turkam Review of Inside Deep Throat

Inside Deep Throat (2005)

Unique doc, the best film from Fenton Bailey so far...........

[7/10 · 24 September 2006]

I have seen two other films by documentarian (well, he is not exactly in the Frederick Wiseman mode) Fenton Bailey_ "Monica in Black and White" and "The Eyes of Tammy Faye." All of his film that I've seen focus on sex and scandal, and "Inside Deep Throat" proves to be no exception. This film is a fairly solid period piece_ taking place in the 1970s, and there are very startling interview clips with those involved with the original adult film, including 'actor' Harry Reems, and from celebrities, like John Waters and Hugh Hefner, who comment on the film's cultural impact. The doc also shows how both feminists and right-wingers attacked "Deep Throat." Ultimately, it seems that the controversy and the actual banning of the film in the United States made it more of a commodity with the public. There is actual footage from the original adult film, and while I seriously doubt that it has any artistic merit at all (have not seen "Deep Throat"), the political debate it stirred still seems relevant today and the film illustrates this well. Bailey is no serious documentary filmmaker, like Barbara Kopple, at all- he's even used sock puppets in his films_ but this material is a perfect for this formula. "Inside Deep Throat" also shows America's psychological hangups about sexuality though it does not examine why we are collectively more uptight about sex than most Europeans. This film would also make a great companion piece to Caveh Zahedi's surreal, narrative doc "I'm a Sex Addict." I have personal reservations about adult films. A PBS documentary "American Porn" revealed how abusive the industry is towards its 'actresses,' in a very brutal, shocking manner. But, one also realizes that ultra-conservatives' efforts to use the issue to legislate morality has dire consequences which lead to political/creative censorship in more legitimate documentary forms. For this reason alone, Bailey's latest film is quite a thought-provoking one.