 SEX GALAXY (2008) It didn’t make me think deeply, or reflect on the world in a new way, but boy did I have a giggle – and it’s not often I can say that around these parts… I do a lot of scouting around for films, and there’s more than a few on a very loose list I carry around in my head that I want to watch. I can’t claim that I’m all that organised, and tend to pick each week’s film on a bit of a whim, so this one was one of those cases of ‘about time’. Sex Galaxy is a 2008 offering with a claim that I believe is unique in film history in that it’s entirely recycled. Yes, that’s right – Sex Galaxy is entirely cobbled together from old, out of copyright footage from the 60s and earlier. That’s not only environmentally friendly – the director himself describes it as a ‘green film’ – but makes for a watch quite unlike any other. Mike Davis’s offering is constructed from a mix of dated public safety videos, the odd striptease clip and a heavy dose of campy, out of copyright 60s sci-fi. The main elements are taken from 1968’s Voyage to the Planet of the Prehistoric Women, which in turn was in no small part ripped from an even more obscure SF offering from 1962 called Planeta Bur. It’s a mighty fun concept, but how does Sex Galaxy stack up as a comedy? The plot of the movie – stitched together as it is – follows veteran spacefarer Giles, innocent young Billy and wealthy tourist Ben Dorset as they travel to deal with a plumbing problem on a distant planet, which apparently doesn’t have a plunger anywhere on the globe for some reason. The background behind the story is that because of various environmental issues on Earth (mostly a lack of water), sex before marriage is strictly outlawed, leading to a trio of very frustrated males heading off into space. Having repaired the plumbing issue, they head off in search of a mysterious ‘Sex Galaxy’ filled with virile women every bit as desperate as our main cast. However, when they get there, they find dinosaurs and other natural threats, as well as a crazed robot attempting to pimp out the native Amazon women and two lost spacemen to rescue. And they might just find a solution to Earth’s water problem while they’re at it… It sounds bonkers, and that’s probably because it is bonkers. The very concept of making a dubbed comedy from old footage is something pretty out there, but the whole thing is genuinely really enjoyable. The dubbing is of course miles off, but if you can ignore that the new soundtrack is significantly funnier than anything that might have been there before – it’s plenty lewd in the comedy stakes, as both the male and female characters seem to be every bit as obsessed with sex as one another. I wonder how much was scripted and how much was simply off the cuff – some feels distinctly improvised. There are a few different threads of story, but nothing to make it particularly hard to follow. It’s the sort of movie just to sit down and switch your brain off to – I’ve watched plenty for Film Gutter that has been brutal and harrowing, but this is absolutely at the opposite end of the spectrum. Rarely does it say anything cutting and insightful – other than an ending that rather caught me by surprise – but who cares when there’s a good solid laugh every few minutes? It’s apparent everyone involved is enjoying themselves, and it’s hard not to get swept up in that. RATING: 8/10. I liked this a lot, but honestly you can probably tell within five minutes if this mixture of old-school campy SF and new-school comedy dubbing is going to be for you. If you find yourself chuckling early on, then you’ll be set for a good time. If not, then maybe you’re best to look elsewhere, because that formula doesn’t change much. As you can probably tell, I fell into the former camp – I think this is a really creditable and fresh idea, and obviously a real passion project for director Mike Davis. It didn’t make me think deeply, or reflect on the world in a new way, but boy did I have a giggle – and it’s not often I can say that around these parts…   the heart and soul of extreme horror movie reviews |
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