Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf June 8, 2019

1980’s “The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood” is the third chapter of a most unlikely franchise, following 1975’s “The Happy Hooker” (starring Lynn Redgrave) and 1977’s “The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington” (starring Joey Heatherton). The movies are based on a best-selling memoir by Xaviera Hollander, who cashed in on the sexual revolution, sharing tales of lust, love, and financial transactions, fueling fantasies for those on the outside of the prostitution business. Martine Beswick takes over as Xaviera for “The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood,” which receives the full Cannon Films treatment as the series steps into the 1980s, bringing with it a farcical tone and strange supporting cast of television talents from the 1960s.

As the boss at Warkoff Brothers Studio, William (Phil Silvers) demands a bit hit to keep business going, turning to underlings Joseph (Richard Deacon) and Lionel (Adam West) to come up with something to charm audiences. The team targets “The Happy Hooker” book by Xaviera (Martine Beswick), with hopes to secure the rights for an adaption. Flying Xaviera in from New York City, the money men are overwhelmed by her flirtatious ways, with Lionel especially interested in her gifts with seduction. However, when the deal dissolves due to a key betrayal, Xaviera teams with Joseph’s son, Robby (Chris Lemmon), determined to go independent with the production, bringing in her stable of escorts to help raise money for the film, which is certain to be a box office smash.

Director Alan Roberts (“Young Lady Chatterley”) has quite the juggling act with “The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood,” helming a picture that’s sometimes quite silly and strives to be sexy, hoping to remain approachable along the way. The job is mostly successful, exploring how Warkoff Brothers conspires to bring Xaviera out west, trying to secure her book for a big screen adaptation, only to offer sleazy operations from the men in charge, with Lionel working to seduce a woman with plenty of experience. What could be a dark examination of Hollywood manipulation is instead kept as breezy as possible, leading with Beswick’s emphatic interpretation of Xaviera’s habitual flirtations, rarely meeting a man who can resist her charms. “The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood” has a lot of fun with these encounters, and Beswick delivers exactly the type of brightness the picture requires, committing to the part with help from multiple costume changes and chemistry with West, which encourages the softcore aspects of the feature (and for all you WestHeads, there’s even a disco dancing sequence with the actor, but no Batusi).

“The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood” features a supporting cast skilled with cartoon reactions and comedic emphasis, and the screenplay (by Devin Goldenberg) goes very broad with conflicts, giving the feature a soap opera vibe at times. Still, merriment is there, especially when Xaviera decides to go indie with her movie, joining her Avengers-style squad of escorts (including Playboy Playmate and B-movie staple Susan Kiger) to acquire all the necessary funds for production, and, when cash fails, she trades sex for film and processing, finding men more than delighted to enjoy five minutes with these women in dark closets, eschewing a living to spend time with working girls. “The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood” seems delighted to explore the johns and their requests, with Roberts visiting themed fetish rooms to add some playful absurdity to the effort, with one customer getting off while dressed up as a sheep under Little Bo Peep, while another is turned into a human birthday cake eagerly anticipating the blowout of his candles. These kind of shenanigans have nothing to do with the plot, merely serving as a way for Cannon to fit in more nudity, taking the burden off Beswick, who offers plenty of exposure for the picture, playing Xaviera as a free spirit who often doesn’t need clothes.

The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation is billed as a "Brand New 2018 HD master." Detail is generally good, securing facial surfaces from the cast, surveying age and glamour. Costuming is also a primary focal point for the production, with all kinds of sheer and shiny outfits, along with more extreme fetish gear. Locations are open for inspection, highlighting decoration and signage. Colors are satisfactory, dealing with disco hues and flatter visual interests of the late 1970s. Skintones are natural. Delineation is communicative. Source is in decent shape, with some speckling and a few blemishes.

The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix delivers a clean understanding of dialogue exchanges, even clarifying the feature's sloppy looping or, in one case, simply adding a line to a shot of character with his mouth closed. Scoring is simple but effective, delivering acceptable instrumentation. Atmospherics are adequate, providing a mild sense of screaming crowds and street interactions. Some mild hiss is detected.

The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview (13:09, HD) with Martine Beswick is a light conversation with the actress, who isn't interested in critiquing the lows of "The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood." She remains upbeat, sharing her career origins, where modeling work led to a meeting with James Bond producers, becoming one of the rare women to appear in two 007 productions ("From Russia with Love" and "Thunderball"). Response to the script is recalled, with Beswick delighted with the empowered woman she was hired to portray, also discussing her time with various co-stars, including Adam West, who was fearful about the sex scenes, worried that he might disturb "Batman" fans. Anecdotes cover location shooting and select scenes, and costuming is celebrated.

• Interview (13:05, HD) with Chris Lemmon is another positive look at "The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood," with the actor in a jokey mood, cracking wise to make the conversation amusing, even sharing comedic denial about his participation in the production. Lemmon recounts his path to the picture, beginning as a piano scholar who took up acting and never looked back. Already friends with Beswick, the shoot was made easier with their established relationship, permitting easy play with a largely script-free creative situation. Lemmon discusses the ways of director Alan Roberts, who was determined to bring the movie in on-budget, and co-stars are assessed. The interviewee closes with hope for renewed interest in the picture, and even shares a tidbit about showing his father, Jack Lemmon, the movie.

• A Theatrical Trailer (1:54, SD) is included.

The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood" has fun with itself, squeezing in a "White Heat" reference involving a grapefruit, and it works itself up into pure silliness with Xaviera's revenge schemes, which admittedly turn the picture into a sitcom, especially during a late-inning sequence where Lionel and Joseph have to make an emergency exit from a posh hotel in full drag. Power struggles are detailed, and comeuppances are delivered, creating gamesmanship between Xaviera and Warkoff Brothers that powers the final act. There's no real Hollywood glamour in the feature, which sticks close to a Cannon Films budget (even including an audio plug for the studio's big 1980 release, "The Apple"), but there is pace and appealing zaniness, while sexploitation interests are fully secured.