dougdoepke I guess I'm glad I only glanced at LA's scandalous Free Press years ago. Because with a telephone, I might have ended on somebody's dinner plate. At least, that's according to Mary and Paul's (note the Biblical names) newest fund raising idea. But what do the wacko Blands (another ironic name) care, as long as their American dream of their own business comes true. What a loopy black comedy this is. It's the LA swingers scene, 1980's style, both front and back, clothed and unclothed. And get a load of Bartel who looks like he should be selling life insurance, except he'd bankrupt the business. On the other hand, there's Woronov, a statuesque figure as his accommodating wife, except her clientele includes Nazis, midgets, Mickey Mouse, Lash LaRue, and other assorted pleasure seekers. It's a riveting flick with lots of sex and about as many chuckles. No doubt about it, the Blands pursue their American dream in truly dedicated fashion, at least as long as a trash compactor is available. Meanwhile, my cooking will include everything but a frying pan and maybe a trip to a rural restaurant. Nonetheless, bon appetite Bartel and co. for an inspired cinematic meal.

wes-connors Wine connoisseur Paul Bartel (as Paul Bland) and attractive nurse Mary Woronov (as Mary Bland) are a happily married couple living in sinful Hollywood. Their apartment building is overrun with "swingers" eager to explore sexual fantasies, but Mr. Bartel and Ms. Woronov are satisfied with "a little hugging and kissing." They have no interest in the sex going on all around them, although Woronov is propositioned by an almost constant stream of prospective rapists. When the couple kills one of the horny men and takes his $600, they decide to kill the "perverts" and save up money to open a restaurant...All goes well until handsome locksmith Robert Beltran (as Raoul Mendoza) arrives. At first, he helps by becoming a partner and providing a tasty way to dispose of the bodies. But, when Mr. Beltran and Woronov become mutually attracted, the entire enterprise is threatened. "Eating Raoul" may be the only solution. This is a murderously funny comedy, especially during the first half. It gets bogged down when scenes begin to repeat themselves and the ending reads - if you're familiar with it - much funnier than it plays out on screen. While the end is unsatisfying, it doesn't last long enough to ruin the meal.******* Eating Raoul (3/24/82) Paul Bartel ~ Paul Bartel, Mary Woronov, Robert Beltran, Susan Saiger

Scarecrow-88 Not a cannibal comedy as you might be deceived into believing(although the film's punchline is along those lines)features an unemployed pushover and his hot nurse wife, Paul and Mary Bland(Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov, a dream pair if there ever was one) needing to come up with 25,000 dollars in a short amount of time in order to secure the property to open their dream restaurant. They concoct a scheme to murder sex-crazed perverts through a kinky ad in a paper attracting all sorts of demented clientèle(the kind into various forms of debauchery), stealing the money from their wallets. When they become aligned with a Chicano crook, Raoul(Robert Beltran), he offers a partnership with them, only wanting the bodies(and their possessions, making a bundle on the corpses' cars)splitting the money with them 50/50. When Raoul ignites a passionate, torrid affair with Mary, after rescuing her from the rape of a hippy(Ed Belgey, Jr!!!), the partnership will become more than strained(..even more so when Raoul attempts to run Paul over, plotting to murder him so he can have Mary all to himself!).Paul Bartel was a director after my own heart. God, I just love the overall plot idea of these two relatively normal people(they are labeled squares)becoming immersed into a world quite alien to them. A definite companion piece to Bartel's daffy Private Parts, "Eating Raoul" also takes place mostly in an apartment, this time containing hard-partying swingers into all sorts of sexual perversity. I was less enthusiastic of the recurring sub-plot involving the affair between Mary and Raoul, but it comments on the pitiful sex life of the married couple(I mean, they even sleep in separate beds for petesake!)and how Paul is represented as a weakling always getting pushed around(one scene has a hospital patient intruding upon them, locking Paul out of his own apartment while attempting to rape Mary!). Susan Saiger has a dandy of a role as Doris the Dominatrix(..we see her feeding her child and in domesticity while explaining the methods of her trade!), a source of information for the Blands, teaching them the rules of her profession. Woronov and Bartel are quite a team, their Blands so clueless as to the progressive times for which they are living in..their detachment emotionally from their criminal acts is the purist form of black comedy. They never suffer guilt or question their behavior..they actually look at the murders as a way of ridding the city of filth! It's gold! For a film containing murders of wealthy deviants by drawing them to the apartment of who they perceive to be a freak they believe will submit to their every whim through payment only to be clunked over the head with a frying pan, it isn't really that exploitative, or at least not as gratuitous as one might imagine with such a wicked plot. Sure there's nudity(we are introduced to a world where nakedness and sexual activity are accepted wholeheartedly), but "Eating Raoul" could've wallowed in sleaze, and Bartel decides not to go in that direction. I have no idea, the mind boggles, why Bartel's directorial career didn't flourish, his talent is evident in his limited resume..tis a shame.

funkyfry Paul and Mary Bland (Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov) do everything right. They're neat freaks, they collect good wines and serve the best food to their guests, and they sleep in individual beds just like the Nelsons on TV. Basically they're an "ideal" 1950s couple, transplanted into a cruddy apartment building full of swingers and drug addicts. Their only dream is to own a bed and breakfast in the country, and they invent a devious scheme to rob the swingers en masse. After all, why should they continue to suffer for playing by the rules, when everyone else is just so disgusting. Paul and Mary were meant for each other, and they are determined to live their dream.It's a very funny movie, and it has the consistency of style that marks Bartel as one of the most interesting directors working in "shlock." He doesn't condescend towards his own characters, and that makes the film hold up despite the weird situations that develop. And he's not afraid to make something tacky look tacky. But there's nothing "fake" about Paul and Mary Bland -- Paul truly is an expert on wine, and Mary's not a bad cook. They aren't delusional like a lot of characters in satire are.The actual scam seems to involve no risk. Nobody is able to withstand Paul and his deadly frying pan (shades of "Bucket of Blood" here -- this is almost a 1980s remake of that Corman classic). But Raoul (Robert Beltran) ignites the fire of sexual passion in Mary's bosom, and threatens the marriage albeit briefly. What I find interesting about the whole situation is that Raoul is totally convinced that Paul is a complete cuckold and that he's very naive. Meanwhile Paul institutes his own reign of terror on Raoul, convincing him that he has a VD, and Mary ultimately shows loyalty to her "perfect mate." So it's actually the ridiculously and almost stereotypically passionate "latin lover" Raoul who is the naive one. Paul and Mary Bland have a relationship that seems ridiculous and screams out to be made fun of, but it's the one thing that this film refuses to ridicule. And that's what holds the entire film together.