This week we travel back in time thirty five years to 1983. What kind of year was it and how much do you remember? The 80’s were quite a decade that would go a long way in shaping the future of the world we live in today.
As always we’ll begin with the cost of living. The average yearly income was $22,000 while the cost of a new 3 bedroom home averaged $89,000. You could buy a Ford Mustang for $6,600, but a gallon of gas had now climbed up to a ridulous $1.24. As for other prices, a dozen eggs were 86 cents and a gallon of milk $1.75. You could buy a Sony Walkman for $229 and an RCA VCR player for $399, while an Atari 5200 game was $200. A pair of men’s leather shoes was less than $40. In news headlines in the U.S. and elsewhere in 1983, Ronald Reagan was President as unemployment in the U.S. rises to 12 million, the highest since 1941. The UK is the first country to make automobile seat belts mandatory. Terrorists bomb the US Embassy in Beirut killing 239 Marines and Sailors. The Supreme Court reaffirms its 1973 (Roe Vs Wade) right to abortion. President Reagan orders the invasion of Grenada. Hurricane Alicia hits the Texas coast, killing 22, while a 5.2 earthquake hits Central New York. The first mobile phones are introduced by Motorola and Microsoft Word makes its debut. Peoples Express is a new “no frills” airline to compete with the big name airlines. The Cabbage Patch doll craze gets bigger. Sally Ride becomes the first woman astronaut as part of the crew on the Space Shuttle Challenger.
In entertainment some of the year’s top movies included Tootsie, Flashdance, Trading Places, Superman III and National Lampoon’s Vacation. Pop music’s hit makers included The Police, Black Sabbath, Johnny, Cash, David Bowie and Pink Floyd. When it came to TV, Simon & Simon, Dynasty, Cagney and Lacy, Dallas and The Love Boat were among the big hit shows. Also the final episode of M*A*S*H airs with 125 million viewers tuned in. Among the celebrities we lost in 1983 were famed football coach Bear Bryant, TV host/entertainer Arthur Godfrey, singer Karen Carpenter, actress Gloria Swanson, actor David Niven and former heavyweight boxing champ Jack Dempsey.
In the world of porn, the switch from east coast to west coast continued to expand.. New technological advances and the coming of video will make porn a completely different industry. 1983 also brought out some top notch porn films like the one we take a look back at today, “Suzi Superstar”.
“Suzie Superstar” – Cal Vista – Director – Robert McCallum – Cast – Mai Lin, Sharon Mitchell, Joey Silvera, Ron Jeremy, John Leslie, Tara Aire, Shauna Grant, Jon Martin, Laurie Smith, Aaron Stuart, Laura Lazare, Ken Scudder, Gail Sterling, Ross Roberts
Over the years McCallum gave porn fans some very memorable films that had a plot, story, good acting, plenty of sex and solid production values. With this release McCallum went in a little different direction with a musical adaptation that is campy, corny, but really good and a true classic. It also shows off, to great advantage, the talents of the late Shauna Grant who left this world way too early.
The story revolves around Suzi (Shauna Grant) and her band being basically treated like crap by their agent played to perfection with both charm and as a total a-hole by John Leslie. They want to get away from him and find their way to stardom without him. It turns out that Leslie is having an affair with a mob boss’s daughter. With this knowledge Suzi and her band mates hatch a plan to get rid of Leslie in more ways than one. There are a lot of twists and turns in this well written story to keep your interest level high along with seven sex scenes to spice up the proceedings. The first sex scene has Ron Jeremy as a chauffeur taking on two chicks in the car as payment for letting them get backstage at a Suzi concert. In this film the sex scenes all play a part in the plot of this story, not just add ons because it is a porn flick. McCallum makes sure these steamy scenes play into the story and what happens with Leslie, Suzi and the rest of the characters.
Overall, the acting is very strong and believable even in this campy style. The music is not bad, all things considered, although Sharon Mitchell as a country singer? The production values are above average and the views from the camera’s eye gives you some great visuals, colors, shadings and feel for the story as it moves along. The sex scenes offer up a decent variety with some very explosive moments. As for the acting, Ms. Grant had so much potential it is a shame her personal life led to her ending her young life that still had so much to give. Leslie, Joey Silvera and Ron Jeremy have always been among the best male actors in porn and made their characters very real, believable and truly come to life. The rest of the cast added a lot with some solid acting chops and bring both humor and drama to the story in just the right doses.
The DVD has some good extras added and the entire film holds up well after all these years. I absolutely recommend checking out a forgotten classic from 1983, “Suzi Superstar”.
Art Koch, National Features & DVD Editor, NightMoves Magazine and AAN
