Viva is an interesting satirical take on 1970s sexploitation and has some great segments from Anna Biller, however with a two hour running time it does ramble and probably could’ve shed 20-25 minutes.
Viva
(2007)
Genre(s): Comedy
Kino Lorber| NR – 121 min. – $29.95 | August 24, 2021
Date Published: 08/05/2021 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 2½/5 |
| Plot Synopsis: Retro spectacle about a bored 1970s housewife who gets sucked into the sexual revolution. Abandoned by her perfect Ken-doll husband (CHAD ENGLAND), Barbi (ANNA BILLER) is dragged into trouble by her girlfriend (BRIDGET BRNO), who spouts women’s lib as she gets Barbi to discard her bra and go out on the town. Barbi becomes a Red Riding Hood in a sea of wolves, and quickly learns a lot more than she wanted to about the different kinds of scenes going on in the wild ‘70s, including nudist camps, the hippie scene, orgies, bisexuality, sadism, drugs, and bohemia.
Quick Hit Review: It took me a few minutes to get what Anna Biller was going for with Viva, it’s more or less a satire on sexploitation of the 1970s, an area of cinema that I’m only vaguely familiar with. And initially I was having a lot of fun with how over-the-top everything was, including the acting that I did find hilarious (Barbi’s husband’s laugh in particular cracked me up). That being said, however, it’s also nearly two hours long so it did take some patience to pull through. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2¼/5 |
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This release comes with a new Audio Commentary with writer/director/star Anna Biller and Behind-the-scenes footage (8:02) narrated by Anna Biller, and the Trailer (2:18). |
VIDEO – 4/5, AUDIO – 4/5 |
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Viva comes to Blu-ray through Kino Lorber presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. For the most part this is a good looking picture with vibrant colors and detail is relatively sharp. On the downside, although I’m not sure this might’ve been intentional on Biller’s part, there was some minor scratches and specs that permeate many scenes. The movie comes with a standard DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track which showcases clear dialogue and some modest depth for the music and various ambient noises. This isn’t the type of movie that benefits from a lossless track but it is evenly keeled with no major hints of pops or hisses making it a clean track as a whole. |
OVERALL – 2½/5 |
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Overall, Viva is an interesting satirical take on 1970s sexploitation and has some great segments from Anna Biller, however with a two hour running time it does ramble and probably could’ve shed 20-25 minutes. For those interested or appreciative of that time period, this might be worth checking out. |
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