Big Bosoms and Square Jaws The Biography of Russ Meyer, King of the Sex Film

McDonough's biography of Neil Young, Shakey, was hailed as 'one of the most penetrative studies of a rock icon ever written'. McDonough now turns his attention to another cultural icon, the pioneering independent filmmaker, Russ Meyer, creator of such legendary movies as Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. Russ Meyer has influenced a legion of filmmakers from John Waters to Quentin Tarantino. His formula: 'Big bosoms and square jaws'. Meyer's 'buxotics' are voracious superwomen sporting tiny waists, long legs and most importantly, 'protuberant balconies'. Meyer's men are either impotent weaklings or hulking psychopaths. Dames who demand satisfaction and men who are frequently unable - or unwilling - to comply. 'Women are in charge, men are the klutzes,' says Meyer. This is a story of greed, lust and the American way, full of dirty old men, demented strippers, religious zealots, film nerds, weird war vets, vicious lawyers, snot-nosed punks and the occasional normal person. Imagine Dino, with mammaries. It is a history of a scene and a culture that no longer exists: a wide-open country where the dice roll and strange dreams come true. Ultimately, it is the story of one man's very crazy vision, the way it changed the American landscape forever, and, in the end, how it consumed its maker. Fiendishly well researched, anecdote-laden and action-packed, Big Bosoms and Square Jaws will thrill film fans and appeal to anyone who likes a good yarn with plenty of sex, booze and rock n'roll.