Party Doll a Go-Go! (1991)

A go-to, and somewhat overused way to describe the work of filmmakers who work in or around the fringes of genre is how said artists “transcend” genre. For instance the films of David Lynch, Walerian Borowczyk or Andrzej Zulawski, filmmakers who's influences result in films with visions so entirely singular the films essentially become they're very own genre. Perhaps no other filmmaker fits that criteria better than Stephen Sayadian. The first film to come from Sayadian's headspace under the nom de plume “Rinse Dream”, Nightdreams (1981), a film so unlike any other adult film that came before it, alienated adult theater patrons so much the film failed as an adult film yet found its champions in the art crowd. Sayadian's divisive streak would continue with the now legendary Cafe Flesh (1982), which again frustrated the raincoat crowd unprepared for Sayadian's colorful post-apocalyptic fusion of sex and sci-fi, however the film quickly gained a following as a midnight movie and is more likely to be mentioned alongside the likes of Pink Flamingos (1972) or Eraserhead (1977) rather than Deep Throat (1972) or Debbie Does Dallas (1978). Following his only non-hardcore feature Dr. Caligari (1989), Sayadian turned his attention to the adult video market and let loose with six highly unusual videos, potentially even more maddening than his early films to anyone expecting typical adult fare with Party Doll a Go-Go! being the crown jewel.

Almost playing out like a video experiment more than an actual movie, Party Doll a Go-Go! finds Sayadian taking the cliched popular consensus of what an adult video is, all sex and no plot, and brilliantly contorting it into this lunatic creation bound to confuse as opposed to titillate. Sayadian has gone on record saying that eroticism was never a main goal for him which might seem like an odd mindset going into an adult film, yet its exactly what makes Party Doll a Go-Go! and the rest of Sayadian's video work that followed so unique. The film may be built around five random sex scenes but Sayadian disposes with any set-up, presenting the sex without context, thereby eliminating the fantasy element making any eroticism purely incidental based on how attractive anyone viewing the film finds the performers. While making the sex the least interesting aspect of an adult feature would be enough to set Party Doll apart from every other adult video, what makes the film such an innovative and memorable watch is everything else Sayadian peppers the film with, from the delirious editing with numerous instances of repetition, to Sayadian's always highly innovative, almost baroque production design. Without question though the films biggest strength is the writing, with the pre-sex skits and Sayadian's routine interrupting of the sex scenes, with the performers offering hilariously witty commentary, breaking the fourth wall and addressing the audience, spouting some of the most ingeniously absurd and endlessly quotable dialogue ever uttered on film or videotape.

The same freewheeling, nonsensical irreverence is carried over into Party Doll a Go-Go! Part 2 with some slight adjustments to the sex scene pairings and and even more off the wall pre-sex vignettes. Opening with Jeanna Fine frantically fishing for an “artificial man-thing” (a dildo being dangled in front of her on a wire) while Madison and Tianna comment in astonishment “Did you see that Cecil disappear? Talk about lost in space!” and featuring a vignette where Tianna manically gyrates due to her being unable to “turn off the wiggle” while Madison pleads with the other party dolls to give advice, leading to such suggestions as “Electroshock therapy?” and “Load up the RV and head for corn country!”, Sayadian turns up both the wiggle and the frivolity for the second video. The lively banter between the performers is ever present as well, and the second video in particular makes use of the tongue placed firmly in cheek innuendos and euphemisms that would feature prominently in Sayadian's video works, gut-busting terms like “special tingle”, “lucky spasm”, “boy jerky”, “girl biscuit” and “girl homo”. Both videos also benefit greatly from the finest ensemble Sayadian ever had at his disposal featuring the likes of Patricia Kennedy, Bionca, Raven, Nikki Wilde, Peter North, Randy Spears and Tom Byron alongside the aforementioned Jeanna Fine, Madison and Tianna. All are clearly enjoying doing something so different, particulary Madison and Tianna, who own the dialogue delivery and in a way could be seen as the defacto hostesses of both videos.

As if the two videos didn't already have enough going for them by way of the enthusiastic performances, flamboyant production design and kooky dialogue, another one of the films strongest selling points is the incredible soundtrack courtesy of Double Vision, sounding like an alien variation of one of the soundtracks to a 60's surf/beach party film. The films main theme even sounds like a riff on The Ventures take on the classic instrumental “Walk Don't Run”. The pieces accompanying each scene along with the occasional vocal heard in some of the tracks just further emphasize the not of this planet vibe of both videos. Really the only negative thing regarding both Party Doll a Go-Go! videos are their unfortunate current home video status, with the double feature DVD issued by the now defunct VCA, who also distributed the two videos upon their initial VHS releases as well as both films on laserdisc, is long out of print and commands unjustifiably high prices. While Nightdreams, Cafe Flesh and Dr. Caligari have their places in cult film history firmly secured, Sayadian's later video work remains woefully neglectged. Being Sayadian features, both Party Doll a Go-Go! videos have the distinction of being niche films in an already niche realm, however adventurous viewers willing to celebrate Sayadian's strange aesthetic should have no trouble rightfully hailing both Party Doll a Go-Go! features as the mischievous masterpieces both are.