Pterodactyl Woman from Beverly Hills (1994) from Johnny Web (Uncle Scoopy; Greg Wroblewski)
Just the usual film where a woman turns into a pterodactyl every so often, and doesn't know whom to consult for help.
You see, Beverly D'Angelo's hubby is a sarcastic paleontologist who not only disturbs the bones of ancient cultures, but makes fun of their shamans and medicine men. So a particularly irritable shaman named Salvador Dali waves a bone at him and curses his wife to spend some of her time as a pterodactyl. 

NUDITY REPORT
Bev is naked behind a shower door. You can see curves and dark areas, but is is basically inexplicit.
So when he gets back home, he finds that he has to chain his wife to the bed at night to keep her from devouring her young and to prevent other presumed Pterodactyl behavior. That turns out to be a turn-on for both of them, and they make the  ... um ... beast with two backs, one of which is human. Such rash behavior is not without consequences. Soon Bev is "with egg". The feds take the egg away to study it, but soon Bev's maternal instincts take over, and she must return to her young. Her husband and kids, being good Californians, respect her space and support her decision.

She tries to get some relief from the whole flying lizard thing by visiting a new-age guru who has had great success with people who have shifted shape into animals. It turns out that he can't help her turn back, but he can help her learn to accept herself as a reptile.

Her neighbors are concerned about property values, but they have a big pow-wow and decide that the best strategy is simply to cover the whole thing up.

Eventually this leads them all back to the shaman, who has migrated to a haunted valley, a land of "stop-motion, cheap special effects, and stock footage". 

VHS info from Amazon.

no DVD available
The whole movie has its tongue deeply in its cheek, and is delivered with mock-sincerity. The actors don't even worry about staying in character. They obviously had a good time filming this movie, presumably with the aid of certain recreational substances which might also enhance your viewing pleasure. In a truly odd performance, Bev spends much of the movie waving her elbows high, craning her neck far forward, and clucking like a chicken.

A unique film, to say the least. 

The Critics Vote

  • No reviews online

The People Vote ...

  • With their votes ... IMDB summary: IMDb voters score it a surprisingly high 6.8, but based on only 13 votes. It will end up as one of those movies that gets a lot of ones and tens.
IMDb guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence, about like three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, about like two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, about like two stars from the critics. Films under five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film, equivalent to about one and a half stars from the critics or less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, this film is ... I don't know. I guess it is an offbeat, low-budget comedy which makes fun of other genre films. Based on that, it's a C or something like that, but if you like strange material, this could be your hit of the year!

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