Cafe Flesh 2 (VCA) Review

Reviewed by Diville  on  1/18/2001

Starring: Stacy Valentine, Raylene, Jeanna Fine, Rebecca Lord, Mustang Sally Layd, Alec Metro, John Decker, Tony Tedeschi, Billy Glide, Dave Hardman, Brian Surewood, Simon Delo, and Veronica Hart

Directed by: Antonio Passolini


In the spirit of Antonio Passolini's absurd take on post apocalyptic fucking, let me begin this review of Cafe Flesh 2 with a haiku:

Stacy Valentine,
Man with two dildos for horns...
Freaked out, but turned on.

Now, don't go expecting haiku in this VCA release; there are none to be found. And if there were any, they'd be better than mine, to be sure. What you will find, on the other hand, is a brain in a jar, a hot 70's era virgin sucking dick, a man who gets sick at the thought of sex with Raylene, two fucking mimes, and of course, Stacy Valentine and a man with two dildos for horns.

Director Antonio Passolini is a lot like David Lynch on viagra, but this is not weirdness for weirdness' sake. In fact, this is the whacked- out sequel to someone else's whacked-out original- -Rinse Dream's Cafe Flesh. If it matters, then here's the premise: a nuclear holocaust splits the world into two types of people, those who can't fuck, and a small minority of lucky bastards who can. At least those who can't can watch, and that's where a night club called Cafe Flesh comes into play. Resurrected from ruins by Jeanna Fine (who has resurrected herself a few times, come to think of it), Cafe Flesh is a club where positives (those who can) do it on stage for the entertainment for those who can only watch, or negatives as they're called. Think live porn for the impotent.

There is a story here, which is a bit of surprise because it would be so easy to parade the talent on stage, watch them get it on, then move to the next couple. Thankfully, this isn't the case. Stacy Valentine plays the part of the aforementioned 70's virgin who is thawed out to be the star attraction at the club. Who wouldn't want to see a virginal Stacy Valentine live and in the hot sweaty flesh? Raylene is a down on her luck positive who will do anything to make money to support her negative boyfriend, even if it means fucking a man with two dildos for horns. Then there's the entrepreneurial Fine who will do anything to make her club a success. Trust me, Passolini does a better job making this all work than I do trying to explain it.

It's an injustice, I believe, to offer a play by play and a stroke by stroke of every sexual going- on in a movie like this. Part of the fun is being caught off guard. Valentine has three sex scenes and Raylene has two, if you think a scorecard might help you decide if the purchase of Cafe Flesh 2 is worth your money. I am of the impression that it is. Yes, the production values are high, but so is the heat. Isn't it strange how the two are usually inversely proportional to each other? Passolini may love his camera, but he also loves sex, and it shows. Stacy is unleashed to be her cum swallowing nastiest, and no one else shows any fear of offending the demure among us, either.

I would have liked a commentary track on this one; many of Passolini's movies have them. I would also have liked some behind the scenes footage, but that's missing, too. Something this fun to watch would have been fun to make, I'm willing to bet. Instead, all that's offered are some biographies and a photo gallery. It's a small complaint, but more is always better when it comes to extras. Still, it's the feature that sells a DVD, and this feature is outstanding. Some seventeen syllable Japanese poetry wouldn't have hurt, but sometimes you just have to settle for what you can get.