The Yum Yum Girls (1976)

A grungy story about models sleeping their way to success that one fears was intended to contain comedic elements in addition to tawdry melodrama, The Yum Yum Girls is a dull and unpleasant viewing experience. Although leading lady Michelle Daw is so appealing and pretty that it’s a surprising she never made another film, the movie surrounding her is repetitive and vapid. The story literally begins with Melody (Daw) getting off the bus in Manhattan after leaving Ohio, with dreams of becoming a top model. Yet instead of portraying Melody as a naïve Midwesterner, the filmmakers—actually, let’s call them culprits—depict her as a sexually experienced striver willing to disrobe, fellate, and fornicate whenever she meets someone who can help her career. So if The Yum Yum Girls isn’t a morality tale about the coarsening of a decent young woman, is it a male fantasy about the sexual availability of beautiful models? Whatever the case, the only conceivable reason for watching The Yum Yum Girls is the promise of titillation. Melody’s first love scene has a tiny bit of heat to it, but every other carnal vignette disappoints. Some of these physical encounters are nasty (producers demanding oral sex during auditions, a guy raping Melody because she won’t put out after he bought her dinner), while most are simply boring. Worse, a running “gag” in The Yum Yum Girls involves a stationary camera positioned inside a dressing room capturing shots of girls as they change clothes between photography sessions. Skeeve City. FYI, future Charlie’s Angels star Tanya Roberts plays a supporting role and somehow manages to stay dressed throughout her screen time, as does minor ’70s starlet Judy Landers, who displays her eye-popping form in bikinis and lingerie. Anyone seeking cheap thrills is sure to be disappointed by The Yum Yum Girls, and the movie offers nothing else to compensate.

The Yum Yum Girls: LAME