Untamed Cowgirls of the Wild West (1993)

Its funny how the mainstream and adult entertainment worlds are looked at as separate entities yet both have their share of similarities given how the market dictates the product of each. Whereas the money poured into mainstream film results in the bloated, shallow CGI filled blockbusters that dominate the current cinematic ecology, a good portion of the current adult “film” model is based on unambitious internet clips, a far cry from the plot driven and oftentimes stylish films from the golden age or “porno chic” era of the 70's and early 80's. The home video revolution was a double edged sword for adult films, making films readily available to own, yet once audience demands changed and the focus gradually became sex and sex only, coupled with films being shot on video with increasingly lower budgets, the drop in quality was more than apparent. Its precisely this reason why its such a shame that Stephen Sayadian's video features are so under-appreciated. While Sayadian was always an outsider, having alienated adult theater patrons with Nightdreams (1981) and Cafe Flesh (1982), his blatant disregard for what had become the typical adult film conventions is perhaps most pronounced in his six brilliant, two part videos from the early 90's signed with the “Rinse Dream” pseudonym, Party Doll a Go-Go! (1991), Nightdreams 2 and 3 (1991), and the most bewildering of all, Untamed Cowgirls of the Wild West.

More or less following the same trajectory as Party Doll a Go-Go!, the first of the two Untamed Cowgirls videos, wonderfully titled The Pillowbiters, finds Sayadian taking all the tactics used in his previous videos to pull the rug out from unsuspecting viewers expecting standard adult fare, the delirious, repetitive editing, pre-sex sketches, interrupting the sex scenes with the performers spouting ingeniously ludicrous dialogue and audio distortions are taken to their most extreme as well as confounding. Per usual with Sayadian's video work, the fourth wall is broke constantly with the performers addressing the viewers, even at one point slyly acknowledging the inherent absurdity of the film where Sayadian cuts back and forth to a perplexed Tami Monroe in the midst of a barrage of rapid fire edits and audio tinkering. As was the case with Party Doll a Go-Go!, most of the sex is presented entirely without context, but The Pillowbiters differs a bit with Sayadian constructing somewhat of a story in-between the sex scenes involving Jeanna Fine and Tami Monroe, who act as this films version of Madison and Tianna from Party Doll a Go-Go!, being perused by a bounty hunter named Swampy. The Pillowbiters also finds Sayadian unveiling some new tricks to mess with the audience by way interjecting title cards into the sex scenes featuring Sayadian's typically irreverent, witty sense of humor. Of course Sayadian's penchant for cheeky euphemisms is ever present as well, highlights include “love butter”, “love crease”, “man mayo” “slut slaw” and fan favorite “girl homo”.

The second video, the even more wonderfully titled Jammy Glands from the Rio Grande, finds Sayadian in an equally mischievous mood, albeit with a slightly different approach. Along with switching up the sex scene pairings, the biggest difference between Jammy Glands and The Pillowbiters is Sayadian's scaling back on the abstract editing and repetition, and the witty banter between the performers is reserved strictly for the pre/post-sex skits. To be sure, Sayadian's modus operandi of deceiving the average video store back room dweller by cutting away from the sex at random intervals is in full swing, although here the title cards that made their debut in The Pillowbiters are Sayadian's main focus. Most are completely nonsensical (“Rinse Dream makes me feel like Bill Shatner's toupee!”) and at times resemble the sarcastic musings of Max Melodramatic, the MC of Cafe Flesh. The early 90's video technology on display also give the title cards an extra bit of charm. Another thing the separates Jammy Glands from The Pillowbiters is the music. Whereas The Pillowbiters consisted of recycled/remixed Double Vision cues, Jammy Glands features an original score, credited to “Gold”, with each piece of music having a different flavor while fitting in with the western theme, at one point even resembling cowpunk pioneers Rank and File crossed with circus music. Much like the first video, the wild west decorated soundstage features Sayadian's typically eye-popping production design and Jammy Glands even features a few appearances from the wide eyed doll thing seen in Sayadian's Dr. Caligari (1989).

Unlike Cafe Flesh, Party Doll a Go-Go! and the second and third Nightdreams films, which were distributed by VCA, the two Untamed Cowgirls of the Wild West videos were released by Zane Entertainment and ever since their initial VHS runs have gone on to become the most difficult Sayadian titles to track down in psychical form. They also have the distinction of being to date the last films directed by Sayadian. Before getting a new project off the ground in 1995, Sayadian was dealt a massive medical blow and more or less retreated from public view to recover. Incredibly, Sayadian re-emerged in 2013 for a screening of Nightdreams at France's L’Étrange Festival and even directed a musical stage play based on Cafe Flesh and has promised a new film at some point in the future which can't come soon enough. Like Sayadian's 35mm films, the six “Rinse Dream” videos are the work of a maverick artist ready and willing to subvert in a medium where most chose to pander to conventional standards, and what makes the Untamed Cowgirl videos so interesting is how, even with four previous, fairly experimental videos behind him, Sayadian still found new ways to toy around with what was expected from an adult video. Their appeal may be as limited as can be, but a ride to the way out west with these untamed cowgirls is well worth taking.