‘Barb Wire’ An Exploitation Film Or Statement For Feminism?

A few weeks ago, while in New York on vacation, I sat in a Greenwich Village cafe and listened to a young woman speak excitedly about Pamela Anderson Lee’s film, “Barb Wire.”

Utterly without irony, she talked about how much she enjoyed it.

Which to me, at least initially, was hard to understand. That film, which is now out on video (see capsule review below), seems to be a blatant attempt to apply Lee’s sexy “Baywatch” aura to a cult comic book character.

The comic book itself is a creation whose main fans you would expect to be adolescent males with active hormones.

For not only is “Barb Wire” blonde, not only does she have a body that would make Jessica Rabbit blush, not only does she wear skin-tight black leather and ride a motorcycle, but she has a street-tough attitude that suggests sexual passion in marathon measure.

So imagine my surprise to hear this independent, twentysomething woman, whose day job is to teach New York University students the technical rudiments of filmmaking, gush over what would seem to be, on the face of it, a crass exploitation of women.

Her attitude, however, turned the whole notion of sexism on its head. To her, “Barb Wire” was the very epitome of postmodern feminism.

“Great hair, great nails,” she said. “Two hours of looking fabulous and kicking ass.”

She is woman, hear her roar.

Classic television I

Many of us who witnessed television in the early 1950s remember the children’s puppet show “Kukla, Fran and Ollie.” Created by Burr Tillstrom, and starring Fran Allison, the show premiered on a Chicago NBC affiliate in 1947 and went national the next year.

For those who want to again experience the show, or those who would like to see it for the first time, producer Martin Tahse is releasing five of the 39 half-hour show on video on Oct. 22. The remaining episodes, all of which have been digitally enhanced, will be released through New Kid Home Video over the next three years.

Tahse, a veteran television producer, founded New Kid Home Video as a way of distributing his 25 After School Specials.

Classic television II

In the ‘90s, the act of a celebrity getting caught in an embarrassing sexual situation doesn’t seem to signal the end of his or her career. Witness Hugh Grant.

Then again, witness Paul Reubens, aka Pee-wee Herman. Obviously, it is one thing to get caught paying for oral sex on a Los Angeles street corner and quite another to get caught satisfying yourself in an adult movie theater.

Of course, Grant performs in movies for grown-ups, while Reubens, as Pee-wee, was the host from 1986-91 of the Saturday morning television show, “Pee-wee’s Playhouse.” And, naturally, we expect more of our children’s heroes.

But no matter what Paul Reubens did (or, for that matter, did not do), nothing can change the fact that “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” was one of the more fascinating programs ever to grace Saturday mornings.

To remind us, MGM/UA Home Entertainment is releasing the first collection of the “Pee-wee” shows on video effective Nov. 5. That first installment features four volumes of two episodes, plus “Pee-wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special,” for $12.95 each.

Finally, “Pee-wee’s Playhouse Gift Set,” which is a collection of eight volumes, also will go on sale Nov. 5 for a total cost of $99.92. Subsequent “Pee-wee” episodes will be available in early 1997.

Barb Wire

**

The good news is that this bit of comic book fluff is not as bad as you might think. The bad news is that it would have to be a whole lot better, or worse, to be even the slightest bit memorable. “Baywatch” babe Pamela Anderson Lee has about as much screen presence as a blow-up doll, which, of course, is all the role demands. What’s harder to believe, though, is that the plot these pulp-fiction characters shamble through is a virtual replay of “Casablanca.” Only instead of saying, “Here’s lookin’ at you, kid,” Anderson’s tag line is, “Don’t call me babe.” This is not an improvement. Rated R

Short cuts

“The Substitute”: Mercenary Tom Berenger impersonates a teacher to get the bad guys in a drug-infested high school. Rated R

“Mr. Wrong”: Ellen Degeneres thinks she’s found the perfect man in Bill Pullman, but she’s - or rather he’s - wrong. Rated PG-13

“Things to Do In Denver When You’re Dead”: This Quentin Tarantinoesque hipster production involves a petty hood (Andy Garcia) and his gang (Treat Williams, Christopher Lloyd, William Forsythe, etc.) who screw up a simple job and face the wrath of their employer (Christopher Walken). Rated R

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: WHAT’S NEW TO VIEW Now available: “The Substitute” (LIVE), “Mr. Wrong” (Buena Vista), “Things to Do In Denver When You’re Dead” (Buena Vista), “Barb Wire” (Polygram), “The Cold Light of Day” (Polygram). Available Tuesday: “All Dogs Go to Heaven 2” (MGM/UA), “Mary Reilly” (Columbia TriStar), “Mulholland Falls” (MGM/UA), “Gulliver’s Travels” (Hemdale).