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Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
Released on: February 27th, 2018.
Director: Bernard Morris
Cast: Constance Money, John Leslie, Sharon Thorpe, Jon Martin, Ken Scudder, Rene Bond, Angela Haze
Year: 1977
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The Movie:
The only known directing credit for one 'Bernard Morris,' 1997's Mary! Mary! introduces us to Ned (John Leslie) and Mary (Constance Money), a recently married couple who have run into issues with their love life in that Ned just doesn't have the stamina he needs to satisfy his bride. After fooling around in the pool and once again letting her down, they talk about it a bit - at which point he mutters that he'd sell his soul for the ability to make his wife happy. Before you know it, some ominous music plays and we see a silhouette of a man doing martial arts atop what looks like a hot tub! This man is 'The Arranger' and he gives Ned a potion that basically works as Viagra, except to a more extreme degree. They give the potion a test drive - and it works! This inspires them to plan a swinger's party in a few days' time, where they'll have their guests ingest the potion and have a grand old time.
Now perpetually hard as a rock, Ned goes to work and fools around with his secretary Bonnie (Sandy Pinney), after which he catches up with his friend Hank (Jon Martin) before then going to visit Bonnie's sister Kate (Angela Haze) for yet more fun. Elsewhere, Mary is enjoying the potion's effects as well, by fooling around with shop girl Jane (Sharon Thorpe) and then coercing her gay boss Charles (Peter Johns) into a three-way. As Ned and Mary prepare for the upcoming party, complete with a dong-shaped cake, Jon travels with Bonnie and Kate only to get into a high-speed car chase with some cops (Ken Scudder and Rene Bond)! Eventually everyone makes it to the party, but of course, The Arranger hasn't forgotten about his agreement with Ned…
Mary! Mary! looks great. It's a really nicely shot film with very strong production values and a nice score that enhances the film's sex appeal as well as its more comedic elements. The cinematography is slick and professional looking and the lighting is very good. There's some genuinely inspired creativity on display here in terms of the shot setups and angels used and the movie scores full points in this department. It's a shame that the story can't quite match it. It's not that Morris' tale of a Faustian bargain gone awry is dull, it's just that it isn't particularly deep or original. The car chase scene is also impressive, rivaling a lot of what we'd see in mainstream films of the era. There are elements that attempt to make things stand out - The Arranger's penchant for martial arts posing being an obvious call out - but it isn't quite enough.
On the flip side of that coin, well, this is an adult film and as such, it's got some sex scenes in it, right? Right! And those scenes are well done. Again, the camerawork and lighting is good, the locations are nice and everything is playful and colorful and just generally well done. Constance Money is the real star of the show here, the camera loves her and she gets a lot of screen time. That alone is reason enough for some to want to check this out. Leslie is good here too, with supporting work from Sharon Thorpe, Angela Haze and Sandy Pinney all noteworthy enough. It's also fun to see Rene Bond here, though she's underused. Scudder and Martin round out the rest of the male cast quite well. The acting here is all solid.
Had there been more done to make the story stand out, this would probably be better known and better regarded. As it stands, Mary! Mary is well done and quite worth seeing, but it stops short of becoming the classic that it had the potential to be.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Mary! Mary! debuts on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome in an AVC encoded 1080p high definition transfer framed at 1.85.1 widescreen. Taken from a 2k restoration of the original 35mm negative, the picture quality here is really strong. Detail is great throughout and the image is very clean showing almost no noticeable print damage at all. Grain appears naturally, as it should, while color reproduction seems nice and natural without ever appearing boosted or oversaturated. This is a nicely colorful film and that really comes through in this presentation. Black levels are nice and deep but thankfully avoid crush. Skin tones look lifelike and accurate throughout, no one looks too pink or too orange. There are no noticeable issues with compression artifacts or edge enhancement to note either. Top marks all around in the transfer department for this one!
The only audio option on the disc is an English language DTS-HD Mono track. No problems here aside from a tiny bit of sibilance in a few spots. The single channel track is clean, clear and nicely balanced and the score sounds pretty good too. Optional subtitles are provided in English, available by selecting them using your remote rather than off of the main menu screen.
Extras on the disc are limited to a theatrical trailer, menus and chapter selection though the film does come packaged with some reversible cover art.
The Final Word:
Vinegar Syndrome's Blu-ray release of Mary! Mary! might come up short in the extras department but it looks and sounds quite nice and the movie itself is solid. It's not as deep or engaging on a storytelling level as it could or maybe should have been, but the cast all bring their A-game and, maybe more importantly than anything else, Constance Money gets a lot of screen time here. Recommended!
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
