Trailer Camp

 ((Trailer compilation))

By JOE LEYDON

An Artistic License Films production. Curated by Jenni Olson. In color, B&W. Reviewed at Toronto Film Festival, Sept. 13, 1995. (Also in Sundance Film Festival -- Midnight.) Running time: 71 min. Anatural for film festivals and specialized nontheatrical venues, "Trailer Camp" is a glib and genially slapdash compilation of movie trailers ranging from "The Lawless Breed" (1952) to "Pee Wee's Big Adventure" (1985). Archivist Jenni Olson (former co-director of the San Francisco Lesbian & Gay Film Festival) eschews narration, historical context and even strict chronological order. Rather, she simply offers one trailer after another -- many of them in strikingly poor condition -- and invites viewers to giggle at camp subtexts, both intended and accidental.
 

A little of this goes a long way, and Olson wisely keeps her compilation to under 75 minutes.

One lengthy segment comes off as a John Travolta career retrospective, with trailers for "Saturday Night Fever,""Stayin' Alive,""Grease,""Perfect" and the notorious "Moment by Moment." For sheer high-camp hilarity however, none of the Travolta bits can match the spectacularly silly trailers for "Sextette" (showcasing a near-immobile Mae West), "Can't Stop the Music" and the disco-themed "Thank God It's Friday.

"Trailer Camp" mixes obvious choices (Raquel Welch in "Kansas City Bomber," Faye Dunaway in "Mommie Dearest") with not-so-obvious ones (Pier Paolo Pasolini's "The Gospel According to St. Matthew," resplendent with critical hyperbole). There's also at least one genuine rarity: a trailer for "Chastity" ( 1969), an early (and not half-bad) attempt by Cher at straight dramatic acting.