Sick Product of a Sick System

Powerful

Great Film overall

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

While hardly shocking by standards today, the adult film 'Deep Throat' caused a stir when released in 1972 and this informative documentary recounts its notoriety as well as the subsequent careers of its director and stars. A few amusing bits aside, 'Deep Throat' is not a particularly well-made movie and the documentary benefits from acknowledging this with 'Deep Throat' director Gerard Damiano even agreeing. The source of fascination then becomes the fact the film has made so much money and was so widely seen despite being so amateurish. Reasons thrown up include its banning increasing demand, its graphic depiction of fellatio and the influence the movie had on adult films to come. We might never know the exact reason, but the documentary does a good job prodding. For a 90-minute doco though, 'Inside Deep Throat' is incredibly busy and explores a few too many avenues at once. Harry Reams is a fascinating subject (almost jailed for acting in the film when he was an eleventh hour casting decision, paid a mere $250), but it feels like more attention should have been thrown Linda Lovelace's way. The doco is also a little bloated with tons of interviews involving people such as John Waters and Larry Flynt, who were never involved with the actual film. Wes Craven makes for an interesting subject though as he started in porn himself, which he terms an "entry level job". Or at least it was back then. 'Inside Deep Throat' acutely reminds us of how much times have changed in addition to posing the expected freedom of expression questions.

Even if you've never actually seen the movie in question, you've heard of "Deep Throat". And the beauty of "Inside Deep Throat" is that the movie's place in American history is a fascinating story. For one, it's the most profitable movie ever made (it cost $250,000 and made 600 million), sparked national outrage and brought smut to the fore, was at one point banned in 23 states, and is probably the most iconic porn film in existence. And there are some riveting ins and outs to this tale; the mob ties, costar Harry Reems' exoneration due to Nixon's resignation, and the fact that the government led a moral crusade against this movie drove up interest to maddening heights. And what's hilarious is the prosecution's unbelievable ignorance during the trial. The documentary moves at a fast clip, with Dennis Hopper's assured narration. The interviews are insightful, archival footage a nice time capsule trip; it's well-produced, informative and surprisingly involving ... even if you're not a porn fan. 7/10

Out of all the X-rated films that could have taken on such a place in the history of the world, it's ridiculous that "Deep Throat" is the one to rise up as the title synonymous with boundary pushing in society. It isn't good by almost any standards! Getting that off my chest, I was pleasantly shocked by how rich in all ways "Inside Deep Throat" is. This cannonball of a nonfiction movie should be watched by some of those teen girls who think that porn is the place for them. I'm not a prude, just a concerned adult who thinks the legal age for performing in porn should be 21 and not merely 18. The lives that would be saved, for lack of a better term, make this a sensible modifying of the laws regarding adult entertainment. (William Margold, who's spent many years writing, producing and performing in the world of X said virtually the same thing a while back.)The lives of the late Chuck, Linda, Gerard and still alive Harry are like four bumper cars that all crashed together in a curious stroke of fate and the fallout is still being felt today. The overwhelming reason is money. Chuck abused and pimped Linda, Harry had his freedom threatened for receiving a pittance to star in the film and Gerard almost had his life ended for being in the way of mob thugs that realized giving him a tiny piece of "Deep Throat" profits would cost them millions.And what millions there were! No one will know the true total, due to such unbridled greed that led to skimming, threats and people disappearing forever. Not until "The Blair Witch Project" came along had another entity in film been such a money tree. The latter became popular from a silly internet based hype, "Deep Throat" because certain officials wouldn't just let it pass with a natural cinematic demise. Some people, such as Joseph McCarthy's right hand man, Roy Cohn, were worse criminals in the damage they caused to society, but felt a need to grandstand against the hippie era and this film was the bastard child of the love generation. Seeing Harry Reems debate Cohn on TV is one of the great moments in this exploration into the human need to feel superior. Superior to maybe just their own image in society's funhouse mirrors of public versus private lives.

The movie's poster does absolutely nothing for it as far as presenting it as a legitimate documentary about a real part of the American culture, but Inside Deep Throat is a well-made and highly informative look at the release of Deep Throat in the early 1970s and the tremendous impact that it had on American society, which was thrown into a massive uproar over the release of a micro-budget pornographic film. Produced by legendary producer Brian Grazer, the documentary features countless television clips from the 1970s which show how well-known it was. Whether or not people were offended by the material, it seemed that Deep Throat had become a household name, and everyone from Johnny Carson and Bob Hope to Hugh Hefner and Larry Flynt provide their thoughts in this documentary. I particularly enjoyed how the term Deep Throat was worked into late night comedy shows and sitcoms back in the 70s, as well as the interview with Wes Craven, one of my favorite horror directors. Be advised that there is a graphic scene from Deep Throat included in this film, but other than that it takes itself very seriously. It is not pornography at all, it is only ABOUT pornography, and its level of insight illustrates how large the difference is between the two.