Before Tarantino was jerking off to grindhouse, Anthony Spinelli was already doing it—with his pants off and a real script in hand. Talk Dirty to Me isn’t just a classic of adult cinema—it’s one of the few pornos that actually dares to talk, and holy shit, does it have something to say.

Released in 1980 and co-written with his son (which is both endearing and vaguely uncomfortable), Spinelli’s Talk Dirty delivers a literate, lewd, and laugh-out-loud funny take on the oldest plot in the book: guy bets he can bang girl. But thanks to John Leslie’s smooth-talking, dick-swinging Jack and Richard Pacheco’s lovable loser Lenny, this thing sings with style. It’s Diner meets Deep Throat—a buddy comedy where one guy gets laid and the other one jerks off in the corner.

And then there’s Jessie St. James, putting on a masterclass in simmering sexual frustration. She plays Marlene, a lonely rich woman whose libido gets teased and tormented by Jack’s erotic play-by-play until she can’t take it anymore. When she finally drags him to bed, it’s not just a sex scene—it’s an exorcism.

The dialogue is so good, some folks think William Goldman ghostwrote it. Others say it feels like early Tarantino, if Quentin had ever been brave enough to write something wet. Either way, this thing’s got more clever lines than a coke party in Laurel Canyon.

It’s the rare X-rated film where the talking is just as hot as the fucking—and that’s saying something.

SCREW’s PeterMeter Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Because no film has ever made us hornier for dialogue.

Watch it here.

—P.

Phil Italiano

Publisher, Visionary, Provocateur

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