Eating Raoul (1982)

Directed by Paul Bartel. Starring Paul Bartel, Mary Woronov, Robert Beltran, Susan Saiger, Buck Henry, Richard Paul, John Shearin, Ed Begley Jr., Edie McClurg. [R]

Clever but laboriously mannered black comedy requires twisted logic to explain how unlikely married couple Bartel and Woronov get the bright idea to lure sex-crazed swingers to their apartment before killing and robbing them…and don’t ask what philandering crook acquaintance Raoul (Beltran) does with the bodies. The social trends and attitudes are almost too “of the time” for audiences to relate to now, and the shock value has certainly faded, but it’s the self-congratulatory tone and rampant hostility that eventually take on an air of rancid repetition. Contains enough laughs of both the deadpan and outrageous variety to make for an okay viewing for those interested in cult cannibal comedies, but even as an ironic commentary on the American dream, it’s too crude and spotty to come close to a bullseye. The two leads reprised their roles for a cameo in-joke in Jim Wynorski’s Chopping Mall.

51/100