAT RANCH and HERE COMES THE BRIDGE.

If Ma Belle (Molly Malone, CHERRY HILL HIGH) cannot figure out how to pay off her farm's mortgage, she will have to surrender what is left of her virtue to banker Dastardly Don (Marlow Ferguson, AMERICAN TICKLER). She has already exploited the charms of her three daughters Candi (Samantha Fox, A NIGHT TO DISMEMBER), Randi (Daisey Mae), and Andi (Colleen Anderson, HOT HONEY) in order to keep unpaid farmhand Johnboy (Roger Caine, THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS) from taking off; and when his piggy bank comes up short, the only thing left for the women to do is rob a bank. Unfortunately, they discover that the bank they planned to rob has already been robbed by Billy the Kid (Eric Edwards, LAURA'S TOYS) and his buddy Snake (Joey Silvera, THAT'S OUTRAGEOUS) by way of Billy seducing banker Don 's virginal daughter Polly (Arcadia Lake, DEBBIE DOES DALLAS). The women return to the farm to discover Billy and Snake have taken up residence, and they offer to help pay off her debts in return for a hideout. When their share of the money proves insufficient to pay off Ma Belle's mortgage, Billy suggests she turn the house into a brothel, and her daughters are only too willing to cooperate (much to the chagrin of Snake who has gone sweet on Randi). With the law – represented by ANYONE BUT MY HUSBAND's Don Peterson and CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST's Robert Kerman – among the house's clientele, Dastardly Don's plan to capture Billy the Kid may not be as easy as he had hoped.

In HERE COMES THE BRIDE, nympho Rhonda (Samantha Fox again) is looking for marriage material, but that does not stop her from having fun. She is being courted by Tom (David Morris, DEEP THROAT II) and frustrates him to no end by wanting to abstain until after marriage. Little does Tom know that Rhonda has regular three-ways with her neighbors (gum-smacking Roger Caine and THE TALE OF TIFFANY LUST's David Christopher). Turned on by their double date (MARSCHINO CHERRY's Erica Havens and WHITE FIRE's Richard Stevens) going to town in the back seat and blueballed at the drive-in by Rhonda – who slips away to blow Joey Silvera in a neighboring car – Tom has to take matters into his own hand (while holding a tub of "Goldenspray" popcorn in the other). It seems that even at Rhonda's bridal shower that she is getting more action than her soon-to-be-hubby as a the party turns into an orgy when some guys show up, maid of honor Clea Carson (CAPTAIN LUST) is eager to get a piece of Rhonda before she walks down the altar, and the bride is even ready to give the bellboy a tip on her wedding night while Tom is washing up.

Less a western – despite liberal borrowings from Ennio Morricone's ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST soundtrack amidst some out-of-place disco for the sex scenes – than sort of a hardcore take on Harry Novak's hillbilly softcore flicks, PUSSYCAT RANCH is amusing due to the cast more so than the writing. The longest and most energetic of the sex scenes is appropriately afforded to Edwards and then-partner Lake. Malone chews the scenery but Caine and Silvera provide some comic relief even during their own encounters while another someone credited as "Deputy Dan" parodies the American Express commercial ("Don't get fucked without it!") HERE COME THE BRIDE is pretty much a one-joke comedy (maybe two jokes with the film putting its own take on the movie theater popcorn bucket gag) made engaging by familiar faces (and other body parts). It is also a bit of an odd duck stylistically with the lengthy Fox/Christopher/Caine scene scored by an unforgettable mix of disco funk, bagpipes, and square dance fiddle that is surprisingly rhythmically suited to the action and rather "limp" finale in which a voyeuristic bellhop cannot seem to get it up while spying on the action. Other musical moments include a song with the lyrics "keep it up", "slip it up", and "get it up" underscoring three concurrent sexual acts (one solo). PUSSYCAT RANCH probably fares best on its own, but it is well-supported by HERE COMES THE BRIDE.

Scanned and restored in 2K from the original 35mm camera negatives, both progressive, anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen presentations are clean and colorful apart from some vertical scratches that appear to have occurred in the camera. The Dolby Digital 1.0 mono tracks have enough umph for one to appreciate the musical choices. The sole extra is a trailer for HERE COMES THE BRIDE (3:17). (Eric Cotenas)

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