As a fan of international cult films I've stated a few times that comedy is one of the harder genres to transcend cultures.  It's very much like cuisine, what is popular varies quite differently from country to county, it's not like other genres where the main staples are relatively similar.

Up Pompeii is a pretty good representation of British humor (at least during this period), and British comedy is not for everyone.  The film is based off a television series that ran for two seasons (14 episodes total) starring original lead Frankie Howerd as Lurcio, the head slave of a Roman politician.  The film follows Lurcio around as he prepares for the orgy that his master is throwing, his accidental discovery and involvement in the plot to kill the visiting Emperor Nero and the subsequent eruption of Mount Vesuvius. 

My initial viewing of Up Pompeii was about twelve years ago and to put it bluntly I wasn't impressed.  Considering this was during my exodus from Hollywood films into the the broader universe of cult cinema I figured after over a decade perhaps my opinions of it may have changed, well... they haven't.  The film is still as bad and forgettable as it was the first time with the major issue being the story's reliance on juvenile sexual innuendo.  It's the cornerstone of the film that's mildly amusing at the start, but quickly becomes repetitive as they run out of orgy jokes and start rehashing them again in slight variations.  

What's most unfortunate is how Up Pompeii wastes the ever so stunning pairing of Madeline Smith and Julie Ege whose combined five minutes of screen time is a crime in and of itself.  Smith plays Erotica (a good name), the daughter Lurcio's master and a veritable sexpot.  Every brief scene with her she's got some guy on top of her, it's a running joke and the only point of her character.  Julie Ege, my favorite of the two, is Voluptua, another character known for her sleeping around yet unlike Erotica it's only consistently referred to and only visually portrayed that she is a notorious flirt.  Her role is the meatier of the two and she has a nice array of sexy attire.  Still for a story that relies so heavily on sexual innuendo, the writers wasted two actresses that they could have milked a lot more screen time out of. 

Overall, Up Pompeii is a pretty lackluster experience.  The only decent aspects are the production value of the sets and the limited screen time of Madeline Smith and Julie Edge.  Had either of the actresses been in a more supporting lead role it possibly may have salvaged the film on eye candy alone.  Julie Ege's red toga outfit with the gold snakes is essentially the cherry on this melted sundae, and her promotional photos for the film are by far the best thing to come out of this. 

In the end, Up Pompeii is basically a short format comedy series stretched out into a film, with brief nudity sprinkled in an attempt to hold attention.  You get a brief shot of Madeline Smith's breasts, but if that's what you're after might I suggest The Vampire Lovers, a much better film where you get to see much more of Madeline and the added bonus of Ingrid Pitt.  As for Up Pompeii it's too reliant on repetitious grade school locker room humor for my taste, with repetitious being the key complaint and not so much the innuendos which in moderation, variation, and a well written story can work, but there's none of that here.

3/10