Big Bosoms and Square Jaws: The Biography of Russ Meyer, King of the Sex Film
by: McDonough, Jimmy

Hardcover. New York, Crown, 1st, 2005, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 463 pages, b&w photos. In a bright, unclipped dust jacket. 16 pages of b&w photos. McDonough persuasively argues that Russ Meyer, creator of such epic films as Super Vixens and Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! is the father of the modern porn industry, a pop cultural icon in his own right, and something of an auteur who may be appreciated more by film historians of the future than he is now. Meyer achieved technical excellence in low-to- no-budget productions that reveal his "oddly passionate vision of the world," says McDonough. In so doing, Meyer was "a pioneer who represents what's most seductive and what's most repulsive about the USA." McDonough proceeds to compare Meyer to, among others, Elvis (seductive and repulsive, after all) and incorporates vivid, well-referenced anecdotes and observations from Meyer's friends, associates, and stars, including most notably, perhaps, movie critic Roger Ebert (co-conspirator for Meyer's crowning achievement, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls) and porn-parodist director John Waters. Four Meyer movies have been among Variety's 100 all- time top grossers.