Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Sugar Cookies Blu-ray Movie Review

Lock up your panties.

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf June 4, 2014

Well, if you’re a filmmaker and you’re trying to rip-off Hitchcock, excessive amounts of nudity always helps. 1973’s “Sugar Cookies” isn’t the most memorable sexploitation shocker of its era, but a few of the names associated with its creation certainly raise eyebrows, with credits boasting the participation of Troma Entertainment founder Lloyd Kaufman (who co-scripts) and Oliver Stone, who’s listed among the producers. Everyone has to make their start somewhere, and I can certainly understand the external appeal of “Sugar Cookies,” with its elements of mystery, bare skin, and perversion. It’s a strange picture, not entirely coherent despite the illusion of comprehensible sinister business, but it’s entertaining in a B-movie way, offering a steady stream of threatening behavior and spastic seductions to help ease an awkward “Vertigo”-inspired plot into place.

Playing a dangerous game of sexual intimidation with a loaded gun, film producer Max (George Shannon) shoots porn star Alta (Lynn Lowry), covering his tracks with help from his lover, Camilla (Mary Woronov). As Max sorts out troubled relations with his ex-wife and her brother, overweight boob Gus (Daniel Sador), Camilla takes the opportunity to mount her own movie, working through an arduous casting process before she stumbles on Julie (Lowery), the spitting image of Alta. Promising the industry newcomer fame and fortune, Camilla orchestrates an elaborate plan of seduction, brainwashing Julie into service as the aspiring actress submits entirely to her, willing to do anything. Feeling financial pressure from prostitute Dola (Maureen Byrnes), Camilla intensifies her manipulation of Julie, with plans to transform her into Alta.

Co-scripted and directed by Theodore Gershuny, “Sugar Cookies” doesn’t waste any time getting to the rough stuff, opening with a lengthy sequence that features Max and Alta performing their ritual of thrill-seeking, with the producer bringing a revolver into the bedroom, pleasuring his lover with the barrel before blowing her head off, passing the incident off as a suicide. “Sugar Cookies” doesn’t mess around with its questionable material, but this introduction is the only truly provocative sequence in the picture, hoping to hook viewers in with a display of sexual gamesmanship and aggression towards women. The imprint of ick doesn’t last long enough, but at least the movie doesn’t dawdle, hitting the ground running as it transforms from Max’s tale of kink to Camilla’s quest of cajolery.

“Sugar Cookies” is largely devoted to the unusual relationship shared between Camilla and Julie, finding the young actress completely submissive to her handler, with their professional relationship evolving into a romantic one, though the sincerity of such a pairing is the only mystery that survives in the picture, with Woronov’s tentative performance good with ambiguity, never quite revealing Camilla’s deceptions in full as she gradually disarms the rube, even engaging in some bedroom action to help warm up a surprisingly sexless effort. Nudity is constant, but genuine heat is lacking in the feature, which appears more interested in its goal of manufacturing suspense than it does fulfilling its X-rated intentions. The pair frolic, bathe, play squash, and rehearse scenes, and “Sugar Cookies” is at its best when concentrating on this subplot, allowing for some pleasing magic hour cinematography and opportunities to hear energetic soundtrack selections.

The saga of Gus represents the less than appealing side of “Sugar Cookies.” An undefined character on a baffling mission of cross-dressing and dieting, Gus doesn’t have a place in the overall flow of the movie, yet the production is determined to work him in, even adding the man’s lust for Max to dial up the creep-out factor, though I wish it made more sense. I’m all for a corpulent character with rouged cheeks screaming out his uncle’s name while climaxing with a hooker, but Gus is too much of an enigma, almost from another film entirely. Select scenes with a pair of panty-sniffing cops also appear out of nowhere, but they bring Richard Nixon jokes to the cinematic party, and that type of comedy is always welcome.

Sugar Cookies Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation shows impressive stability for such an obscure title, and while speckling, judder, and some minor stretches of print damage are detected, "Sugar Cookies" looks as good as it's going to get on this Blu-ray. Colors are bold and true, with rich primaries preserving extremes in period furnishings and costuming. Hues are stable and full, extending to skintones, which retain their intended pinkness without succumbing to overt fade. Blacks are largely communicative, with limited solidification. Detail is healthy with cinematographic softness, keeping facial particulars and interiors easily surveyed, also securing bodily textures during the effort's many nude scenes. Grain is managed well, sustaining a filmic appearance to the viewing experience.

Sugar Cookies Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD MA 1.0 mix is hindered by a host of issues, the most pressing being the relatively shoddy quality of the recorded sound, which often registers hollow and faint. There are hiss and pops to contend with as well, and scoring cues and soundtrack cuts, while pronounced, occasionally steamroll over dialogue exchanges, making verbal nuances difficult to discern at times. The track isn't consistently murky, allowing some appreciation for performance subtleties and atmosphere, with era-specific ambiance allowed some life in this limited soundscape.

Sugar Cookies Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

On Blu-ray:

• Interview (13:38, HD) with Lynn Lowry finds the actress in a reflective mood, catching up with "Sugar Cookies" the night before her on-camera conversation, contributing fresh memories. Candid about the production's demand for extensive nudity, Lowry goes into the banality of bare flesh on a film set, also discussing her aspirations as an actress, with this dual role providing the relative newcomer a chance to show off her chops. Lowry appears to be a fan of the picture, but also admits it's a little baffling. It's an interesting featurette.

• A Theatrical Trailer (1:43, HD) is included.

On DVD:

• Interview (35:58, SD) with Lloyd Kaufman is expectedly animated, with the loquacious man going into great detail about the "Sugar Cookies" production experience. Kaufman knows everything about everyone, and his memory is quite good, chatting up how the picture came to be, his longstanding relationship with Oliver Stone (they met in the second grade!), those disappointing sex scenes (blaming "nude-a-phobia"), the romantic appetites of his father, cast personalities, and financial troubles (calling it "the only X-rated film that lost money"). Staring into the lens, surrounded by Troma props, Kaufman sprints through topics, providing a deeper appreciation for the movie business and the history of "Sugar Cookies."

• Interview (4:59, SD) with Mary Woronov is undated, but appears to have been recorded around 2004, meeting up with the actress at a Troma convention, featuring a man in a Toxic Avenger costume lurking around in the background. Woronov has a sense of humor about "Sugar Cookies" but doesn't add much to the discussion, instead exposing some interesting behavior concerning Gershuny (her husband at the time) and his willingness to appear in the film, participating in a softcore sex scene.

• And an Alternative Trailer (2:53, SD), prepared for Troma's release of the film, is included.

Sugar Cookies Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Opening with cruelty, "Sugar Cookies" returns to ugliness in its finale, though it isn't necessary to recoil from such a harmless bit of sleaze. While it's far from a romp, the picture has its moments of allure and insanity, contributing to the sexploitation landscape of the 1970s with a certain confidence. Perhaps there's no storytelling precision, but when it sets out to accomplish something, "Sugar Cookies" works up the energy to disgust and captivate in a satisfying manner.