The Onion, by Tasha Robinson
| Mau Mau Sex Sex Suspicious types might see first-time director Ted Bonnitt's digital documentary Mau Mau Sex Sex as a modern-day version of the exploitation films it purports to explore: It's mostly tame, chatty filler, shot on a shoestring budget, with a handful of titillating shots of nudity and violence thrown in for effect. But in this case, the filler is the point, and the pearl in the oyster. Bonnitt spent a week with geriatric buddies Dan Sonney and David Friedman, a pair of exploitation-film pioneers who were the kings of sleaze from the '30s through the '60s, in the decades before hardcore pornography replaced cheap cinematic shockers like Blood Feast, The Defilers, and Thar She Blows! Sonney and Friedman reminisce, separately and together, about the origins of their careers, the reactions to their films, and the many tricks of the exploitationist trade; the most charming bits of Mau Mau Sex Sex simply involve them sitting in the backseat of a car together, chatting and chuckling about old times. Billed as the original independent filmmakers, Sonney and Friedman come across more as genial, low-grade hucksters, but their stories about their "nudie cutie" films, cheap splatterfests, and S&M-themed "roughies" are enlightening and often hilarious. The commentary by film historian and Frankenhooker director Frank Henenlotter—who falls over himself in his excitement over Sonney and Friedman's work—adds energy and historical context to the proceedings, but for the most part, Mau Mau Sex Sex doesn't pretend to be comprehensive or overly contextual. It's just an intimate, affectionate, and often enjoyable look at two aging con men reliving their larceny, and clearly enjoying it as much now as they did back then. |
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