This film manages to do a rare thing; we get treated to some great sex scenes, and the story surrounding the sex actually verges on intelligent! Director Stephen Sayadian's art house erotica may struggle to find an audience; art house fans will probably find it too trashy, while porn fans may find it too arty; but for anyone who likes something a bit different; Cafe Flesh is a definite must see. The film's back-story focuses on a nuclear war that has had a bizarre effect on the surviving citizens. The remaining population has been split into two halves; the sex negatives who become nauseous if they engage in sex, and the sex positives; who remain normal. We focus on Cafe Flesh; a club where sex negatives go to watch the sex positives perform various sex acts on stage. We follow a small group of sex negatives inside the club. The club has been elevated by the news of the forthcoming arrival of the famous sex positive Johnny Rico, while one of the negatives begins to question her status as her and her boyfriend grow further apart from one another.The thing I liked about this film most is undoubtedly the atmosphere; director Stephen Sayadian takes care to ensure that the club's atmosphere is as seedy as possible, and while helping the sex scenes; it also helps the film to enforce the dismal vision of the future. The sex scenes themselves are all staged and very diverse, which ensures the film doesn't get lost under too many samey sex scenes. The music used during these scenes is a real highlight and arguably even makes the film. The film doesn't really seem to have a particular point to make; and while the sex scenes are just the acts on stage, I do think that they are the main point of the film. The storyline between some of the main characters is decent, however, and the film does actually make the audience care about what happens. The ending does seem to be rather rushed, however, and really reinforces that the film doesn't have a particular point to make. However, this film is still undoubtedly one of the best porn films out there and it's definitely worth a look. Recommended.

Well, I Continue My Turn On Classic Porn Gems Of The 80s, and I Come Along With This Post Nuclear War Tale Of Erotica and Silliness. That's Right I'm Talking About The Artisque Vision Of CAFE FLESH. This Porn Opens With A Story Of Post Apocalyptic Earth Where 99% Of The Population Can't 'Perform' and Are Sex Negatives and The "Lucky" 1% Are The Sex Positive Who Are Left To 'Perform'. So To See The 'Performance' We, The Sex Negatives, Must Go To CAFE FLESH and Watch. The Story Centers Around The Happenings That Go On In The Infamous Cafe Where Erotic Fantasies Are Performed On Stage, Like The Woman and Milkman Fantasy, The Secretary and Boss Fantasy, The Two Lesbian Lovers, The First Encounter (Angel's First Fantasy), and The Dream Sequence. The Sub-Plot Centers Around Some Of The Characters Who Are Constant Clients Who Attend and Deal With The Everyday Life Of Being A Negative. Problem Is One Is A Recently Acquired Positive Who Finally Gives In and The Other Is Living With Her Boyfriend and She Is A Positive Living Among The Negatives. In The End, Both Girls Are In The Final Fantasy and The Boyfriend can't Believe It.The Plot Was Is Original For The Time and Era, The Music Is Catchy, and The Famous Sound Effect In Angel's Fantasy (Now In WHite Zombie's "More Human Than Human") Will Make You Trip Out With This Psychodelic Fantasy Porn Of The Eigthies. Stay Tuned In Here As I Continue My Path With The Classic Porn Kingdom With DMJ II "Justine", DT "Linda", and The Tale Of "Taboo".

Fringe filmmaker Stephen Sayadian (a/k/a "Rinse Dream") followed his groundbreaking NIGHTDREAMS with this even more radical foray into expressionist erotica. Set in a post-nuclear future, the "bomb" has left 99 % of the world population unable to have sexual intercourse, becoming violently ill whenever this is attempted, with the remaining 1 % forced to perform for their benefit in dank, dark night spots such as the titular Café Flesh, run by the friendly but firm "Moms" (sympathetically portrayed by cult figure and soon to become carnal queen Tantala, billed as "Darcy Nichols"). From his single brightly lit spot on the stage, MC Max Melodramatic (an astonishing performance by Andrew Nichols) mercilessly teases and taunts the incapacitated audience flooding the club night after night, both his presence and the garish shows cruelly reminding them of the intimacy they are no longer capable of. Among them, Nick and Lana (Paul McGibbonney and "Pia Snow" a/k/a grade B horror favorite Michelle Bauer) who are desperately trying to hang on to their once loving relationship now perhaps fatally handicapped by the enforced absence of physical closeness. Unbeknown to Nick though, Lana is a closet Sex Positive, feigning sickness so as not to lose out on love through an obligatory stage career. The arrival of small town girl Angel (the very pretty Marie Sharp from Vinnie Rossi's insipid FOREPLAY) and her delighted response to being pressed into pornographic theatrical duty, makes Lana doubt her decision. As she yields to a desperate masturbation bit in the café's kitchen, Max spying on her effectively blows her cover. A much anticipated guest performance by legendary super stud Johnny Rico (the late Kevin James, such a motor mouth in Fred Lincoln's MITZI'S HONOR, in an uncharacteristically silent turn) causes Lana to lose her cool and join him and Angel on stage for a fantasy-fulfilling finale.Much has been made of the film's supposed status as an allegory for the AIDS crisis, most of it in hindsight. Considering the virus became a public commodity in the early '80s, this would not be an entirely impossible interpretation albeit a fairly improbable one, requiring near visionary prescience on the part of the makers. Then again, it was written by Jerry Stahl, employing the nom de plume "Herbert W. Day" prior to gaining notoriety with "Permanent Midnight". Still, I always preferred to regard it as a satirical critique of the "impotent" position of the porn audience, viewing rather than participating in the sex action. Either way, CAFE FLESH certainly succeeds better as midnight movie type cult cinema than as erotica, somewhat unfair criticism perhaps as it never seems to try very hard in that latter capacity. Sex scenes are fewer than was the norm to begin with and mostly presented as dispassionate if rather imaginative stage productions. A '50s housewife (Terri Copeland) with a trio of bawling babies in tow gets down 'n' dirty with a milkman wearing a rat suit (mulatto stud Ken Starbuck, who went native in Svetlana's amiably silly PINK LAGOON) while a phone-fondling secretary (minor starlet Becky Savage, most memorable in Ann Perry's UNDERCOVERS) gives it up to an executive with a large pencil-shaped head ! Only Bauer's scenes are genuine turn-ons, slightly hampered by over-zealous editing to mask the fact that she had a penetration stand-in, even though she definitely did perform oral sex on Ron Jeremy in Svetlana's BAD GIRLS.Acting, especially in the non-sex roles, is excellent. Though some of the apocalyptic set design was clearly accomplished on the cheap, it effectively conveys the view of a desolate future, further enhanced by moody cinematography and a great soundtrack by then fledgling composer Mitchell Froom who worked on PEE WEE'S PLAYHOUSE, like Sayadian and his cohort "F.X. Pope" (a/k/a Francis Delia) a rogue rebel trying to make his mark. A quarter century down the line, much of the material has dated, effacing much of the effectiveness of what must've seemed "hip" at the time, like the jive-talking black girl who acts like some sort of spaced out chorus. Still, for sheer curiosity value (there has been very little that resembles it made since, perhaps for good reason...), it's very hard to beat.

This is the best of best, or the less pathetic porn movie (that depends on your view).It is so good that precisely the only flaw point in the whole movie are the unnecessary long hardcore scenes, surely made by pressure from the producers.This movie has little of everything, scify, fantasy, sexual dreams, drama, comedy, good shows, good photography, good acting, amateur acting, low budget look, exceptional atmosphere, some very high stetics points, lots of psychological and conceptual ideas, etc.The ending of the story is also a very high point. One of the best endings that I have seen on cinema.In brief, if you like art get this movie, cut all the unnecessary hardcore out, and you will get a little gem.