IS THAT A GUN IN YOUR POCKET?...


An up to date version of the anti-war classic “Lysistrata” by Aristophanes features an anti-gun campaign in a Texas town. In the social action comedy written and directed by Matt Cooper women who want their men to stop going bang bang with their guns unite to stop banging them in bed. It is a nice idea, often quite funny, but the film is serious about its message.

The film is rife with complications. It becomes difficult for the women, especially the hornier ones, to carry through with their sex strike until the men agree to give up their weapons. The situation is touched off when a boy takes a gun he finds at home to school and accidentally wounds a victim. The film immediately becomes topical in light of real school shootings.

The boy’s mother, Jenna, played with increasing verve by Andrea Anders, organizes opposition to guns, and the campaign begins to take hold. The problem is keeping the women together on the pledge. The macho men, who cling to their gun rights, have trouble with abstinence and concoct a plot to bring a truckload of prostitutes into town.

Much is funny, including Cloris Leachman as a horny oldster who abounds with salty, no-holds-barred, explicit remarks. The writer-director milks the situation for comedy, but all the while keeps an eye on the anti-gun message, one to which the National Rifle Association is not likely to take kindly.

There is a point of partial copout, but the overall aim of the film is upheld as the women make their point. This is a film that both entertains and espouses, and it is a welcome adaptation for our gun-ridden times. An Area23a release. Reviewed September 17, 2016.




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