Orgies, nudity, kitsch, and prostitutes -- what could possibly go wrong?
Viva recalls the story of a Hapa woman named Barbie, played by Anna Biller -- who also directed, wrote, produced, and created the costumes and set design of the film -- and her struggle to find herself, happiness, love (and potentially a few STD's) in 1970s Southern California during the sexual revolution (in this case, revulsion. The feature length film depicts Barbie transitioning from a housewife/secretary to an independent woman looking for "adventure and happiness" after her husband leaves her. Falling quickly into the call girl/prostitution ring with her blond bombshell friend (who might as well have been named Bambi), Barbie (changing her name to Viva) and friend (real name: Sheila) realize it's not all glamorous. Orgies, drug-rape scenes and dinners with rich sugar daddies now color their lives, replacing the daily pool-side topless tanning sessions (photographed by Bambi's dodgy husband) and the red-wine sipping sessions during bubble-bath time of their previous lives.
When director Anna Biller introduced the film and prepped the audience with the understatement "This film is really weird," I was delightedly intrigued and anticipating something wild, exciting, original, and provocative -- something that I had never seen before. Yet, sitting in my plush, semi-reclining chair surrounded by an older crowd of hipsters and gay men, I was uncomfortable throughout the film and troubled in general with the "sexual revolution" and "liberation through sex" notions. I was left questioning: what does someone mean by a "sexual revolution?" Why is it that sleeping with grotesque, unattractive men is termed a "revolution?" Does liberation encompass the welcoming of burning sensations while urinating?
During her "sexual revolution," Barbie was raped twice, once by the man she refused to have sex with (who eventually drugged her) and once by his friend who (curiously queer looking) found her irresistible. Later, dear Barbie "explored" her sexuality by cautiously kissing a lesbian while making other men jealous. I had always thought a "sexual revolution" was an empowering moment for yourself. Not a moment to seesaw between making others jealous and hating them for abusing you, but rather empowering yourself to not be in a position of sexual vulnerability. I, clearly, have misunderstood the notion.
Even though she was trying to prove herself to be independent and powerful, she was still ruled by the male/masculine figure. Be it the nudist who she placates by stripping down to her panties, her husband who she begs to come back after she realizes prostitution is not what it's stacked up to be, or the two men who rape her as she haplessly struggles, she is dominated by the masculine penetrator. At the film's culmination (which, I hoped would come many times before it actually finished), both Barbie and friend realize they had everything they wanted from the beginning, return to their original men and resume their lives as housewives walking around in negligees without bras.
Is that the point of the satire? Or have I just experienced my five stages of grief, been angry, begged, bartered, and cried, finally to accept this horrible concoction of a film and dare to wonder if it has meaning?
The film's glamorous and breathtaking kitsch builds off the Sexploitation films of the 1970s, and with its (literal) addition of ethnic coloring, the film succeeds in translating the 70s into a modern context. The precise and dedicated style of the film is a rather impressive feat, from the deluxe costumes and matching furniture to the brightly-colored phallic artwork adorning the walls that all gel together quite attractively.
To be fair, we were warned, and this is quite likely a reaction she was expecting and aiming for. Biller said that her boyfriend joked that the audience of her film often left the theaters looking like they were mice that had just been hit by a large hammer. More like: chipmunks being bludgeoned in the face with sagging boobs, awkwardly pointy nipples, and hairy penii.