Midnight Blue Collection Volume 3: Celebrities Edition
Think celebrities embarrassing themselves on camera is a recent phenomenon? Nope--Al Goldstein, publisher ofScrewmagazine, was making hay with them back in the '80s with his notorious cable access show,Midnight Blue, and now the best (worst?) of these Hollywood horror stories have been compiled for this DVD. The emphasis here shifts away from the porn-centric interviews of the first two volumes ofMidnight Blueto explore the seamier side of mainstream pop culture, though interviews withHustlerchief Larry Flynt and exploitation legend Russ Meyer hew closely to the coreMidnight Blue/Goldstein aesthetic (i.e., slobbering over women, though the Meyer talk is informative and well-conducted).  The other interviews offer glimpses of celebrities at their rawest and weirdest: Goldstein's co-host Alex Bennett debates the authenticity of a XXX loop that reportedly stars Barbra Streisand (it doesn't); O.J. Simpson lurks at a hooker convention; Robert Crumb airs his particular obsessions; Tiny Tim unleashes a graphic monologue about his personal life; and a pre-superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger discusses the merits of bodybuilding (and is seen posing with a naked woman). Two infamous bootleg videotapes are also aired: the Rob Lowe sex scandal tape, and a backstage blowout with the Go-Go's, who abuse an abysmally drunken roadie. As with the otherMidnight Bluediscs, Vol. 3 includes a barrage of original ad spots for New York's swing clubs, adult novelties, and porn movies, as well as a pop-up trivia text track that offers ephemeral info on the talent gathered on this DVD.--Paul Gaita