Another Latter day entry to the filmography of Doris Wishman, and the 2nd of two films to feature 'Chesty Morgan' the magnificent wonderwoman with the 73 inch bust. 'Double Agent 73' feels like a refinement in some ways over the last outing 'Deadly Weapons' but in exchange for enhancements in some areas, I do feel a little is lost in spirit on this one.

The plot follows Morgan as 'Jayne' (Codename: Agent 73) a undercover spy working to bring down a large criminal outfit up to multiple misdeeds. Jaynes reluctant at first to get on board, but ultimately doesnt need much coaxing to take up the job. her main priority? to capture photos of documentation showing the organisations criminal activities, and to photograph proof of the deaths of some of the key figures within the organisation.

How will Jayne get these photos? Well! its simple really, she'll have a camera surgically inserted into one of her breasts, and a large stock of film inserted into the other of course! When she sees something of interest or needs to confirm a kill, she simply lifts her left bosom and BAM! instant hard copy proof captured in an instant.

And so! Jayne gets to work, schmoozing and 'offing' the criminal underworld, capturing everything and anything she can, while the perps quickly realise someones onto them and begin to try and figure out who it could be!

When I say this film is a refinement on the work shown in 'Deadly Weapons' Im specifically referring to the direction, cine and performances. All of these elements feel significantly upgraded over the previous entry. with a much tighter and clearly set of shots, clearly thought out sequence building and a tighter and stronger edit that feels much more professional in its execution.

The direction feels a bit more creatively charged with a more inspired range of directional choices (particularly around camera placement within scenes) The set spaces feel a bit more detailed and thought through (even though a majority of it is still shot in Wishmans Apartment) and Wishmans work with the cast feels a lot more specific, a lot clearer in its execution and the performances themselves feel brighter, a bit campier and much less stiff and more engaging than 'Deadly Weapons.

Unfortunately however, what this film gains in clear creative vision and talent. it loses in scripting and plotting. This entry definitely leans more into the campier side (something I really wished 'Deadly Weapons' had done) but thats really about as positive as I can be towards the plotting and scripting of this production.

For a start, the main plot itself feels a lot less considered. a great deal of the film is essentially a formulaic repetition of Jayne going to a location, getting an update on who or what to photograph, followed by her going to another location, and either photographing evidence while dispatching a security guard, or seducing a member of the organisation and then murdering them and photographic the body.

Theres not a lot of variation, and it quickly becomes quite dry as we go through the motions until the final 10 minutes or so. he plots much more pedestrian than 'Deadly Weapons', the character development IS a lot better handled, but the trade off is a lot less characters to be invested in across the runtime. Morgan herself doesnt get a whole lot to do as the main character in this movie, other than using her boobs to take photos and occasionally pushing someone over to death.

The tone is more consistent, but also I feel doesnt go far enough. its still way to serious for me to really accept it for what it is, its screaming to be a LOT more over the top and farsical. But it never really delivers on the goods.

It opens strong, sags BADLY in the middle and ends on a relatively good note. But not to the kind of high that felt satisfying. And to add insult to injury, the soundtracks kind of unremarkable as well.

In my ideal world, elements of this film and 'Deadly Weapons' would have been combined to create a damn near perfect campy spy pastiche (A spy called Jayne finds out her husbands been killed by a large criminal organisation, and goes undercover to expose their antics and murder anyone who gets in her way by smothering them with her enormous breasts). But instead; we have two movies that are kind of, sort of okay. But both feel like they're missing elements that the other has in droves.

Im less inclined to this one purely because, while it is a lot more polished, it doesnt quite have the sincerity or heart of the previous entry. Never the less, I will also say that this one probably worth seeing at least once, just for the sheer bizarreness of the premise and for its higher production values, espcially when viewed in tandem with 'Deadly Weapons'. Best enjoyed after a good whisky in the small wee hours.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/double-agent-73/