Viva 2 stars
Anna Biller, Jared Sanford, Bridget Brno
Directed by Anna Biller
Quentin Tarantino would probably go nuts for Viva, a pitch-perfect re-creation of cheap 1970s sexploitation films, because director/writer/star/editor/costume and set designer (whew!) Biller obviously has a deep love for and knowledge of the trashy movies that she so painstakingly emulates here.
Emphasis on “painstakingly”: Viva is so meticulous in its deployment of garishly colored sets, hideous outfits, deliberate overacting and outrageous sexuality that it quickly turns from a fun romp into an exercise in tedium. While Biller’s tale of a suburban housewife in 1972 LA who explores the sexual underground of prostitution, drugs, nudism and orgies is amusing at first and might have made for a good sketch or short film, at two hours it’s a bit mind-numbing.
Biller seems to have little to say about the era and the “free love” movement other than that it was ridiculous, which she says over and over again in different ways throughout the entire film. There are a few hints of some darker exploration of gender politics, but they’re generally buried under an avalanche of silly costume changes. When even the nonstop parade of naked (and admirably realistic) flesh gets tiresome, you know the movie’s got some serious problems.