Taboo (1980)
Taboo (Kirdy Stevens / U.S. 1980)
Mother/son incest was the direct focal point for an adult film for one of the very first times in 1980's Taboo, and considering the love and goodwill that porn fans have towards this legendary smut classic, it was certainly successful in its portrayal. Hell, early American video store sales reports show that Taboo was even out-renting the powerhouse that was the original Star Wars. I don't know if that's even fathomable for today's pop culture nerds, but there was a time when adult movies were actually that popular on physical media. Or at least, Taboo was. There probably isn't another porn movie from the classic era, other than Deep Throat, that made as much motherfucking money.
Written and directed by the husband/wife duo known as Helene Terrie and Kirdy Stevens, Taboo ponders and dabbles at an exploitative approach, but then instead succeeds in revealing itself to be an intimate and thoughtful (while still being totally raunchy and hardcore) dissertation on the older-female/younger-male sex fantasy. Incest really is a taboo subject in our culture, even today, which I think explains a lot of why this movie really hit home for curious masturbators. This wasn't something you could get at home (or would even want to), and when porn gets into that territory, it can really lay down something memorable.
Incest is not a topic that has been explored very often in theatrical features (pornographic or not), at least not in a way that is shown as positive, despite the fact that it is something that results only in pleasure for two adults (assuming they are both consenting and using birth control, of course). Where the misery comes in is if they can't keep the rest of society from finding out, and socially shunning them -- or even arresting them and throwing them in jail. As Kay Parker points out, it's even punishable by death in some countries. Consensual adult incest can seem kinda gross (since the rest of us don't find our family members sexy), but I have a hard time being morally outraged by expressions of love, especially when there is so much hate in this world.
The movie casts a spotlight on Barbara (Kay Parker), a middle aged mother of a 19 year old son (Mike Ranger) whose husband walks out on her, and leaves her with little financial support and a newly barren sex life. Kay is not 'porn star hot', nor is she portrayed as a nympho. She just looks like a typical mom with big heavy tits, who gamely tries to navigate a 1970s suburban swingers scene that she really has no interest in at all. Her son Paul, with his teenage libido in hyperdrive, gets no shortage of blowjobs from his cute girlfriend Sherrie (Dorothy LeMay), but still can't help but sneak peeks at his busty mother when she's getting dressed.
Listen, it's really nice to finally have a proper Kay Parker Taboo audio commentary. The previous one from the first Taboo dvd release from the early 2000s is included as well (one of the most disappointing commentaries I'd heard at the time of its release), but it was really a treat to indulge in the one that was recorded with Kay for this blu/dvd. Vinegar Syndrome's Joe Rubin is with her in its recording, and is an excellent moderator who has clearly put a lot of thought into this movie, its history, and the role that Kay had to play. Sure, he's as joyless and sombre as usual, but it's impossible not to appreciate the level of respect he has for the subject matter and the professionalism he exudes while gently guiding a 72 year old Kay Parker through her own 36 year old XXX film.
It's pretty interesting to listen to how Kay unpacks the whole concept of starring in a movie about a woman who seduces her teenage son, a role that certainly came to define her career in adult movies. Apparently she turned down the role when it was first offered to her (as did porn actress Jesie St. James) because she'd been dealing with a friend who had been an victim of abusive incest, and the trauma of that was fresh in her mind.
It was only after meditating on the offer from Kirdy Stevens, and taking into account that this movie would be made -- with or without her participation -- that she changed her stance on it. Parker realized that if she took the role of Barbara, she would have a direct impact on how this subject was broached in porn, and she felt she was the person that could make damn well sure that it was done with some humanity and appreciation for the real world implications.
Indeed, we see them laid out before us. Her character struggles mightily with what she's done. She feels the guilt of violating something sacred, and guilt is not a thing pornographers have often delved into in their quest to put sexy fantasies on screen. That's just not a thing that dudes typically jerk their cock to, but it's what makes this particular fuck-film so dynamic and nuanced.
“There is a scene in Taboo that automatically makes this the best porno ever made” wrote one IMDB commentator on the page that Taboo inhabits on the site. “It is the scene when legendary MILF Kay Parker awakens her son by giving him oral sex.”
He ain't lying. This truly is the standout scene in the movie, and we discover in the commentary that it took place in Kirdy Steven's son's bedroom. Kirdy's home was used for much of the shooting of the film, and Kay wonders out loud how young Steve felt about his room being defiled in that way, noting that she'd asked him about it once, but has since forgotten what he said. What she did remember vividly though, is that this scene wasn't just a standout for the audience, it was the most memorable moment in her porn career as well.
Kay reveals that she was intensely attracted to her costar Mike Ranger (who very convincingly plays her teenage son, despite only being a few years younger than Parker was at the time), and was so immersed in her character and passionate about their coupling, that she actually had something of an out-of-body experience when she first pulled his cock out and began sucking on it. Listening to the commentary, one is struck with the fact that Kay clearly isn't one for hyperbole or exaggeration that would play to our fantasies, so it's very interesting to hear just how important and deeply touching it was for her to shoot a sex scene that has so effected porn fans over the years. I can't tell you how many times someone has told me that this was the hottest and most moving scene they had ever seen.
This new dvd/blu of TABOO from Vinegar Syndrome has the movie looking about 5X better than it ever has before, with a very solid transfer that allowed me to see details I'd never noticed before. There are also commentaries with director Kirdy Stevens and Helen Terrie that I haven't gotten to, yet, but will soon. I also can't wait to see what VS will do with the later films in the Taboo series. Especially part two, which is a favourite of mine, and is due out in a couple months.
More details at the official VinSyn site: https://vinegarsyndrome.com/shop/taboo/
Mother/son incest was the direct focal point for an adult film for one of the very first times in 1980's Taboo, and considering the love and goodwill that porn fans have towards this legendary smut classic, it was certainly successful in its portrayal. Hell, early American video store sales reports show that Taboo was even out-renting the powerhouse that was the original Star Wars. I don't know if that's even fathomable for today's pop culture nerds, but there was a time when adult movies were actually that popular on physical media. Or at least, Taboo was. There probably isn't another porn movie from the classic era, other than Deep Throat, that made as much motherfucking money.
Written and directed by the husband/wife duo known as Helene Terrie and Kirdy Stevens, Taboo ponders and dabbles at an exploitative approach, but then instead succeeds in revealing itself to be an intimate and thoughtful (while still being totally raunchy and hardcore) dissertation on the older-female/younger-male sex fantasy. Incest really is a taboo subject in our culture, even today, which I think explains a lot of why this movie really hit home for curious masturbators. This wasn't something you could get at home (or would even want to), and when porn gets into that territory, it can really lay down something memorable.
Incest is not a topic that has been explored very often in theatrical features (pornographic or not), at least not in a way that is shown as positive, despite the fact that it is something that results only in pleasure for two adults (assuming they are both consenting and using birth control, of course). Where the misery comes in is if they can't keep the rest of society from finding out, and socially shunning them -- or even arresting them and throwing them in jail. As Kay Parker points out, it's even punishable by death in some countries. Consensual adult incest can seem kinda gross (since the rest of us don't find our family members sexy), but I have a hard time being morally outraged by expressions of love, especially when there is so much hate in this world.
The movie casts a spotlight on Barbara (Kay Parker), a middle aged mother of a 19 year old son (Mike Ranger) whose husband walks out on her, and leaves her with little financial support and a newly barren sex life. Kay is not 'porn star hot', nor is she portrayed as a nympho. She just looks like a typical mom with big heavy tits, who gamely tries to navigate a 1970s suburban swingers scene that she really has no interest in at all. Her son Paul, with his teenage libido in hyperdrive, gets no shortage of blowjobs from his cute girlfriend Sherrie (Dorothy LeMay), but still can't help but sneak peeks at his busty mother when she's getting dressed.
Listen, it's really nice to finally have a proper Kay Parker Taboo audio commentary. The previous one from the first Taboo dvd release from the early 2000s is included as well (one of the most disappointing commentaries I'd heard at the time of its release), but it was really a treat to indulge in the one that was recorded with Kay for this blu/dvd. Vinegar Syndrome's Joe Rubin is with her in its recording, and is an excellent moderator who has clearly put a lot of thought into this movie, its history, and the role that Kay had to play. Sure, he's as joyless and sombre as usual, but it's impossible not to appreciate the level of respect he has for the subject matter and the professionalism he exudes while gently guiding a 72 year old Kay Parker through her own 36 year old XXX film.
It's pretty interesting to listen to how Kay unpacks the whole concept of starring in a movie about a woman who seduces her teenage son, a role that certainly came to define her career in adult movies. Apparently she turned down the role when it was first offered to her (as did porn actress Jesie St. James) because she'd been dealing with a friend who had been an victim of abusive incest, and the trauma of that was fresh in her mind.
It was only after meditating on the offer from Kirdy Stevens, and taking into account that this movie would be made -- with or without her participation -- that she changed her stance on it. Parker realized that if she took the role of Barbara, she would have a direct impact on how this subject was broached in porn, and she felt she was the person that could make damn well sure that it was done with some humanity and appreciation for the real world implications.
Indeed, we see them laid out before us. Her character struggles mightily with what she's done. She feels the guilt of violating something sacred, and guilt is not a thing pornographers have often delved into in their quest to put sexy fantasies on screen. That's just not a thing that dudes typically jerk their cock to, but it's what makes this particular fuck-film so dynamic and nuanced.
“There is a scene in Taboo that automatically makes this the best porno ever made” wrote one IMDB commentator on the page that Taboo inhabits on the site. “It is the scene when legendary MILF Kay Parker awakens her son by giving him oral sex.”
He ain't lying. This truly is the standout scene in the movie, and we discover in the commentary that it took place in Kirdy Steven's son's bedroom. Kirdy's home was used for much of the shooting of the film, and Kay wonders out loud how young Steve felt about his room being defiled in that way, noting that she'd asked him about it once, but has since forgotten what he said. What she did remember vividly though, is that this scene wasn't just a standout for the audience, it was the most memorable moment in her porn career as well.
Kay reveals that she was intensely attracted to her costar Mike Ranger (who very convincingly plays her teenage son, despite only being a few years younger than Parker was at the time), and was so immersed in her character and passionate about their coupling, that she actually had something of an out-of-body experience when she first pulled his cock out and began sucking on it. Listening to the commentary, one is struck with the fact that Kay clearly isn't one for hyperbole or exaggeration that would play to our fantasies, so it's very interesting to hear just how important and deeply touching it was for her to shoot a sex scene that has so effected porn fans over the years. I can't tell you how many times someone has told me that this was the hottest and most moving scene they had ever seen.
This new dvd/blu of TABOO from Vinegar Syndrome has the movie looking about 5X better than it ever has before, with a very solid transfer that allowed me to see details I'd never noticed before. There are also commentaries with director Kirdy Stevens and Helen Terrie that I haven't gotten to, yet, but will soon. I also can't wait to see what VS will do with the later films in the Taboo series. Especially part two, which is a favourite of mine, and is due out in a couple months.
More details at the official VinSyn site: https://vinegarsyndrome.com/shop/taboo/