The film version of Gore Vidal’s Hollywood-themed transsexual satire starts off promisingly, but after a couple of reels plunges straight downhill under the weight of artless direction.
As a lecherous female agent, Mae West after an absence from the screen of over 26 years provides some funny moments though her part is very short. John Huston, as drama school promoter Buck Loner, is good, while title-roled Raquel Welch # like the film, good at the beginning # has been let down as story progresses to the point where she alone must (but cannot) keep it going.
With David Giler, director Michael Sarne adapted Vidal’s novel in such a way as to (1) create some expository interest, (2) abandon the players to carry the ball, and (3) hype the pacing by clip inserts, motivated and otherwise, as unreal and artificial as silicone injections.
