But for Russ's cameo which brings a fitting conclusion to his madcap career, this film, which airs out all of his pet obsessions, is hopelessly dull and repetitive and shows nothing of his homegrown artistry. Faster Pussycat remains his best work, but all the same I'm glad he got a chance to make the movie he'd been dreaming about since Bill Teas left for work.
I'm afraid I have to agree. Though Up! certainly has its good qualities, I find that Meyer's work finally went from lurid to vulgar after Supervixens and thus became tired. Ultra-Vixens and Pandora Peaks are interesting from an auteurist perspective, but they're pretty unpleasant to watch and lack the ingenious editing that made nearly all of his previous films compelling.
Indeed. Meyer's gift was that there was always ensuring something more wild than simple titillation on display, but he went too far towards the end, so that his obsessions and editing became ends rather than means. Ultra-Vixens and the films on either side of it are so busy making sure that the next thing you see is more obscene than the next, that they become overwhelming, then exhausting. Side question: you haven't seen/have any idea how one might find Heavenly Bodies or Erotica? I've seen everything else he's done but those two elude me.
No, I can't say I have. I seem to remember reading that they weren't available on DVD, but I imagine you already know that.