Stacey!

 

Directed by Andy Sidaris

Starring - Anne Randall - Anitra Ford - Cristina Raines - Alan Landers

1973 - R - 81 Minutes

Video Gems VHS

Extras: Trailer for Julia. A 1974 film featuring Sylvia Kristel

Director Andy Sidaris could understandably be thought of as a more accessible 'every-man' version of Russ Meyer. He shares the same penchant for curvaceous pulchritude and a similar taste for outlandish situations. He never did achieve his own Faster Pussycat or Beyond The Valley of the Dolls, per se, but he came as close as he ever would with STACEY. How close that is, exactly, is up to the individual viewer.



So you CAN spell Stacey with two D's...

Fast laps around the track, hot pants, big hair, and a bright yellow corvette Stingray; that's how STACEY opens! Well, that, and a flash of melon-heavy character introduction, as seen above. The funky theme blasts its unapologetic refrain in the background exclaiming with authoritative certainty that you've never met a woman like her. Pure Drive-In attitude and relentless immodesty in that pleasantly naive way you can ONLY find in 70's cinema! Surely, a good time is about to be had.

Warriors... Come out to play-yay....

Stacey (Randall) is a private investigator. We learn this as she narrates her life and the story as it unfolds. Nice touch. While relaxing on her yacht she learns from her boyfriend (Landers) that a registered letter has arrived for her. Turns out she has a job waiting in Bel-Air. After contemplating the astrological sign of the person who composed the letter, she heads off to see what all the fuss is about. At first, there isn't any. Fuss, that is. She's simply being hired by a rich old woman to portray a friend of the family and dig up any dirt on the family, and resident help, that she can. See, the lady in question is getting along in years and wants her money to wind up in decent hands. Stacey has her work cut out for her finding any decency around THIS joint!



Lime green shag. Does that make you horny baby?

Old lady Chambers has surrounded herself with a decidedly colorful group in her autumn years. There's the gay nephew whose marriage to Tish (Ford) is the joke of all. Tish is getting it on regularly with the butler/chauffeur and, believe me, it's no secret. Pamela (Raines) is the niece and she has her own thing going on with some sort of love cult guru or some such nonsense. All of these scandalous details work to propel the plot to the next level. The butler owes serious money to some shady people and is working a plan to get fast cash asap. He's been snapping photos of his romantic rendezvous with both Tish as well as her gay husband. This might be a good time to mention that the butler is also an ex-con. You do the math. Anyway, his ultimate goal is blackmail but something stands in the way of his success. His brutal murder! Now, Stacey has something interesting to do!

He didn't wait an hour after he ate.

Our heaping heroine quickly learns about the bad habits of the now deceased shutterbug and figures that his murder must be connected to the pictures he was keeping. Things get more complicated since Stacey herself has become a target! While following clues that lead her and her boyfriend to a 70's chic beach house they figure they might as well take an erotic pause and enjoy the place to the fullest. Why not? Here's why not, the two armed hit men who've arrived to do them in. Stacey makes short work of the would-be assassins, as expected, but they're only the first team. They are NOT going to be the last!


Stacey scores multiple holes in one... Guy.

All the rest is about solving the case and staying alive. The who, what, and why I'll leave for you to discover. Honestly, you might find yourself impressed once the truth is revealed. The violent action intensifies the further we go and takes place on the raceway, on the road, in race cars on the road, in helicopters, and in the desert. There's also lots nudity and plenty of wet squibs (I do love them so) to enjoy along the way!

He who smelt it...

Squibtasia!

A decent effort! At a brisk 81 minutes it's hard to believe there are any pacing problems but, sadly, that is the case. Nothing tragic, but noticeable. Also, some of the acting is inescapably rigid. Raines and Ford have the least problems on that front and Randall manages to stay somewhere in between but often leans more towards the good than the bad. I know, I know, who cares!? I can't help it, just trying to be thorough. Nothing discussed is a deal-breaker and backing away from my critical eye for a moment I'm compelled to express how much I truly enjoy STACEY! I think it's great fun and has a lot more going for it than working against it. I also have a weakness for the 70's in general and big ol' splashy squibs in particular. Abundant nudity doesn't hurt either! And how about all that slow motion? It all comes together in that special and charming 70's way we discussed towards the top. Stuff like that gains an awful lot of value with hindsight but, for what's it's worth, I've enjoyed this one all the way along.

For Stacey, just another day at the office.

 

Notes:

 

-Anne Randall was a Playboy Playmate in May 1967. After her issue became available she immediately starting getting work in TV and movies and her acting continued to get better with each new project.

 

-Anne Randall has not appeared in anything since 1979.

 

-Anitra Ford will be instantly recognizable to cult fans as she has appeared in a number of classic films. In 1973, the same year she made STACEY, she also had major roles in the exceptional Messiah of Evil and the bizarre Invasion of the Bee Girls.

 

-Anitra Ford was a Price is Right model from 1972 to 1976.

 

-Cristina Raines first ever appearance was in this film. She had a busy career from here on out. Much of her work was in TV but she had very memorable and noteworthy roles in a couple of excellent horror films; The Sentinel and Nightmares.

 

-Roger Corman and New World helped produce this film and are rumored to have provided half the budget.

 

-STACEY was re-released in 1975 as Stacey and her Gangbusters. It was released in Italy as The Porno Detective!?

 

-This was Andy Sidaris' first theatrical movie.

 

-Andy Sidaris remade this movie almost exactly as Malibu Express in 1985. The P.I. was male instead of female but the story remains largely unaltered.

 

-Andy Sidaris passed away in 2007.

 

-Pictures displayed are definitely a low-budget endeavor and are meant only to indicate content and are in NO WAY meant to reflect the quality of the presentation.