B Ruby Rich is a cultural critic who writes for the Village Voice, Sight and Sound, Out, and Elle (where she is a contributing writer). She is a visiting professor at UC Berkeley and a former administrator at the New York State Council on the Arts. Russ Meyer's larger-than-life, hard-drinking, fast-driving, tough-talking, karate-chopping, murderous lesbian go-go dancers must be heard to be believed. (Sample dialogue: "Your old man's been blasted out of his wheels and your king-size brother's been twisted like a pretzel!") Like female predecessors to Kubrick's delinquent "droogs," they wander through desolate desert territory looking for violent kicks. Varla, Rosie and Billie are accurately described as "too much for one man to handle" by their mentally inferior and physically pathetic male adversaries. No other film inspires such an impossible degree of awe, fear, and unbridled admiration for its villains. Meyer's looming low-angle close-ups and signature quick cuts, along with his extravagant mise-en-scène, invite the viewer to enter an over-the-top, otherworldly realm, one which enfolds the viewer but doesn't need him in order to sustain itself. Despite Meyer's schlocky subject matter and obvious preference for tight pants and D-cups, his directorial style is masterfully executed and critically acclaimed.-Erika Katz