The first American film to receive an X rating by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), this may have not been the first movie Robert De Niro was in — that would be an earlier film by director Brian De Palma, The Wedding Party — but it is one of the first.
This is a movie about three men: Jon Rubin (De Niro), who spies on women and also captures people with his camera. Paul Shaw (Jonathan Warden), a shy romantic. And Lloyd Clay (Gerrit Graham) who is obsessed with conspiracy theory.
It’s ramshackle and episodic, but you can tell it’s also a movie made by young people who were excited to create something. Most of those young people grew up to do major things in entertainment, so this is a chance to see them before they knew what it was like to be known or famous.
Today, they’d probably just make YouTube videos or a podcast.
