Film Review Can Amanda Seyfried do Linda Lovelace justice? Martha Hegarty aims to find out. “Controversial” is the minimum of what we can expect from Lovelace, the story of porn star Linda Lovelace whose debut film, Deep Throat, generated $600m since its release in 1972, and is considered an iconic moment in the history of porn. While she was only officially a porn star for 17 days, Lovelace remains a vanguard not only of the celebrity status of adult movie acting, but also of “porno chic”.
Contrastingly, Deep Throat itself is a porno steeped in feminism, with genuine humour and a fleshed-out storyline about a woman searching for something “more than a lot of little tingles.” However, it is unclear whether it is a true celebration of female sexuality and equality – seen most notably in the scene where Linda describes
Lovelace presents us with Linda Lovelace (Amanda Seyfried), a small-town girl who is repressed by her controlling mother (Sharon Stone) until she is liberated by her husband-to-be, Chuck Traynor (Peter Sarsgaard). Chuck soon introduces Linda and her emerging talents to the porn industry, where, in a lush panorama of mustard wallpaper and coloured neon, the film’s visuals veer between a Tumblr search of 70s suburbia and the tinted bleakness of Ghost World.
GTL now stands for Gym, Tan and Langers thanks to the release of Corcaigh Shore - Elaine Murphy reviews the latest offering from the rebel county First there was Jersey Shore, where we innocent Corkonians were taught about “GTL”. Soon followed the effervescent Geordie Shore, which made terms such as “gazzed”, “getting mortal” and “tashin’on” part of everyday vocabulary. The Irish continued the trend with Tallafornia where the Dubs made us extremely proud by introducing the world to our scoring rooms. Now the rebel county has now sliced and diced all of these shows with this summer’s internet hit, Corcaigh Shore.
The film seeks to condemn singular views of pornography and its participants: the reduction of women to stereotypical sexual entertainers. The constant undermining of women supports this, as does the scene where Linda is gang raped by six men, before being requested by a policeman for an autograph.
To conclude: Lovelace is too thrown together to provide an accurate portrait of porno chic in the decade that taste forgot. It is an odd and often fractured account that either resolves to revel in ambiguity by not finding its definitive feet, or is simply unable to grasp an authoritative-enough tone.
Lovelace’s allegations of forced prostitution, domestic violence and gunpoint threats come to
Shoring Up
Linda herself is also oddly blurred in character as it is unclear whether she is as naïve as the Bambi she appears to be or whether it is a front for conniving power play. At first reluctant to do anything beyond a kiss on the cheek, she reveals her young pregnancy and forced adoption before exhibiting to her husband-to-be just how experienced and willing she is.
Despite this, the ending seems just a little too saccharine, with the concluding note jarring a little too forcefully with the winding trauma which appears previously. While the end credits tell us that Linda “spoke out against pornography and domestic violence for twenty years,” this seemingly positive and cohesive conclusion can be undercut with a single Google search on her Deep Throat promotional work which continued until the 90s.
Initially, it’s hard to see through the tropes into which the characters are so strongly sealed: good suburban girl turned bad, out-dated suppressive mother, sleazy older man. Then, unexpectedly, the crescendo of rags-to-bitches glamour swerves off into a lurid first person depiction of Linda’s account of her years of marriage and movies.
TV Review
her self-discovery like an opening flower – or the usurping of a girl’s sex appeal is by a mob of sleazy men to the extent that she later described Deep Throat as “getting raped.”
are definitely had. The lads show how their ordinary day in Cork is spent by diving into the Lough while the girls take the classier route and work on their tans for the day while visiting some of Cork’s fine scenery. Some viewers may find that the show lacks a spark seen in the likes of Geordie Shore, it does capture the essence of a night out in the rebel city . Like real Corkonians, it takes one to two hours to fully prepare for the night out ahead, followed by a massive meal in the infamous Captain America’s complete with a “shneaky naggin’” under the table. The rest of the night progresses in typical Cork fashion, getting langers, getting the shift and taking a dip in the elusive fountain. While it may not be the most original of ideas one
can’t doubt the tribalism at play here, sure it’s just some lads acting the maggot on a night out but look! They’re getting drunk outside of Hillbilly’s for god’s sake. The video itself has been a massive success with over 200,000 views since its release on the 28th of July this summer and it may be a bit cringe worthy at times, we can at least appreciate the effort that its creator, Stephen Randles has put into it. So while we all may not be “eating naggin’s for breakfast” just yet, Motley is definitely looking forward to the cast’s future endeavours in getting “mouldy”.
While some people have deemed the show trashy they’ve obviously skipped past the start that states that it’s a mockumentary. Ultimately, the show was recorded for the craic, and this is easy to see from the get go. The show is an overstated version of a typical day in Cork city, starring Cian, Jeff, Dave, Ben, Megan, Fiona and Rachel. Certain highlights of the show include the lad’s one-liners such as getting “dossed” and “eating naggin’s for breakfast” , which will no doubt be used by many Corkonians to reference every Tuesday and Thursday night from now on. While the show lacks authenticity due to its mockumentary style, the “lolz” and the “bants”
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Arts & Culture
A Look of Love
light in this clever subversion of a conventionally neat arc-like plot by the use of flashbacks to the ‘reality’ of previous scenes. Linda’s sly response to her increasingly pimp-like husband, which once appeared an assertive declaration of independence, is revisited to show the true marital tensions and violent repercussions which underpin the couple’s every public appearance, both to the characters and to us, the viewers.