I’m going to call this film “Scarecrow” for short, a bizarre 1970s musical with a trans lead. Right out of the gate, the movie establishes an irreverent tone. Two strait-laced looking parents, in front of their home, are giving advice to be careful in the big city. They turn to go back into their house, revealing that they were both naked from the waist down. Eve Harrington is the name of the main character, played by Holly Woodlawn, gets off the bus and encounters a slew of insane characters: a speed demon taxi-driving nun, a bellboy in a gas mask, and an obese woman with a trail of male-servants attending to her every need. While I did not see much of a plot, a recurring theme is eve trying to become an actress. In a short segment, she goes on a date with a self-proclaimed producer (also Holly playing a man). The absurdity continues to escalate as a jogger runs by them backwards and the “producer” randomly turns into a werewolf. Given the plot is described as Eve wanting to become an actress, most of the film shows her spending much more time looking for a good man. The plot really does not matter though. The movie plays like a series of skits with Eve jumping from one insane situation to another.

The film is pretty well made, and it is hard to pinpoint where the budget falls on the spectrum. Some scenes feel cheap or shot guerrilla style while others obviously have a lot of effort and craft put into them. There are musical numbers with elaborate costumes and a men’s chorus. Also, the forces behind this film were pretty well connected, scoring cameos from Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin.

The commentary track is with author of “Love You Madly, Holly Woodlawn”, Jeff Copeland and AGFA staffer Jackson Cooper. Copeland lived in the same apartment building as the star of the film Holly Woodlawn and they became friends in the late 80s. The insights into the film come from Holly’s telling of the stories years after the fact. One special feature spends 11 minutes with producer Henry J. Alpert. He explained that the movie did not get good reviews from major critics. The only positive reviews came from underground papers and the marketing shifted to college campuses.

The release has a 1-hour bonus movie called “Gums”. The case only describes it as a “Jaws parody”, but it’s actually a porn parody. To be fair, it is soft-core and dedicated to awful jokes more than being sexy. The first two minutes had constant nudity and jokes that did not land, which surprised me because it is the same director as “Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers” which I thought was funny. “Gums” tells the story of someone or something in the water that gives blow jobs so well that the victim drowns rather than save himself. The film is filled with terrible innuendos: Sheriff Cocksman, the town of Great Head, etc. The parody of Quint, the shark hunter, is a Nazi parading around in an SS uniform. Also, his boat is the S.S. Cunnilingus. I will give the actors credit for committing to their roles.

The release also comes with a booklet featuring two essays. The first essay is by Jeff Copeland who appeared on the audio commentary. It is a pretty lengthy essay mainly focused on Holly Woodlawn and Tally Brown and their backgrounds. The second essay is by Caden Mark Gardner, co-author of “Corpses, Fools, and Monsters”. This essay is much shorter and focuses on describing the film itself and what a shame it is that Woodlawn did not reach the levels of stardom she deserved. The summation of the release is that the feature is a fun, wacky film with lots of interesting counter-culture characters. The bonus film is an unfunny slog, but mercifully short. The commentaries, essays, and interviews do a good job of filling in the viewer on the history around the late 60s/early 70s New York scene. This one is a recommend for the underground comedy in the main movie.