# Eating Raoul (1982 cult film) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 21, 2017, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-raoul-1982-cult-film/796854 "2017-09-21T04:09:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-raoul-1982-cult-film/796854/1 "2017-09-21T04:09:11Z")
Has anyone here seen this? TCM aired it a while back, and I watched it on my Tivo this evening. šŸ˜› That was ONE.WEIRD.FLICK. Iā€™m surprised John Waters wasnā€™t somehow involved in this freak-fest. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-raoul-1982-cult-film/796854/2 "2017-09-21T04:15:34Z")
I remember watching it on cable not too long after it came out. Weird, but funny. Havenā€™t seen it in over 30 years. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-raoul-1982-cult-film/796854/3 "2017-09-21T04:19:42Z")
Robert Beltran in the title role, and some hilarious cameos. Havenā€™t seen it years, either. Not to everyoneā€™s taste. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-raoul-1982-cult-film/796854/4 "2017-09-21T04:29:43Z")
I saw it on TCMā€¦it was kinda strangeā€¦Robt.Beltram was so young! ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-raoul-1982-cult-film/796854/5 "2017-09-21T05:28:02Z")
I watched it a million years ago when I was too young to really get it. I donā€™t even really remember the film now to be honest. I just remember that I rented it with a friend, on VHS. I even forget which friend! ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-raoul-1982-cult-film/796854/6 "2017-09-21T06:36:51Z")
I still have my VHS copy as well as a DVD. Awesome movie. Mmmmmmmmmmm Mary Woronovā€¦ Srsly, this was a weird and wonderful movie when it came out and it still is. Paul Bartel was a genius. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-raoul-1982-cult-film/796854/7 "2017-09-21T07:06:44Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Mmmmmmmmmmm Mary Woronovā€¦ Great minds think alike. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-raoul-1982-cult-film/796854/8 "2017-09-21T08:36:50Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I still have my VHS copy as well as a DVD. Awesome movie. Mmmmmmmmmmm Mary Woronovā€¦ > > Srsly, this was a weird and wonderful movie when it came out and it still is. Paul Bartel was a genius. Paul Bartel was always fine, and Mary Woronov was always a pleasure to watch in a movie. But _Eating Raoul_ was not so much wonderful as it was weird, IMHO. It came highly recommended, so I saw it. I didnā€™t like it. I gave it a second chance, and still didnā€™t like it. It was just too weird for me. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-raoul-1982-cult-film/796854/9 "2017-09-21T10:54:04Z")
I thought it was mildly amusing and I liked the quirkiness. I donā€™t think Iā€™d seek it out, but Iā€™d be willing to watch it again. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-raoul-1982-cult-film/796854/10 "2017-09-21T13:32:51Z")
If you think thatā€™s quirky, take a look at Bartelā€™s _Scenes from the Class Conflict in Beverly Hills_. Just donā€™t make the mistake of watching it with your parentsā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-raoul-1982-cult-film/796854/11 "2017-09-21T14:26:08Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > If you think thatā€™s quirky, take a look at Bartelā€™s _Scenes from the Class Conflict in Beverly Hills_. Just donā€™t make the mistake of watching it with your parentsā€¦ [nitpick] _Class Struggle_ not class conflict [/nitpick] I think thatā€™s a better movie, too. I had a friend who watched it thinking it was _Down and Out in Beverly Hills_. That was pretty funny to watch unfold in front of me. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-raoul-1982-cult-film/796854/12 "2017-09-21T14:44:03Z")
Liked it when it was new, havenā€™t seen it in decades. For years I thought it was Raul Julia in the titular role. Memoryā€™s a funny thing. Paul Bartel made some interesting films. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-raoul-1982-cult-film/796854/13 "2017-09-21T14:45:07Z")
I saw _Eating Raoul_ in the theater when it came out. All the reviews warned that it would be a weird experience, because Bartel and Woronov were very weird people (the two of them were also excellent in the 1978 Ramones vehicle _Rock and Roll High School._) The best scene was when Buck Henry and all the other ā€œswingersā€ were in the hot tub, yelling for Woronov to join them, and Bartel yelled something like ā€œTake THIS, swingers!ā€ And threw the bug zapper in, which electrocuted them all instantly. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-raoul-1982-cult-film/796854/14 "2017-09-21T15:22:28Z")
I think I saw it at least twice with a friend who was determined to convert me to the wonder of fine film making. I was not won over. Not to my taste. šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-raoul-1982-cult-film/796854/15 "2017-09-21T15:24:23Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > Not to my taste. šŸ˜‰ Very nice. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-raoul-1982-cult-film/796854/16 "2017-09-21T18:26:39Z")
I was going to say I did watch it long ago and loved it. But then people started saying it was funny. Nope, not the movie I saw. I was confusing it with The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-raoul-1982-cult-film/796854/17 "2017-09-21T18:59:31Z")
Seen it? I went to a screening of it when it came out! And I have the DVD. I think of it every time I use a cast iron frying pan. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-raoul-1982-cult-film/796854/18 "2017-09-21T19:07:35Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I was going to say I did watch it long ago and loved it. But then people started saying it was funny. Nope, not the movie I saw. I was confusing it with The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover. Itā€™s been an eon since I saw either one, but my recollection is that I found _Eating Raoul_ funny in a weird sort of way, but I found \*The Cook etc. \*weird in a disgusting sort of way. I would be interested in seeing if I still found _Eating Raoul_ funny. I would not waste 2 hours of my life on a second viewing of _The Cook etc._ ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-raoul-1982-cult-film/796854/19 "2017-09-22T16:27:56Z")
I remember the scene where Bartelā€™s character was picking up props from an X-rated store, and the manager kept trying to upsell him on the raunchier stuff. For some reason, it just resonated with me, probably because I went to one of those places once and bought a blow-up sheep as a gag gift, and I remember the creepy manager recommending something more durable. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-raoul-1982-cult-film/796854/20 "2017-09-22T18:31:28Z")
ā€œGag gift.ā€ Sure. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-raoul-1982-cult-film/796854.md?page=2)