Chastity (1969) User Reviews

Sonny & Cher's "Easy Rider"--and surprisingly not an embarrassment

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 18 October 2007]

Cher is agreeably pithy and cynical as a runaway named Chastity (she got the name from the dictionary). She's a wiseass, she's adorable, she's moody, she tosses off quips and straight lines like a jaded pro. This was Cher's third movie proper (following "Wild On The Beach" and "Good Times") and it's fun to see her in Cleopatra eye-makeup and her old nose. So many bad things have been said or written about this film that I half-expected a disaster, but it's clear right from the beginning the movie is visually expressive and evocative. Directed by someone named Alessio de Paola (an alias?), one tends to suspect writer-producer Sonny Bono held the reins, and if so he has a genuine feel for border towns and nowhere-places where people are cheerfully giving but eventually want payback. The picture begins to sag a bit in the middle when Cher tries her hand at prostitution and has a lesbian encounter with the cathouse madam (lots of fingers touching and wind through the trees, that kind of thing). But I certainly admired the film's gritty quality and easy pace. For her part, Cher concocts a true original in our heroine, talking to herself in the third person ("So, Chastity old girl, whaddya wanna do now?") and when her question to a gentleman bedfellow is met with a surprising answer, she tells him quietly in the dark, "I'm smiling." **1/2 from ****

A film that should make its way out of obscurity: Sonny Bono's last testament of the 1960s is a low-budget but respectable piece of filmmaking.

[Yeled · 6/10 · 17 October 1999]

Sonny Bono, in his autobiography "And the Beat Goes On," maligned his own debut as a writer/producer of serious cinema. But "Chastity" does not deserve a bad reputation: on the contrary, the film is a well-thought out and entertaining exploration of a runaway (played engaging by Cher in her first film as a dramatic actress) trying to discover herself, and in the process, find out what life is all about.

While at times the film strives to be a little too philosophical (it is clear that Bono wanted to make a statement), the film is both visually and aurally creative. From the opening sequence in which a montage of Chastity's thoughts flash through a sketch of her profile and the subsequent telephoto shot of her running towards the camera (she wants to go somewhere - but ends up going nowhere!), to the scene in which she wanders through a Mexican brothel, "Chastity" always keeps the viewer interested in the film itself, and more importantly - caring about its young protagonist.

The film is low budget - and possibly due to casting constraints some of the actors seem rather stiff - but overall the low budget helps to give "Chastity" more of a realistic look. The movie was obviously not filmed on sets - but instead on real locations - and the camerawork at times even gives it a "cinema verite" feel.

Of course, Sonny Bono was primarily a song writer and producer, and his use of music (most of which he wrote) is creative. The title theme is a haunting, beautiful composition that must have been influenced by Ennio Morricone and the music he wrote for Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns. For those who may be familiar with the Atco soundtrack album, the music works very nicely in the context of the film.

In any case, "Chastity" is no masterpiece, but it is an entertaining (though downbeat) film that deserves to make its way onto a commercial video release. Bono deserves a lot of credit for writing, producing and scoring the film (and according to his autobiography he even edited a good portion of it). And as the soundtrack is out of print, it would give the viewer the opportunity to hear the Bono theme music and the classic opening tune "Band of Thieves."

Chastity is a mixed bag for fans of Sonny and Cher

[tavm · 4/10 · 7 July 2011]

Having been curious a long time about this movie, I finally got to see Chastity on Netflix on Demand just now. Written and produced by Sonny Bono and starring his then-wife Cher as the title character, this film basically meanders from one point to another until an explanation of why Chastity does the things she does is provided at the end. Until then, I didn't have much sympathy for her what with her stealing money, impersonating people and professions, and her running to and from places. And at this point, Cher is not enough of an actress yet to really sell her character when she starts to breakdown emotionally as evidenced by her last scene with that madam. I was, however, amused by that scene in Mexico where she calls the police about a stolen open roof car that she took off in-with the ignition keys inside!-and temporarily leaving the phone when asked about the license plate number. Oh, and I can't believe the way that guy she meets one night that let's her stay at his house would tolerate some of her strange behaviors like her constant turning on and off light switches not to mention running water and turning on the stove! In summary, I give Chastity a mixed review. At least the music score and the songs are pretty good...

If this was made over ten years later, her character name would be changed to Aileen Wurnos.

[mark.waltz · 1/10 · 7 June 2023]

If this film was made with someone who basically disappeared right after this was made, I wouldn't have made it past the half an hour mark. Cher's character seems to have it out for every man she encounters, even if they just passed each other on the street and didn't even exchange glances. She's a young lady in her early 20's who picks up men and analyzes every negative aspect she assumes about then, then walks out, even if they didn't try to get their way with her. Obviously abused, her character of Chastity is basically asexual, and uses that as a psychological power trip, added with a side voyage of guilt, and after a while, quite cumbersome to watch in her big con game to get through life.

Just on the cusp of TV fame, Cher wasn't ready to start kicking the can, and here, she's the one who needs to snap out of it. You can forgive her psychological arrested development for the abuse she's gone through, but her character isn't at all likeable, not deserving of much sympathy. Not even a decent period piece, It seems to be anti-anti-establishment, ridiculing the hippie culture while exploiting it through a hippie wannabe who doesn't seem capable of making friends, and abuses the nice ones she briefly meets. After a while, even the presence of Cher begins to wear off, and the temptation to turn off takes over.

Run -- do not walk -- as far away from this movie as possible

[mrmoser1 · 18 March 2003]

She was born in a wagon of a travelin' show, her mama used to dance for the money they'd throw. Yes, it's pre-nose-job Cher in her absolutely wretched dramatic debut, as a sullen and surly hitchhiking runaway with a heart of pressed tin. With her grating voice and punk-ass demeanor, she can often be misconstrued as acting, but do not be fooled - she is simply a marionette in the hands of producer Sonny `Svengali' Bono (whom one can also presume was also the never-heard-of-before and never-heard-from-again director de Paola). Chastity is a disturbed young woman who hits the road to escape her dreary, unhappy life, and finds more dreariness and unhappiness. In this turgid and lugubrious script, she takes her anger out on men by picking them up, leading them on and then `not letting them get anything.' She works as a prostitute without ever having to give up `the goods,' and winds up in a Mexican whorehouse for a lesbian madam who would like Chastity to be something more than an employee. With a creepy introspective/philosophical voiceover narrative by Cher, it is hippie-age BS and you can definitely see her *Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves* period looming on the horizon. Chastity is perplexing in a way that is peculiarly unintriguing, and despite all her woes, she is supremely unsympathetic. Her eventual confession of being abused as a child may have been shocking in 1969, but in retrospect, it is entirely predictable. There are some who will dig deeply to find some merit to this film, but it should strictly be taken as what it is: pure camp - meaning, of course, that's it's hysterically funny while it tries desperately to be serious. Would *you* name *your* child after this? `Chastity.pick her up if you dare.' Indeed.

Boring pointless mess

[preppy-3 · 2/10 · 27 August 2022]

Cher plays a runaway named Chastity. We follow her boring, senseless journey through the midwest USA. We hear her thoughts and listen to her talk aloud to herself. Now Cher is a good actress (that's why this gets 2 stars) but there is absolutely no reason to be interested in this character. She's very unlikable and her adventures aren't very interesting. There's no rhyme or reason to anything she does. Thet sort of give an explanation at the end but by that point I was so bored I just didn't care. Sonny Bono who (I think) directed it under another name has bad-mouthed it himself. I'm not sure what Cher thinks about it but I don't think she walks around gloating about it. It is notable as Cher's first dramatic role and she's pretty good but there's no point to this. Give me "Moonstruck" over this anytime! Avoid.

Pointless Except as Cher's First Dramatic Role

[r-shasta · 4/10 · 6 July 2019]

Sonny Bono wrote, produced, financed and probably directed (using a pseudonym) this witless entertainment, made at a time when Hollywood did not know how to draw in a younger audience. This film did not help matters. Valuable only as having captured Cher's first performance in a dramatic role, CHASTITY follows an aimless, wandering young woman in search of something... we never quite know what. She does talk about wanting to be loved, but she runs from that, both at the start of the movie and in the final shot. A narration makes an attempt to hold the movie together, but Bono's dialog and situations are so forced and contrived the viewer is never allowed to engage with her apparent angst. CHASTITY is a cynical take on what ailed late-60s youth, but emerges as shallow and condescending toward the very audience Sonny Bono wanted to embrace.

Worthless Except For Nostalgia

[Mike_Yike · 2/10 · 23 February 2015]

I saw Chastity at a drive-in theater when I was fresh out of high school those many years ago. It was a profoundly bad movie with the only positive being that the viewer knew it was terrible from the first frame that flickered on the screen. The production values were near zero. It was like a home movie except with less convincing acting and a weaker plot.

I went to the theater with a high school pal. I remember being so bored with the movie that we began talking to a couple of girls in the next car. Pretty soon we were all in their car. The movie was boring so you might think that something risqué happened, but no, it was all pretty innocent. Still, I remember that evening fondly to this day, largely due to a very bad movie named Chastity.

Cher's Unforgettable Essence apart from the plot

[angelicseven · 7/10 · 17 June 2011]

I never got to see this (1969) movie with Cher in it until recently and I'm so glad I did. The interesting thing about this movie is how it's much like Flashdance(1983), Lara Croft: Tomb Raider(2001)and Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within(2001). Because it draws you so much into following the appealing girl that no one else or anything going on in the movie really matters. This movie was really ahead of it's time as it fits in with how the fore-mentioned movies are made today; the rushing from scene to scene with what seems like no storyline. Even the Chasity character was just as unpredictable as the ending. What I liked about the movie is how it captured & preserved Cher's beginning beautiful essence & appeal, as with close-ups of her glowing face, lustrous long black hair, very attractive hands and light sultry voice. Possibly the reason why the film didn't make it big starting out is cause people just couldn't understand or relate to what was going on in the movie at the time. This show is more of a guy flick movie. Even though I don't particularly care for the story, I would watch it again just to see Cher's likeness.

wtf-i really disliked this movie.

[kgdakotafan · 3/10 · 22 September 2007]

Okay spoilers. A 22 year old girl named Chastity was abused sexually as a child.

As an adult she gets close to men then never lets them *do anything.*

The most extreme sexual thing she could do was strip naked (a redeeming scene.)

This movie was really weird but the weirdness was annoying not compelling.

She goes to a Mexican bordello and she meets the lesbian owner. Her complex feelings and strong emotions don't let her handle any of the events that happened to her. Pretty awful movie to say the least.

A Story about life and the importance to be loved.

[LoveTheRicardos · 10/10 · 29 August 2004]

I think this movie didn't receive the success that it deserved. "Chastity" (written and produced by Sonny Bono) is a beautiful story about a helpless girl who's ready to do anything (even if she doesn't like it) to have a minimum of attention and love. OK, we can see that they didn't get a lot of money to do this picture and that can be a good thing because they did a very good movie. Cher (in here movie debut)is absolutely perfect in the role of Chastity. Not surprised that she got an Oscar 18 years later. She's an excellent actress and still is. If you want to have a great moment and think a little bite about questions of life, watch this movie. It worth it...really!

The DVD features a teaser trailer only. English, french and Spanish subtitles are available. And has both fullscreen and widescreen ratio.

A Strange vehicle for Cher

[wlamb-1 · 7/10 · 25 January 2006]

In Cher's first attempt in a dramatic role she is found drifting through her young teenage life searching for her identity.She hitch-hikes to Mexico picking up truck-drivers as well as a boyfriend along the way.Her dysfunctional family and abuse follows her ,haunting her as she lives out her escapades wearing the same top and jeans till it makes you a bit nauseous! Her foray into the comfort of lesbianism,is short-circuited by her traditional American values,and Chastity tries the "straight life" one more failed time.The script is trite,and the story jaded .Cher has said the rough stuff was excluded,as Sonny Bono couldn't stand to see his wife do "those things". All in all a cool 60's trip,with an amateurish and weird aura! Chasity later became the name of Cher's daughter conceived during this movie!

Boring, lifeless film.

[sonya90028 · 3/10 · 29 July 2009]

Cher Bono plays the main character, named Chastity in this movie. The film opens with her frantically running, and it's unclear whether Chastity is running from, or to, something or someone. Chastity soon meets-up with a trucker who tries to seduce her, when she stays with him in his hotel room. Having none of that, Chastity leaves the hotel in a huff.

Basically, Chastity roams aimlessly about, hitch-hiking for a while. She steals a car, and drives down to Mexico, where she lives in a brothel as a prostitute. She comes back to the states, when she gets bored. When Chastity finally connects with a decent guy who lets her share his apartment, she inexplicably has a nervous breakdown.

Cher plays Chastity with a dour, wisecracking detachment. The character seems hollow, and two dimensional. Cher is much more talented as a singer, than an actress. She just doesn't have the thespian chops, to flesh out the character of Chastity with any credibility. This film will likely bore you to tears, unless you enjoy watching the young, gorgeous Cher on screen.

Boring

[goatyhead · 1/10 · 21 May 2012]

This movie seemed to have all the potential of a classic grind house movie type classic. Rebellious run away, crazy Mexican whore houses, drugs, sex, and hitch hiking all thrown together in a big heap. Unfortunately, it turned into a big heap of something else. Instead of joan jett "im angry at the world" type of angst, Cher seemed just randomly crazy and mean, with a bored look on her face. This actually could have been a female version of midnight cowboy, but instead was just another waste of film reel.

I was excited to see this because i think early Cher was very pretty and represented that whole early 70's look. She even ruined that.

Good early effort by Cher

[rosscinema · 6/10 · 8 January 2003]

Sonny Bono saved up his money and made this film starring his wife and its really not bad. You shouldn't expect great acting but Cher does show her early raw style here and even in scenes where she's required to cry she does it admirably. Script isn't bad either but all the talking she does to herself gets annoying after a while and I really didn't buy the whole Mexican brothel part at all. Her character is just to smart and in control to do something so brash and foolish. Now, about the nudity. There are two scenes where Cher is supposedly nude and in one scene you don't see her face at all so I'm assuming its a body double. But in the other scene it kind of looks like her though her hair is in the way and the room is dark so while I'm not 100% sure I do think it might be her where you see a glimpse of Cher's breast. The film ends on an emotional level where the voices in her head let us the viewer find out what's wrong with her and the last scene of an emotional Cher on the side of the road I think is just a solid job of acting. Solid effort by all including Sonny who produced, wrote and scored the music. I kept expecting to see Sonny pop up in a cameo but he never does. Interesting hippie flick with solid acting.

Worth seeing

[cherasny-66571 · 10/10 · 14 April 2017]

I have watched this movie several times and get more out of it each time I watch it. Whether artistically or what the movie conveys.Cher in her 1st solo movie.Screenplay by Sonny. He used many things about Cher's life and put them in to his screenplay.The pre-Cher,that is. The opening sequence shows an outline of Cher's head with many images running through it,reminds me of how many things I think about and how they get shuffled about.Do we get answers to them? We see Cher running.What is she running towards or away from. We don't know that until the end until we get the story. Chastity is an old enough to runaway.At that time,there were many runaways from whatever they may have experienced in their home life. She uses men.Her wits. Her sharp tongue.Her curiosity about life.She uses the streets to survive by any means. Yes,Chastity is looking for the love she craves for.When she gets it she is afraid and runs. She makes her way to Mexico.Ends up in the hands of a madam.With the madam,I believe she is looking for the love from her own mother. She gets it but this woman wants more.Chastity runs back to the lawyer wanna be.She seems settled but her she can't escape her past that happened at an early age and we find out why she runs. Its no female version of "MIDNIGHT COWBOY",but does ask a lot questions and how we would handle it if we were in her situation or whatever makes us run or stay.Some uses the street to survive.Others use the streets to get off. We all look for love. Some people don't get it. Some feel they don't deserve to be loved because of whatever they had encountered.

Surly, Sleazy Camp

[shark-43 · 6/10 · 26 May 2002]

You have to see this movie to believe this movie! A strange Sonny Bono created oddity at the tail end of the Sixties where he wanted to show off his Cher and her acting ability (now she is pretty awful and wooden and quiet in this but she has done good work in Silkwood, Mask, & Moonstruck)by producing and writing this heavy handed, weird script. Cher plays a runaway who is so surly and hateful towards everyone but allows men to pick her up - where she teases and berates them plus refuses to "let them get anything". There is horribly overwritten narrative by Cher that reeks of bad writing and sophomoric philosophy. But this film so captures a part of 1969 and the scenes of Cher working in a Mexican bordello are priceless!! This is camp and you might enjoy laughing at it with some likeminded friends but as a drama rental, you'll be aghast!!

Chastity's Father

[caspian1978 · 6/10 · 29 January 2022]

Chastity is your typical "know it all" brat from the late 60's. Her attire, fashion and swagger reminds the audience that she represents her generation. She takes advantage of everything and everyone without showing any signs or remorse for those she hurts. Through her trials throughout her story, we do not care about her. A borderline Anti-hippie movie , Chastity is for the most part unlikeable accept for her appearance. It is not until the final end of Act 3 do we get to see the real Chastity and her reason behind her madness. Much of the atmosphere of this movie goes against the time. We do not see the 60's outside of Chastity's eyes. The movie takes place in a pit stop from 1969 and away from its children. By the end of the movie, we realize that Chastity is not a representation of her generation but of her trauma. It is this that explains her behavior and her isolation from the rest of the world.

A RARITY- but worth seeking out!

[DenBoy-3 · 10/10 · 28 July 1999]

This is it- the legendary dramatic debut of Cher! She's an angry rebellious teenaged runaway hitchhiker. She has decidedly different views on sex- she won't give it up to the truckdriver who picks her up, but ends up working as a prostitute in Mexico. I won't give away the emotional ending of the movie, but it explains her reasons for doing all that she does; you may hate her at the beginning, but by the end your heart is breaking.