The Divine Obsession (Lloyd Kaufman, 1976)

Helmed by Troma majordomo Lloyd Kaufman (under the pseudonym of Louis Su), The Divine Obsession is a solid-plus tale about the rise and fall of an adult film star. The wide-ranging time frame and locations bespeak commitment and Julia Franklin gives a terrific, principled performance as the doomed star. The narrative is even complex enough that I'm still confused about the (trick?) ending. It's far weightier and more compelling than the typical Troma fare to come. And yet I find it all a bit unexciting. Creators of adult film in the 1970s obviously had an incentive to ape more mainstream forms of entertainment. But as a viewer, I gravitate more towards pornography that carved out a unique category for itself. Valley of the Dolls with hardcore scenes can be fun; hardcore scenes leading to heretofore unknown structures are even more fun than that.

Grade: B+