 | Rented Lips (1988) |
| Summary |
A documentary filmmaker resorts to making a porn movie, and many strange things occur. |
| Genre |
Comedy |
| Direction |
Robert Downey Sr. |
| Downey Factor |
Medium. He's got a decent amount of screen time, although he is definitely a supporting player. |
| Character |
Wolf Dangler, an adult film actor with the emphasis on actor |
| Looks |
Moustache and beard, often not wearing any pants, occasionally sports a 'fro wig. |
| Performance |
Varied, weird |
| Accent |
Mainly Southern, although he plays a Nazi in one of the porn films within the film |
| Line |
If we weren't going for a PG rating, I'd tell you to go fuck yourself. But I'm a gentleman, and there's ladies around. |
| Sings |
Something opera |
| Love & Sex |
None really, aside from the fact that he's a porn star |
| Dies, Gay or Villain |
No, no, no |
| Other Actors |
Jennifer Tilly, Martin Mull |
| Connection |
Robert Downey Sr.'s Hugo Pool, Pound, Up the Academy, America, Too Much Sun,Greaser's Palace, in The Last Party and Johnny Be Good |
| RDJ Says |
In most of the film, I wear fish-net underwear, and I don't give a shit. I stuffed my underwear, too. I had this huge wad of toilet paper, and I kept asking the camera guys to please just keep panning around from the front to the side. So you could see from the front angle it looked really big. But when you panned to the side, it looked so obviously fake ... If you thought [Less Than Zero's] Julian was unbalanced, wait until you see this guy Wolf Dangler. He's the sickest, craziest character I've ever played and it's great fun ... Working with dad on Rented Lips was great because he always called me by my character’s name. He went out of his way to make sure that there were no concessions made to me because I was his son. Meanwhile, I was playing a porno star in fisnnet underwear, doing a scene with Edy Williams. I don't know where that came from. |
| Availability |
Rare. I believe the video is out of print, but used copies and rentals are out there. Not released on DVD |
| Foreign Titles |
Brazil: Corpo de Aluguel (A Body for Rent)
Spain: Labios de Alquiler (Lips for Rent) |
| Rotten Tomatoes |
Rented Lips |
| 2 Reasons to See It |
1. Complete your viewership of the triumvirate of films where he plays a character who pretends to be German and/or Nazi.
2. Two words: no pants. |
| Overall |
With a contrived plot, musical numbers and a series of characters who are weird just for the sake of being weird, calling this movie quirky would be the understatement of the century. Downey Sr. movies are not everyone's cup of tea. They may be your cup of tea if you like your tea served by a midget tap dancer in a clown suit. |
| If You Liked It |
You might also like Hugo Pool / Pool Girl (1996), Too Much Sun (1991) |
