''Pretty Peaches'' is a 1978 American pornographic comedy film directed by

Alex de Renzy Alexander de Renzy (August 13, 1935 – June 8, 2001) was an American director and producer of pornographic movies. Born in New York City, de Renzy served in the United States Air Force as a Survival Instructor. Back in the United States, h ...

and released during the

Golden Age of Porn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MediaWiki_talk:Spam-whitelist/Archives/2018/01#Another_Worthy_Journal_Article_on_Wordpress ---> The term "Golden Age of Porn", or "porno chic", refers to a 15-year period (1969–1984) in commercial American porno ...

. The film stars

Desireé Cousteau Desireé Cousteau is the stage name of a pornographic actress who made films in the 1970s and 1980s. She is best known for her roles in the 1978 film ''Pretty Peaches'' and 1979's ''Inside Désirée Cousteau''. In 1993, she was inducted into the ...

as Peaches, described as "a daffy carefree female who cheerfully plunges through life without any worries." In the film, she has a car accident after attending the wedding of her father ( John Leslie) and is rendered unconscious. She is found by two men who take advantage of her, before offering to help her when it becomes apparent that she has

amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be caused temporarily by the use ...

. ''Pretty Peaches'' was likely influenced by

Terry Southern Terry Southern (May 1, 1924 – October 29, 1995) was an American novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and university lecturer, noted for his distinctive satirical style. Part of the Paris postwar literary movement in the 1950s and a companion to ...

and

Mason Hoffenberg Mason Kass Hoffenberg (December 1922 – 1 June 1986) was an American writer best known for having written the satiric novel ''Candy'' in collaboration with Terry Southern. Biography Hoffenberg was born in New York City into a wealthy Jewish ...

's ''

Candy Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language an ...

'', itself often perceived as a homage to

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...

's ''

Candide ( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, The ...

''. While the film features

sexual violence Sexual violence is any sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, act to traffic a person, or act directed against a person's sexuality, regardless of the relationship to the victim.World Health Organization., World re ...

, including

lesbian rape Rape by gender classifies types of rape by the sex and/or gender of both the rapist and the victim. This scope includes both rape and sexual assault more generally. Most research indicates that rape affects women disproportionately, with the majo ...

and a forced

enema An enema, also known as a clyster, is an injection of fluid into the lower bowel by way of the rectum.Cullingworth, ''A Manual of Nursing, Medical and Surgical'':155 The word enema can also refer to the liquid injected, as well as to a device ...

in a public rest-room a sequence that was excised from most video releases the film's tongue-in-cheek attitude keeps it up-beat. The Astronics/Telecine, Ltd. VHS release of the film is un-cut with the forced enema scene intact. Cousteau received the

Adult Film Association of America The Adult Film Association of America (AFAA) was the first American association of pornographic film producers. It fought against censorship laws, attempted to defend the industry against prosecution for obscenity, and held an annual adult film ...

Best Actress award in 1978 for her performance in the movie."Silver Spoonfuls: A Star Is Porn," ''High Society'' magazine, November 1979, pp. 8-9.Jules Griffon, "The Third Annual Erotica Awards", ''Adam Film World'', Vol. 7, No. 8, January 1980, pp. 24–27. The success of the film spawned two sequels, both directed by de Renzy: ''Pretty Peaches 2'' (1988) and ''Pretty Peaches and the Quest'' (1991) with Siobhan Hunter and Keisha in the title role of the 1988 and 1991 films, respectively.

References

External links

*
''Pretty Peaches'' movie trailer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pretty Peaches 1978 films 1970s pornographic films 1970s English-language films Films shot in San Francisco Films about rape American pornographic films American comedy films 1970s American films