In the aftermath of a nuclear war, the majority of the population are 'sex negatives', unable to make love, becoming violently sick should they try. Those that can still 'do it' - the sex positives - are forced to perform on stage in special clubs for the entertainment of the negatives. One of these clubs, Café Flesh, plays host to famous sex positive Johnny Rico* (Kevin James) whose sexual prowess stirs feelings in supposed sex negative Lana (Pia Snow AKA scream queen Michelle Bauer).
Café Flesh might be porn, but it's still a film that any self-respecting fan of crazy cult oddities should see. A new-wave post-apocalyptic arthouse adult movie, it presents sex as avant-garde performance art, making it a bizarre yet strangely compelling experience. And at the risk of alienating its target audience, it also works as an allegory of the frustration felt by those who can only get their kicks from watching hardcore movies.
Hosted by the enigmatic Max Melodramatic (Andy Nichols), the stage shows at Café Flesh are the film's highlights, not because of their XXX content, but because they are so incredibly surreal, the performers dressed in strange costumes, moving robotically to electronic/industrial/jazz music by Mitchell Froom (Vonda Shepard's husband).
The first act sees a man dressed as a rat seeing to a sexy lady while three men dressed as babies in highchairs move rhythmically in the background. The next performance has a guy with a giant pencil for a head going at it with his co-star while a naked secretary bashes away at a typewriter, repeating the line "Do you want me to type a memo?". Another scene features a couple of women in military outfits become well-acquainted with each other's nether regions, and the penultimate act -- the debut for sex positive virgin Angel (Marie Sharp) -- has arms poking through the stage floor, clicking their fingers while two men in telephone masks (?!?!) break in the newbie.
Johnny Rico's act is probably the least extravagant, the star of the evening only requiring a bed as his prop (what a pro!), the stud luring Lana from the audience to join in the fun, much to the annoyance of her sex negative husband Nick (Paul McGibboney), who is destined to see his wife as a regular performer at Café Flesh.
8/10. An unreal experience quite unlike any other.
*NOT to be confused with Johnnie Rico from Starship Troopers (Kevin James is a better actor than Casper Van Dien).
