Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death

The movie is much more entertaining if you leave the sound off and try and figure out what they are saying. You won't have to listen to Bill Maher.

I personally, find this movie so delightfully trashy as to be the epitomy of what "B" films are SUPPOSED to be about: implausible situations, done with the tongue firmly embedded in the cheek, tweeking the audience every chance they get.

If you enjoy B movies like Attack of the Killer Tomatoes or just like silly movies that don't take themselves seriously this is the movie for you. First, you have the two queens of B movies here: Shannon Tweed and Adrienne Barbeau. You name the B movie and chances are one of them is in it (it also has Karen Waldron who was in one of the Tomato sequels is in this as the overly vacuous Bunny). You also have a young, before-I-got-political Bill Maher. He's perfect as a stereotypical "man's man". The plot is ridiculously silly and they know it. IF you just need a no-brains-needed laugh, this is for you.

Truly ridiculous film from one time Full Moon Films Director/Writer J.F. Lawton who has gone on to write numerous more successful, and quite similar, films and series for cinema and television. This film is sometimes credited as launching star Bill Maher to comedy prime time though as the exploration guide to Dr. Margo Hunt (Shannon Tweed) and her assistant Bunny (Karen M. Waldron) he rarely shines in this watchable but mediocre movie. Tweed and co are sent in to the jungle to look for a scary man-eating tribe and to try and secure the future of Avocardos for the USA. There are direct parallels here with the current need for oil and in many ways, because of the current climate, the movie manages to become clever satire when this was probably never the intention. Several digs at the then growing women's movement are thrown in such as Maher's "She wants to eat me, see for yourself what the women's movement is all about" or the suggestion that no Feminist has advocated Feminism since the 1960s. These jokes aside however - and the obvious fact that the women are all 'sexy' and scantily clad - it is the women who are frequently shown to be smart and the men merely void of intelligence and only useful for the reproductive gene they hold. The Carl Dante music (a regular Full Moon composer at the time) is more than suitable and the film easily watchable, though perhaps only once.

You know, I can stand wretched performances from some actors, but Bill Maher is totally-unwatchable in this stink bomb. He isn't funny even for one moment, and you can't wait for him to die a painful death (in the film). Oh, the pain...the pain (in the immortal words of Dr. Smith of "Lost in Space" fame. I'm watching the Elvira, Mistress of the Dark version and she cannot appear often-enough. She's the sole reason to watch this piece of celluloid dreck. I know she hosts cinematic crud like this one, but jeez... Yes, I know it's supposed to be campy, but Maher is barely believable as a human being, much less an allegedly-chauvinistic whatever-he-is. This movie launched his comedy career, you say? Really? Who made that determination? I guess he does die in this thing, but I don't know if I'll make it that far. Even if he's supposed to be awful, he's so awful you can't believe how awful he is! Egad!

the opening sets the tone: a US Operative implores a feminist college professor to enter the wilds of the Avocado jungle and help reclaim it from the cannibalistic, radical, ancient feminist order of the Barracuda women. why? because the acquisition of avocados is imperative to national security. with a beginning like this, how much campier can it get? apparently, very. this movie also contains truly the worst fencing scene i have ever witnessed. Bill Maher makes an appearance as the hapless last hope for male superiority in the jungle, although he really only serves as a vehicle for the movie's laughable commentary on the war of the sexes. a gem of bad cinema. i highly recommend.

This movie was hysterical. This was the "perfect" find. As we watch over and over again films like Tommy Boy and Airplane!, we tend to think that perhaps that is all that there is to offer from comedy. Well, I am here to shout that you would be wrong. I suggest that everyone that takes the time to read this review should go out to the movie store and watch a film that always scared them. I do not mean a horror film, but I mean a movie that just made you say out loud, "I am never going to rent this film". Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death would have been my choice. Just by looking at the DVD cover art, this would not have been a film I would have wanted to jump up and down to see, but now after seeing it I have gained a new found appreciation for older comedies. The 80s were overburdened by "big-budget" comedies. Those that carried big named comedians, but there was also a few that slipped through the cracks. In 1989, this film was one of those. This was a very sharp minded film with a great cast and a flawless script. Now, don't get me wrong, this was no Vanilla Sky, but it did take a very heated topic at the time and create a comedy that didn't denounce the issues. This was, and will remain, a story about feminism. I asked Jen, my wife and feminist, if this film was ever shown in any of her graduate or undergraduate classes, and she replied ... sadly, "no". It should have been. This film demonstrates what feminists are striving for in the form of film. I loved this film, and so did my wife. I suggest this to anyone out there that is looking for that perfect "campy" movie that will make you laugh, never use your mind, and create a strong point for feminism!! Grade: ***** out of *****

There's nothing redeemable about this. Stupidly pretentious whilst still managing to be dumb as a bag of rocks. Badly acted, weird sound, totally unfunny. There's a fun concept inside this somewhere but the inept script and amateurish delivery kill any fun. Save yourself the time.

This movie is very campy and knows it. It tries to make fun of feminists and chauvinists at the same time, and does so quite well. It is very (very) light entertainment. Bill Maher plays a light-hearted chauvinist who teaches a tribe of sensitive men all about beer and corvettes. Seeing Bill Maher in purple bikini underwear before being put into a pot to stew, and having him discover a carrot in the pot and uttering the words "What's up Doc" is very worth the viewing experience..