Barbarella

Barbarella

By Dollyforme

I found this gem of a movie in my movie collection: BARBARELLA: 1968 science fiction fantasy. Starring Jane Fonda, John Phillip Law, Milo O'Shea, Anita Pallenberg, David Hemmings and Marcel Marceau. Directed by Roger Vadim. Written by Vadim and Terry Southern. (Not rated. 98 minutes. 

Poor, self-serious Jane. Let's hope she's lightened up over the years and learned to love this silly, outrageously enjoyable film. Rather than being shamed by the wide-eyed voluptuary she created in ex-husband Roger Vadim's 1968 film -- opening today at the Castro for a one-week revival -- Fonda deserves to feel proud. 

Playing the title role of "a five-star double-rated astronautical aviatrix," Fonda maneuvers an insane plot, wears Nancy Sinatra go-go boots and shiny metallics and comes across looser, lovelier and funnier than she's ever been since. "Barbarella" is a pure goof -- Vadim called it "a kind of sexual Alice in Wonderland of the future" -- and Fonda seems to have reveled in every sexy, campy moment. 

Hell, what's not to like about set designs that look like someone's acid-induced science project, or a series of breast-enhancing Space Queen outfits that make the then-29-year-old Fonda resemble a dishy mutation of Judy Jetson, Buster Crabbe and Charo..

A couple of decades ago, when Jane Fonda was thick into politics and had yet to conquer the fitness industry, she appeared at the San Francisco International Film Festival for a retrospective tribute. 

"Where was your head at when you made 'Barbarella?' " somebody asked from the audience. She said: it sounded like fun at the time. A big thumbs up a must see flick