Woody's Dirty Comedy.. for Teenagers?
This rather weird "early Woody" was made as somewhat of a dare: how could he make a movie out of a bestselling NON-FICTION 1969 sex guide that was rather passe by the time the movie came out?
The answer: used assorted chapter headings ("What happens during ejaculation?") as set-ups for comedy skits.
The movie is somewhat of a precursor to "Tunnelvision," "Kentucky Fried Movie" and especially "Amazon Women on the Moon," which shares Lou Jacobi and a taste for spoofing bad fifties SciFi.
Though the film has its share of "adult wit" ("Hurry. Soon it will be the Renaissance, and we'll all be painting,") the fact of the matter is that this movie was targeted rather perfectly at the teenagers of the early seventies, kids who were sneaking off to the drive-in to see their first "R"-rated movies, and hence would behold with wonder Allen's funny takes on sodomy (with a sheep), cross-dressing (by a moustacheod Jacobi), perversion ("What's My Perversion"?), female orgasms (best brought about in public), and the grand work effort involved by every part of the human body in sexual intercourse.
And come on, teenagers LOVE lines like:
"This is a very clever tit...usually, they travel in pairs..."
"Beaver shooting"
A sperm's worry: "What if he's masturbating and I just end up splattered on the ceiling?"
"Everything...Sex" looks rather crude coming before the "Great Funny Woody's" about to follow ("Sleeper", "Love and Death") but it has the great power of its own crudity, and pretty much can't be shown on television, which tells you something right there. (Regis Philbin's guesses as to a man's "What's My Perversion" traits are downright offensive today -- "Are you a rapist?"(no) "Are you a child molester?" (No). But then, this was 1972. Anything goes.
Personally, I love his Woody's early jester musings:
Woody: TB or not TB? That is the congestion. Consumption be done about it?
And the guard's mumbled rejoinder: "Jesus..."
Also, the entire "human body stations during intercourse" routine at the end is a mini-classic, with "Fantastic Voyage" and every battle movie ever made as its template. I love the German scientist offering a tired Tony Randall a cigarette as Randall says: "What do you think, intercourse tonight?" and, when the mission is a "go," how the entire body goes into action like a fine-tuned factory, or army, or government body...with Burt Reynolds seriously around the edges being funny just BEING there pulling switches and delivering lines (I mean, if young Burt Reynolds can't get this body laid, who CAN?).
Not quite great Woody, but absolutely required back then if you could sneak out at age 15....