Strong and Moving!

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

I first saw this movie on cable back in the '80s, but first heard of it when it played at the local drive-in in the '70s.The one song I could never get out of my head is when Penelope is dressed up like Marilyn Monroe in the famed Seven Year Itch scene with her dress blowing up in the air. The song says something about "Get out your doctor-ordered wang dang doodle." Penelope, of course, is totally embarrassed to be seen and exploited this way but it's a rather classic scene.Candace Rialson was exceptionally beautiful and it is so sad to hear she died at such a young age. I'm sure this film would not be on the top of her list as one of her favorites, but it does have it's moments.

As one critic pointed out, a movie like "Chatterbox" could have only come out of the 1970s. And after watching it, I sorely hope that the 1970s never again come into fashion. There are many things wrong with this movie, but I think the biggest problem is that the idea behind this movie - a woman with genitals that have the ability to talk - is really just a one joke premise. Indeed, the movie doesn't seem able to take this premise and go all out with it; not only is the running time short (73 minutes), but there are a number of scenes that simply don't go anywhere or contribute anything. Maybe that might not have mattered had the movie been funny, but it is desperately unfunny, with obnoxious and poorly developed characters (especially that of the talking sex organs). It doesn't help that the movie looks really cheap and tacky; American-International Pictures (which picked up this movie) really let its standards down during the latter part of the 1970s. The only really entertaining thing about the movie is that it lets you play throughout the game, "How many times can you spot the boom mike?"

Considering that 'Chatterbox' has such a lurid central premise it came as a grand surprise to find that this amusing film deals with its gynecological conceit so chastely and with such effective humour. I can imagine that John Water's would find much to amuse among all the cod(piece) Busby Berkely song N' dance shibazz, but the grease palmed contingent are unlikely to find much stimuli amongst all the, quite frankly, Carry On, carrying's on. Once our perky protagonist discovers that her previously dormant vagina now strives for decidedly vocal autonomy the film becomes an amusing parody of that most Hollywood cliché; the tabloid expose of a wide-eyed ingénue's initial exposure to the ingratiating hoopla that comes with swiftly found celebrity. Much of the comedy of 'Chatterbox' is bawdy with an over reliance of genital metaphor; but it has to be said that everyone's favorite 70's nymphet, Candice Rialson has never been quite so adorable as the flaxen-haired vixen with the permanently sarcastic diva nu-nu. These Rabelaisian goings on remind me of vintage, Russ Meyer; due to the earthy badinage and overtly rigorous and broad comedic performances, especially from the none-more-gay, Rip Taylor. For me 'Chatterbox'is a genuine find, as for once the individual behind the lens hasn't merely exaggerated the lowest common denominator to appease the furtive, nimble-wristed patrons of some Times Square scuzz palace; and much like the previously mentioned, Meyer, Tom De Simone opts for a more skillful, idiosyncratic take on all this low brow ribaldry. It is nice to have one's cynical preconceptions so wondrously confounded; and De Simone is to be congratulated for constructing such a frothy, amiable entertainment. 'Chatterbox' is entirely deserving of resurrection and one can only hope that a pristine print appears at some juncture; since, Candice Rialson's delightful, chattering box deserves a far grander diorama from which we can admire her singular endowments. Special mention must be made of Neil Sedaka's zippy, and damnably funky soundtrack; definitely one for a re-release!

The post-Freudian subtext is pervasive and intentional. The resolution of the Ego/Id conflict explicated by giving the lead's genitals its own voice is obvious. Equally obvious are elements like the Dating Game's date coming to bed dressed in a suit of armor before ditching the lead with the remark "I saw, I conquered, and I came" while telling his next in line to wait in the hall being a well structured reference to the essential character armored phallic-narcissist. The psychiatric jokes are fast and furious all the way through. And without this film's premise how else could the curiously reflexively self aware movie director within the movie toss a line like "I want people to know this is more than just the first film to star a real cu..." uh, can we use that word on IMDb? I don't know, the acting and production values didn't seem so bad to me. And the humor has more depth than apparently is generally recognized. Perhaps the biggest problem with the film is in its over-reaching. Somehow I'm reminded of the famous Henry L. Mencken quote.