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Confessions of a Pop Performer
(1975)
by Tuna
Timothy Lea's Confessions of a Pop Performer was the second
of four British sex farces in the Confessions series, which started
with Confessions of a Window Washer, and continued with Confessions
of a Driving Instructor and Confessions from a Summer Camp. Think
"Carry On," but with more sex and nudity. All featured the omnipresent
Robin Askwith as a bungling inept young man who does well with the
birds. Although released with X ratings which banned viewers under 18,
the Confessions films were huge box office successes when they were originally
released, and teenagers competed for the bragging rights which came
from having snuck into one. The four films draw high ratings even today, when
they are rerun on Channel 5.
BBC wrote:
"Real success came to Askwith in 1974 when he made "Confessions
of a Window Cleaner." A huge hit at the UK box office it went on to
spawn "Confessions of a Pop Performer," "Confessions of a Driving
Instructor," and "Confessions from a Holiday Camp." Despite the low
budgets and seedy plots it was a remarkably successful series. And
if you think that people were clearly bonkers in the 70s, then how
do you explain the repeats of these films featuring amongst Channel
5's highest ratings these days?"
I generally do not like Askwith, but he was less over-the-top here,
and hence more likable. This time, Robin's brother-in-law decides to manage a pop band as a
path to fame and riches. When the drummer gets his fingers caught in
an old lady's ear trumpet, Askwith steps in as drummer. His
resemblance to Mick Jagger leads to one of the comedy moments when a
teeny bopper thinks he is Mick and traps him in a prop room. Two
police officers enter looking for them. When they don't see them, the
police start to take off their kits and get amorous. Our hero and his
dolly bird escape as the head and behind of a pantomime horse.
This film is very close to the bottom 100 list at IMDb. So film snobs don't like lowbrow sex
comedies? No surprise there. If you do like them, this is actually better than
the average 70s British sex farce. While the genre may be generally
disrespected by oh-so-serious film buffs, this film is definitely a
keeper if you like that sort of thing. I do, and this film's blend of
innuendo, double entendre, slapstick, sex and nudity is my idea of a
good time.
Our Grade:
If you are not familiar with our grading system, you need to
read the
explanation, because the grading is not linear. For example, by
our definition, a
C is solid and a C+ is a VERY good movie. There are very few Bs
and As. Based on our descriptive system, this film is a:
C
The C classification is based on a
very narrow genre definition of "lowbrow British sex farces," of
which this is a solid example. The grade would be different
if the genre were more general, say "comedies," for example.
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NUDITY REPORT
- Linda Regan, as half of the Climax Sisters, shows buns.
- Irene Gorst,
as the cop, strips to her bra, garter and knickers.
- Maggie Wright,
Anita Kay, Jill Gascoine and Andee Cromarty show everything.
- Three unknowns provide additional nudity.
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