Barbarella: Queen of the Galaxy

(Movie Review)

I rented this movie mainly out of historical interest. You see, being a history geek (and a bit of a 60s nut to boot) I knew that this was the movie that made Jane Fonda famous as a sex symbol for the 1960s. Which was why the red blooded American boys in Vietnam felt so betrayed when she became an anti-war symbol.

Also (and I didn't know this until I started watching it) it turns out this film has some relevance to music history as well. Throughout the movie Jane Fonda is searching for a mad scientist named Duran Duran which is (you guessed it) where a certain 80s rock group got their name from. (Wikipedia has a whole list of the cultural influences of this film.)

Unfortunately aside from this film's value as a historical curiosity there's little else of value here.

Where to begin?

For starters, the poster is slightly misleading, as it makes it looks like this movie is a bad science fiction film, when in fact it is actually a bad psychedelic film. A bad science fiction film I could have endured. In fact I spent much of my youth watching bad science fiction films rerun on cable, and even enjoyed some of them.

But as for psychedelic films, even the good ones can be hard to sit through unless you're taking psychedelics while watching it. Or possibly if your at a party and it's on in the background. But if you're just a guy on the couch with some donuts and a bottle of soda, it can be a long two hours.

Much of the draw of this film is supposed to be based on Jane Fonda's body and the revealing costumes she wears. But personally I've never understood the draw of these kind of tease movies. If all you want out of a movie is to see the female form, there is a different genre located in the back of the video store and you don't even have to sit through the bad psychedelia.

Plus given how much standards have changed over the past 40 years, this movie is pretty tame by today's standards. The film makers of the time were obviously trying to get away with as much as they could: Jane Fonda is shown in numerous tight fitting or revealing outfits, and even naked in a few scenes with carefully positioned camera angles. But it's nothing today's kids haven't seen before on MTV.

The plot line of this movie is just ridiculous, and its more or less just an excuse for Jane Fonda to wander around in tight clothes. (I know reviewers say things like that all the time, but in this case it really is true). At times the writers seem to be trying to create an "Alice in Wonderland" type story, but they try and substitute strange and random for true imagination.

The special effects, even by the standards of the time, are pretty awful.

During the entire 90 minutes, I can think of nothing worth seeing in this movie.

The Verdict: If, like me, you want to watch this movie for its cultural significance, then I guess there are a lot worse reasons to rent a movie. But consider yourself warned.

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Barbarella: Queen of the Galaxy: Movie Review (Scripted)