DOESN'T GO DEEP ENOUGH

Reviewed - Inside Deep Throat: In the confused aftermath of the 1960s, while the West considered a further lurch towards complete sexual anarchy, some feared and others hoped that a particular undistinguished hardcore sex comedy might prove to be the most influential film of its time. It wasn't to be. Notwithstanding occasional outbreaks of highbrow thrusting such as 9 Songs, pornography failed to hold the beachhead on the mainstream that Deep Throat established in 1972.

But the story of Chuck Damiano's film, arguably the most financially successful of all time, remains a fascinating one. Indeed, there are perhaps too many narrative strands to be comfortably accommodated in a documentary as brief as Inside Deep Throat. It has to find space for an investigation of the bizarre fashion for porno chic, which saw society figures such as Jackie Kennedy and Truman Capote make their way to Times Square for a film about a woman with a clitoris where her tonsils should be. It has to touch upon the Nixon administration's characteristically paranoid attempt to shut the film down and in particular, the outrageous prosecution of its male lead, Harry Reems. It has to sketch the story of the Mafia's involvement and the feminist backlash.

Inevitably, the film feels rushed and crowded. In particular, we could have done with more information on the sad life of Deep Throat star Linda Lovelace and a more sober assessment of the women's movement's objections to the advance of hardcore.

Maybe the makers felt that such musings might detract from the jaunty, day-glo tone of their film. Featuring oodles of 1970s hits and talking heads both wry (Dick Cavett, hilariously self-deprecating) and irritating (Camilie Paglia, achingly predictable), Inside Deep Throat occasionally comes across as a posh version of a Channel 4 nostalgia show: I Love Hardcore, perhaps. Still, it is worth viewing for the gruesome vista of the perennially preposterous Helen Gurley Brown, creator of the modern version of Cosmopolitan, revealing what she smears on her skin to keep it taut. Eugh!

Donald Clarke