Elvira, Mistress of the Dark

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark is not a good movie.  SY has fond memories of it from her childhood, and I suspect that when she watched this movie last night, a little part of the truth behind her childhood's inncence was destroyed -- like when you find out you cat had another family on the other side of town.

Of course, Elvira does offer something to the conversation about feminism and Girl Power.  Or perhaps, I should say Grrrrl Pwer.  In 1988, the concept of feminism hovered somewhere between Gloria Allred, Diane Chambers, and Morganna the Kissing Bandit (all of whom I have met, BTW).  Elvira shows up as a bosomy, smart-mouthed-if-a-tad-dumb, independent woman that hosts terrible monster movies on late night TV (a domain that heretofore was reserved for middle-aged male virgins and old men that played zombie #3 in an Ed Wood film thirty years before).

I remember, as an 8 year-old, Elvira popping up on beer commericals around Halloween.  In fact, at certain (shall we say "special"?) sundry locations in this country, full-body Elvira cardboard stand-ups hocking Coors Light are propped up from September to November.  Elvira is so much a part of this country's culture that most people can recognize her -- at least most people born before like 1987.

Elvira is Cassandra Peterson in drag.  Peterson is a lovely, red-haired, not-quite-as-bosomy actress who has been playing the same role for close to thirty years now.  Not sure if she was the first, or the most famous to do so, but Peterson through Elvira helped to define feminism in today's society.  Whereas before this particular epoch in American culture, feminism was a movement that was meant to bring women to an symbiotic equality as men, around the mid-to-late 80's, feminism started a transformation to a movement that embraced female empowerment through a woman's differences with men.  Sexuality, attitude, a "woman's way"of cunning and instincts were celebrated as a virtue and a tool to help a woman succeed in a man's world.

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, through its boob jokes and terrible, terrible acting and writing, promotes this sense of female empowerment.  And, what's more, through the boob jokes and terrible, terrible acting and writing, it keeps the viewer engaged.  All the way up to the song and dance number at the end that includes an Elvira rap (you heard me).  The story is a pretty standard big, weird fish in a small, conservative pond (think To Wong Foo, only the drag queen is really a woman), and it feature Edie McClurg, and the guy from Dark Tower (? I don't know, I never saw it, but SY informed me), and a big dumb hunk named Bob who is treated like a piece of meat, in the same way that the blond cheerleader in Revenge of the Nerds is treated like a piece of meat.

Bob is actually the character in the film that fully demonstrates Elvira's desire to turn the tables on misogynistic society.  The character of Bob could have been written as some sort of total-package type -- smart, attractive, a problem-solver, wealthy-- but, instead, he is a tall, dark, handsome dummy with a hairy chest: proof that men can be objectified just as easily as and perhaps more justifiably than women.

Again, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark is a bad movie -- entertaining, but bad.  however, it's one of those few things in life that has a cultural significance that outweighs its value as a stand-alone entity -- like Katie Holmes.  I'd say there are many ways that I could see renting, watching, and enjoying this movie: a cheesy Halloween party, one of those B-movie nights at the local cineplex where everyone throws popcorn at the screen, alone when the kid and wife are out of town and I'm under the blankets. (TMI?)