The Raspberry Reich

WARNING

This movie is unrated, and the following review will contain graphic description of gay sex scenes. Don't say I didn't try to warn you.

No, this is not a gay porno. This is some artsy film by Bruce La Bruce. I don't know who he is, and frankly I'm too scared to do a Google search to find out. From the 30 minutes that isn't hardcore porn, the plot is some German nymphomaniac wants to start a sexual revolution that goes against heterosexuality, marriage, and monogamy. And she bases her delusions on revolutionaries from the 1970s. In order to test her male followers, she has them have sex with each other. Basically this is a 20 minute short film stretched into a 90 minute feature. It also took me 3 hours to finish it. You're welcome.

I feel the need to add that I have absolutely no problem with gay/lesbian/transgendered films. What I can't stand is when a movie uses that for shock value. It's cheap, and paints a negative picture on someone's lifestyle. Men don't just turn gay after 5 minutes, and they're don't always hop from one partner to the next. This movie wants you to think otherwise. I'm not even going to dive into the whole German aspect, because quite frankly this movie is just stupid.

As I've said before, if you want to make porn just go ahead and make porn. Do not try to hide behind terms like avant garde or art house. You're not being creative. You're being a pretentious douche bag. Now, it's one thing if there's only one graphic sex scene, or even major nudity. But when I see a penis thrusting in and out of a vagina, mouth, or anus it's porn. There's no gray area, and it is definitely not artsy.  Then there's also the masturbation with guns, old people having sex on a table, and several close-up shots of ejaculation. And I can't forget about the constant paragraphs of texts over seizure-inducing backgrounds.

There's just no point to this movie. It's all about shock and sex, but it's not done tastefully and it's far from new. This is in the same vein as A Serbian Film: using graphic sex as a metaphor. It doesn't work that way, and it's a load of crap. It gets a huge 0, and just avoid it at all costs. If you want to see shock done right, check out Blood Feast or The ABCs of Death. But, if you're like me and you just have to see it, at least have alcohol on standby. It's the only way you'll be able to sit through it.