William Winckler Productions presents

The Double-D Avenger (2001)

Chastity: Unfortunately I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow.
Bubba: Doctor's appointment?
Chastity: Routine check-up and mammogram.
Bubba: I didn't realize they made X-ray equipment that big!- Kitten Natividad, Gary Canavello

Stars: Kitten Natividad, Haji
Other Stars: Raven De La Croix, Forrest J. Ackerman, William Winckler, Mimma Mariucci, Sheri Dawn Thomas, G. Larry Butler, Gary Canavello, Lunden De'Leon, Andrea Ana Persun
Director: William Winckler

MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (sexual humor)
Run Time: 01h:13m:37s
Release Date: 2001-09-15
Genre: cult

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
C+	C	B-	B-	B-

 

DVD Review

The tacky mid-1960s films of Russ Meyer (Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, Vixens, SuperVixens) were flimsy excuses for him to parade a bunch of large-breasted actresses around, and these films have become campy, cult classics. William Winckler, who was just out of diapers when Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! was released in 1965, apparently grew up with a major case of Meyer idol worship, and in 2001 he finally got a chance to get it out of his system. Winckler's straight-to-video release, The Double-D Avenger, is pure Russ Meyer revisited, right down to casting three of the genre's former biggest names: Kitten Natividad, Haji, and Raven De La Croix.

The cartoonishly busted Natividad, far too old here to be bedecked in the frightening Shirley Temple fright wig she wears, stars as Chastity Knott, the owner of a small pub in Driftwood Valley. A breast cancer scare (always a good source of comedy—NOT) sends her to South America, in search of the mysterious healing properties of the Crockazilla plant, which resembles a certain male organ. You can probably envision the oral sex humor already, I'm sure, and if not, then you should. The Crockazilla plant gives Chastity super-human strength, and she soon becomes the title character to do battle with evil strip club owner Al Purplewood (G. Larry Butler) and his trio of stripper henchwomen. Meyer vet Haji is bad girl leader Hydra Heffer, along with Mimma Mariucci as Pirate Juggs and Sheri Dawn Thomas as Oogga Boobies. Subtlety in character naming is just not an option here, folks.

Over the course of 70 minutes there are more boob puns and double-entendres than I think I have ever heard in my life, and they're all delivered with a harmless, corny, vaudeville attitude not that far removed from what Benny Hill used to do. There is plenty of leering shots of scantily clad, large-breasted women, but remarkably the only nudity in the film comes during one character's dream sequence, which features a montage of 1960s-era Kitten Natividad nude photos (also included as part of the disc's extras).

This is dumb, juvenile B-movie fluff, but fans of Meyer's big boob style of camp will love it just for the chance to see Natividad, Haji and De La Croix again. Haji still looks incredible, and when she appears in a scene with Famous Monsters of Filmland king Forrest J. Ackerman, it must have been like some kind of nirvana for a B-movie nut like Winckler. I know it was for me.

Rating for Style: C+
Rating for Substance: C

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratio	no
Anamorphic	no

Image Transfer Review: The Double-D Avenger is presented in a clean 1.33:1 full-frame transfer. Colors are bright, though almost a little too red, but fleshtones look natural and realistic. For a low-budget quickie, the print looks quite good, without any visible defects.

Image Transfer Grade: B-
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
PCM	English	yes

Audio Transfer Review: The audio consists of a satisfactory English PCM track, one that is without any major flaws, and presents the cornball dialogue clearly. The track is distortion-free, and is more than adequate for the material.

Audio Transfer Grade: B- 

Disc Extras

Static menu
1 Original Trailer(s)
1 Feature/Episode commentary by William Winckler, Kitten Natividad, Raoul Germain Jr.
Packaging: Amaray
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extra Extras:

1. Photo Gallery

Extras Review: The scene-specific audio commentary from writer/director William Winckler, star Kitten Natividad and cinematographer Raoul Germain Jr. is moderately more entertaining than the film itself, and Winckler expounds on his obvious adoration of all things Russ Meyer-related, to say nothing of his total B-movie worship. This is a lighthearted track, full of some self-deprecating comments, though Winckler seems genuinely pleased with all of his smirking boob humor.

The automated Photo Gallery section is divided into three sections: Behind the Scenes (05m:17s), Cast (02m:21s), and Classic Kitten (01m:52s). The first two groups are the usual smattering of production stills, while the Classic Kitten is a brief collection of nude shots from Kitten Natividad's prime.

A cheesy theatrical trailer is the only other extra, and oddly enough the disc is not chaptered at all.

Extras Grade: B-
 

Final Comments

I'll refrain from the predictable gag of giving The Double-D Avenger a D rating strictly for lame comedic purposes. This is low-brow, burlesque humor, loaded with a mind-numbing array of boob jokes and puns, and William Winckler is without a doubt a huge fan of not only B-movies, but of big bust king Russ Meyer. The jokes, acting and overall pacing is like an extended Benny Hill sketch, which under the right circumstances isn't always a bad thing.

Rich Rosell 2002-10-23