Back again and it's a first for the blog - a non-roughie hardcore film. So quit complaining and get that bloody raincoat on, we're taking a look at Gail Palmer's third feature, Candy Goes to Hollywood.

Starring: Carol Connors, John Leslie, Wendy O. Williams, Rhonda Jo Petty, Desireé Cousteau and Turk Lyon.

It might be more interesting to watch Candy Goes to Hollywood now more than ever, especially with the aftermath of the #metoo movement in mind. There are hints and minor implications of persons being, or potentially being, taken advantage of, but the film doesn't take the stance of condemnation towards Hollywood creeps, the seedy underbelly, or the abuse of power so prevalent within the industry, nor does it thankfully glamourise or celebrate it. It would also be difficult to accuse the film of sitting on the proverbial fence on the issue either.

Instead, Candy Goes to Hollywood goes the route of being a lighthearted spoof; a lampoon, about an individual chasing their Hollywood dream and chronicling their encounters with various members of the movie industry. It even opens with its own parody of the iconic MGM studio logo! It pokes a little fun at showbiz and what might happen on casting couches and behind closed doors. I'm keeping this objective as there are those who go to Hollywood because they seek fame and fortune, who know the game and how to play it in order to reach a goal of international stardom, sadly there are those who chase their dreams and fall into the abusive clutches of opportunistic, monstrous industry moguls.

While there is a case to argue that the character of Candy is taken advantage of, she's never portrayed as distressed or in a situation where she is unhappy, alarmed, or scared and given that Gail Palmer started out making movies with a film that has a kidnap and rape-centric plot (Hot Summer in the City), I feel that if she ever wanted to make that statement, or put the character of Candy in a scenario like that it would be more than obvious, and for that reason, I'd argue that Candy Goes to Hollywood is a entirely guilt-free experience.



The movie kind of follows on from the previous Erotic Adventures of Candy (1978) with our ditzy heroine Candy (Carol Connors - Thora Birch's mum for the trivia lovers and those who may not be in the know!) arriving in Hollywood looking to get a foothold on the first rung of the showbiz ladder.
The opening sequence with Candy getting off the bus and strutting her stuff down Hollywood Boulevard, accompanied by her own theme song; a tongue-in-cheek take ditty set to the rhythm of the Bee Gees' classic Stayin' Alive. It's a wonderful sequence that playfully dips its cap to the opening of Allan Arkush and Joe Dante's Hollywood Boulevard (1976) with Candy Wednesday (Candice Rialson) walking down Hollywood Boulevard after arriving in the City of Angels to chase her dream of becoming an actor.

For those hankering for a bit more movie trivia, during the opening there's an extremely brief shot of the adult movie theatre, The Cave, with a marquee advertising Gail Palmer's notorious first feature, Hot Summer in the City (1976).

Whilst walking down Hollywood Boulevard, suitcase in hand, she's spyed by the conniving Johnny Dooropener (John Leslie); a charming, but exploitive bullshit artist and phoney talent scout, who quickly offers to manage her. So starts Candy's sordid trip towards Hollywood stardom, shown through a series of fairly hilarious sexual encounters with various "members" of the industry.

Plasmatic punker Wendy O. Williams drops in for a brief performance for a riotous scene that's one of many humorous takes on established real-life shows/persons. Wendy appears on "The Dong Show" a crudely named parody of the amateur talent show "The Gong Show", where she fires several pingpong balls out of her snatch whilst presenter Chuck Bareass (Richard Pachecho, credited as Howie Gordon) attempts to catch the cooze-balls in his mouth. "Chuck Bareass" being yet another parody of real-life presenter of The Gong Show, Chuck Barris.



Candy Goes To Hollywood is super easy to jump into and have a good time with. Production-wise it's an enormous step-up from Gail Palmer's previous work and honestly it's leaps and bounds ahead of Hot Summer in the City. It also doesn't suffer from any of the sly, devious, or outright nefarious sexual set-ups that other hardcore movies from the Golden Age utilise. The camera work is still a tad rudimentary; it lacks technical brilliance, but the sets are spectacular. Two immediate standouts would be the gameshow sequence and the Hollywood orgy/party finale, the gameshow is cartoonish, but believable and the latter is sumptuous and decadent.

Carol Connors exudes genuine charm and brings such a likability to the character of Candy; a total babe who's apparently sexually-inexhaustible and always up for any action that comes her way.
John Leslie seems to effortlessly slip into the role of Johnny Dooropener, a spurious character who perspires sleaze and has a business card for any con game or angle he's trying to play.
If Rhonda Jo Petty was given a larger role she may very well have stolen the show here. She even gets a personalised credit during the opening that reads "the winner of Gail Palmer's Farrah Fawcett look alike contest", her character, Sarah Dawcett, may only receive a limited amount of screen time, but she is absolutely unforgettable; stunning, a knockout golden girl.



There's a lot of fun to be had with Candy. It's worth checking out and one doesn't really need to see the previous movie, Erotic Adventures of Candy, to get the most out of this one. If you're feeling adventurous, or want a night of sleaze free from moral dilemmas the two Candy movies make a perfect pairing for a back-to-back hardcore double feature.