review for Beyond the Valley of the Dolls on AllMovie

Legendary cult filmmaker Russ Meyer's outrageous major-studio debut was this delightfully tasteless spoof of all those movies about aspiring ingenues hoping to break into showbiz and discovering the sad price of fame. In this case, the all-girl "Carrie Nations" rock band (Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, Marcia McBroom) gets more than they bargained for as they inadvertently cause a suicide and end up in a Manson-like massacre at the home of a transvestite record producer (John La Zar). The usual amply proportioned Meyer starlets are on hand, including Edy Williams, Erica Gavin, and Haji, along with a young Pam Grier and a performance by the Strawberry Alarm Clock. The story moves fast, the songs are memorable, and the screenplay by Meyer and film critic Roger Ebert is funny and knowing. Some may question Ebert's later crusade opposing violence toward women when they see one of the female cast members salaciously sucking a gun barrel before being shot, but it should be remembered that in this sort of movie, shock value is everything. Don't take it too seriously and you may just end up loving it.