Heavy Petting

• Director: Obie Benz
• AMG Rating:
• Genre: Culture & Society
• Movie Type: Social History, Sexuality
• Themes: Suburban Dysfunction, Innocence Lost, First Love
• Main Cast: David Byrne, Sandra Bernhard, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs
• Release Year: 1989
• Country: US
• Run Time: 75 minutes
• MPAA Rating: R

Plot

Those of us who had to suffer such "instructional" films as Dating Do's and Don'ts in high school will be especially entertained by Heavy Petting. In the visually sarcastic manner of the nuclear-age documentary The Atomic Cafe, the film assembles masses of information and misinformation about teenage dating rituals of the 1950s. Clips from contemporary movies, TV programs, commercials, and "sex hygiene" short subjects are used throughout; perhaps once upon a time these vignettes could have been taken seriously, but here they're only good for howls of laughter. Interspersed among the vintage footage are interviews with such children of the 1960s as David Byrne and William S. Burroughs. One look at the 1950s as depicted in Heavy Petting, and it's easy to see how the sensuous, psychedelic '60s came to be. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Review

This freewheeling documentary ponders the sex lives of teens in the 1950s and '60s, but what might be a whimsical ride down memory lane for baby boomers won't necessarily translate for all viewers. Heavy Petting investigates a very white, middle-class version of adolescence, illustrated through clips from classroom "mental hygiene" films of the era and interviews with former teenagers who reminisce about youthful misadventures with the opposite sex. Most of the anecdotalists are actors, performance artists, and musicians, ensuring some lively talk and a few clearly embellished tales. Still, their remembrances ring with the same tone as their co-stars from the private sector, all bemused stories of confusion about the mechanics, ethics, and mysteries of reproduction. Political celebrity Abbie Hoffman recalls competitive circle jerks, musician David Byrne remembers worrying about impregnating his girlfriend through skinny dipping, and writer William S. Burroughs seems genuinely embarrassed when poet Allen Ginsberg waxes nostalgic about his early yearnings for love. Stories about dating rituals and fashion missteps might not be so universal for children of different generations or ethnic backgrounds. Luckily, Heavy Petting is filled with highly entertaining clips from the collection of ephemeral film archivist Richard Prelinger, who chose a series of delightfully ironic and iconic scenes from educational/propaganda films like Dating Dos and Don'ts, How Much Affection?, and Perversion for Profit. These passion plays of conformity, paranoia, and moral absolutes provide empirical data on the state of adolescent sex that transcends the interviews. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide

Cast

• David Byrne
• Sandra Bernhard
• Allen Ginsberg
• William S. Burroughs

Josh Mostel; Abbie Hoffman; John Oates; Spalding Gray; Ann Magnuson; Laurie Anderson

Credit

Obie Benz - Director, Josh Waletsky - Editor, Sandi Sissel - Cinematographer, Obie Benz - Producer

Similar Movies

The Atomic Cafe; Gates of Heaven; Heaven; Psychedelic Fever; Hell's Highway: The True Story of Highway Safety Films; Gay Sex in the '70s; Inlaws & Outlaws