Eating Raoul

A great black comedy about the pitfalls of consumerism in a society that is more squeamish about sex than murder. But social commentary notwithstanding, it's funny as hell and has a colorful cast of characters. Lots of laugh out loud moments and the narrative capitalizes wonderfully on the absurdity of its premise. It's basically an X-rated Looney Tunes episode about life in LA for a demented and down on their luck conservative couple. Comparable to early John Waters or early Pedro Almodovar.

The tone is so off in this it feels like a comedy designed by aliens.

A naive couple need money to make a down payment on their dream home, and fluke their way into running a dominatrix business catering to rich perverts. They kill their clients for their cash, and have a deal with a Chicano thief to dispose of the corpses. Not a bad comedy but the tone is way too light and corny for the dark premise, and the movie gives away the punchline to the final joke right in the title. And there's no blood.

The most subversive aspect of Eating Raoul isn't in its portrayal of transgressive, perverted acts; it's that it plays these perversions with all the cheerful verve of a multi-camera sitcom, right down to the protagonists' Dick Van Dyke Show twin marriage beds. This does, admittedly, flatten it a bit - though at 80 minutes and change, it hardly overstays its welcome - but I can't say I've seen much else like it.

What's great about this comedy film is that even its existence is humorous -- once it ended and it showed the spoilery title, I laughed. It exemplifies an '80s sensibility in how this era reflected nostalgically on the carefree '50s, but now with a sly modern cynicism and capitalist inhumanity. The utter darkness of such a concept is subdued by the childish and blasé nature of this hopelessly, yet weirdly empathetic couple -- the swift run-time also helps this go down smoothly.

Very likeable comedy.

Absolutely hilarious and completely original. The brand of light hearted silliness in this film isn't something you see often but when you then use it to offset the dark setting of excess in sex, drugs, and murder in LA; wow is it fun .

Maybe just a little bit too over-the-top silly and campy to be really great, but i did quite like it. Aesthetically it's well done, and while obviously broadly satirical it feels essentially amiable and good-natured more than overly cynical. Like i said, some of the humor is just a bit too cartoonish and juvenile, and in some aspects it's pretty badly dated with all the stuff about swingers, but still in a lot of ways it's not at all unlike if a young Pedro Almodovar made a film in English.

There's something really orignal about this, but I didn't found it that entertaining or funny.

Original, entertaining, and risque. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

It must be the most inconsequential mass-murder film ever made. Not so bizarre as I had anticipated, "Eating Raoul" finds its absurdity by strolling along unimpeded through its illogical premise so easily. Bartel was Proto-Sideways-Giamatti.

Under Quarantine Film Review #9: Quite funny and entertaining with very likable leads. The flat tone of this film enhances the comedy, which I love, but it doesn't manage to hit the transgressive highs as I hoped it would.

Not my type of humour but it is fun.

The only thing I remember is the stunning legs of Mary Woronov.

Through its satire, Eating Raoul is unapologetically capitalistic, moralistically hypocritical and a little bit racist. The film pairs sordid sex parties with a dishevelled aesthetic that seems more budgetary than artistic. Its portrayal of sexual liberation is ridiculous; which may be satire but comes across as unintentionally not funny. Essentially the film is dated, but that doesn't prevent it from being often amusing. Given the title, I'd thought there would be more cannibalism.

It loses some steam after a while but it's still a charming, weird little film.

This feels like one of those films where my enjoyment of it ultimately depends on my mood that day. Like, you really have to lock into its tone early, or else you are left while the film just ratchets up the nonsense.

There may not be a more sophisticated comedy from the 1980's. Bartel and Woronov are simultaneously adorable, and the most likeable people in the film, and shockingly amoral. The film satirizes the state of the sexual revolution, which by the early 80's had rendered a monogamous, married couple as extremely radical outsiders. It satirizes the tendency of even the nicest people to drift into moral relativism when their deepest interests are at stake.

There were only a couple of mildly amusing moments in this incredibly overrated film.

hilarious.

Really funny. Once you get into Bartel's comedic groove, it's impossible to look away. The absurdity of every situation grows larger and larger in time, as does the amount of laughs. A gem.

Delicious black comedy. Sags a little here and there, but overall a bright original, and hilarious satire; John Paragon has a super bit as a sex shop owner.

Dark comedy masterpiece!

Very good black comedy. Bon appetit!

It's quite obvious how low of a budget this film had, but it has its charm. A very nice dark comedy with some moments of near-brilliance.

Entertaining piece of trash black comedy.

Taking cues from Buñuel's class-based satires, Eating Raoul is both deliriously campy and subversive toward middle class nostalgia in a way that married the decade's tongue-in-cheek sensibilities with a self-reflexivity more characteristic of the art house films of the era. Its goofy self-awareness comes on strong at times, and its premise is stretched thin as is, but its take on sexual liberation, capitalist ideology, and middle-American prudishness is truly unique and well worth exploring.

Low budget, high laugh. What a great combination of sick and sweet.

If you can look past the campy acting style and low rent production values, this is a lot of fun. But "Parents" did this so much better.

I think I was overhyped for this one. Still worth a watch though.

Great use of low budget props and setting, as well as a cast that knew how to make their lines and characters funny.