''Rented Lips'' is a 1988 satire comedy film directed by Robert Downey Sr., and starring his son

Robert Downey Jr. Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor and producer. His career has been characterized by critical and popular success in his youth, followed by a period of substance abuse and legal troubles, before a resurgence of ...

, as well as

Martin Mull Martin Eugene Mull (born August 18, 1943) is an American actor, comedian and musician who has appeared in many television and film roles. He is also a painter and recording artist. As an actor, he first became known in his role on '' Mary Hartman ...

Dick Shawn Dick Shawn (born Richard Schulefand, December 1, 1923 – April 17, 1987) was an American actor and comedian. He played a wide variety of supporting roles and was a prolific character actor. During the 1960s, he played small roles in madcap comed ...

, and

Jennifer Tilly Jennifer Tilly (born Jennifer Ellen Chan; September 16, 1958) is an American–Canadian actress and poker player. Known for her distinctive voice and comedic timing, she has been nominated for an Academy Award, two MTV Movie Awards and three Sa ...

. It was the final film appearance of Shawn, who died in 1987.

Plot

Archie is a documentary filmmaker who works alongside his best friend and cinematographer Charlie on films such as ''Aluminum, Our Shiny Friend''. He still lives at home with his mother, who is frustrated at Archie's single minded focus on filmmaking, as she would rather he go out and meet a nice woman. The two friends are given the chance to create their passion project, a musical on Indian farming techniques if they complete a film for an executive, who will allow them to use the same cast and crew. When they arrive on set they discover that the film is actually a porno with a terrible script set during World War II. The two decide to continue on and improve the script, which they turn into a musical

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...

. Various issues pop up on and off set, which includes an eccentric actor named Wolf and threats to the film executive from an extreme religious organization. Archie's mother sets him up on a blind date with Mona Lisa, who is delighted to learn that he is a director. Swayed by her looks and enthusiasm, Mona Lisa is added to the cast but is given no adult scenes. This frustrates Wolf, who tries to incorporate sex scenes from the original script, only to be rebuffed by Mona Lisa. Just as filming is going well, the leader of the religious organization, Rev. Farrell, arrives on set with several of his followers with the intention to set everything on fire. He stops when he sees Mona Lisa, who is revealed to be his daughter. This all proves to be too much for Archie, who storms off the set. Archie ultimately changes his mind and decides to complete both films. He also learns that Rev. Farrell made pornography himself and was responsible for writing the original script, which Archie uses as blackmail. Ultimately Archie completes both films and achieves professional success. The film then cuts to a scene of Archie waking up, as he had been sleeping on his typewriter. He then continues to write, after which the scenes of professional success continue, leaving it up to the viewer to determine whether the events really happened or was only a script he was writing.

Cast

as Archie Powell *

as Charlie Slater *

as Mona Lisa *

as Wolf Dangler *

Kenneth Mars Kenneth Mars (April 4, 1935 – February 12, 2011) was an American actor. He appeared in two Mel Brooks films: as the deranged Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind in '' The Producers'' (1967) and Police Inspector Hans Wilhelm Friedrich Kemp in ''Youn ...

as Rev. Farrell *

June Lockhart June Lockhart (born June 25, 1925) is an American actress, beginning a film career in 1930s & 1940s in such films at ''A Christmas Carol'' and '' Meet Me in St. Louis''. She primarily acted in 1950s and 1960s television, and with performances on ...

as Archie's Mother

Release

''Rented Lips'' was released theatrically during July 1988. It was released to home video in September of the same year.

Reception

Critical reception for ''Rented Lips'' was negative upon its release. Reviewers for ''The Calgary Herald'' and ''

Des Moines Register ''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa. History Early period The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cabin by the junctio ...

'' both panned the film, the former stating that it was a movie "destined for the list of the worst movies ever made." The ''

Daily Times-Advocate The ''Daily Times-Advocate'', also called the ''Escondido Times-Advocate'', was a daily newspaper published in Escondido, California. It was founded in 1909 and ceased publication as a separate title in 1995. History ''The Daily Times-Advocate'' ...

'' was similarly critical, writing "I can't recall ever seeing a movie so unprofessionally written and executed or so embarrassingly played. It's shabby."

References

External links

*
''Rented Lips'' – LA Times Review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rented Lips 1988 films 1988 comedy films Films directed by Robert Downey Sr. American comedy films Films scored by Van Dyke Parks 1980s English-language films 1980s American films