Confessions of a Young American Housewife - Reviewed by axlish
Reviewed By: axlish
Release Date: April 29th, 2008
Directed by: Joseph W. Sarno
Released: Retro-Seduction Cinema, Ryko Distribution
2 out of 5 Skulls
Carol, Pete, Anna and Eddie are neighboring couples in a New York City apartment complex. When the sun goes down, both couples gather together in Carol’s apartment and become a sexual foursome whom occasionally adds even more partners to the mix. They live in uninterrupted bliss until one day Carol’s mother, Jennifer, comes to live with them for an unspecified reason, and for an unspecific amount of time. 
The five of them sit around and have several glasses of wine until Jennifer decides to call it an evening. As soon as she goes to bed, all of Carol’s mates cant help but talk about how turned on they are by her mother. Carol disapproves of their comments but within minutes, they are all making love to each other while literally shouting “ma ma” in between their sexual moans, a little disturbing to say the least. This carries over into the next day when Eddie decides to make the move on “ma ma” in the kitchen. She is reluctant at first but then gives in, only to run away once realizing the potential consequences. 
That night, Carol explains to her mother that she is a part of a foursome, and that Eddie’s actions are completely acceptable. Before long, everyone is having sex with each other and “ma ma” has become the centerpiece of everyone’s attention. Jennifer proves to be a ferocious sex kitten in her own right. Before long it gets a little too close between mother and daughter and a decision has to be made on whether to call it quits on Jennifer’s new life, or to continue on this path of gluttonous sexual abandon.
Filmed in 1974, The Confessions of a Young American Housewife attempts to capture the swinger lifestyle that was prevalent at that particular time. The film literally consists of two sets, the apartment and the park. Wedged in the middle of the sex scenes at the apartment are pointless scenes of walking in the park in an attempt to break up the monotony of one solitary location. The film is very graphic is its sexual content but doesn’t feature penetration shots, likely garnering only a single x rating.
The DVD features a “new digital telecine from 35mm film elements”. It hardly sounds like a modern remaster job and it doesn’t look like it either as the film features several minor jumps in audio and video. Still, if you were a fan of this film back in the day, this is likely the best treatment it will ever get. I didn’t find it particularly entertaining, but if you are into Retro-Seduction’s catalog, then this is a must buy. Extras include three deleted scenes, an interview with director Joe Sarno, trailers, never seen before still gallery and a full color liner note booklet. There is also a 2nd disc which is a CD of the music of Jack Justis with several of the tracks coming from Confessions. I gave it a listen and came away from it with two words, shitty Beatles.
FOR SARNO OR GENRE FANS ONLY