Unquestionably the worst film Bukowski was ever associated with and perhaps one of the worst movies of the 1970s, SUPERVAN attempted to capitalize on the recreational van craze that was taking place in the second half of the decade.
There really isn’t a plot as much as there are terribly acted scenes ripped off from more successful B Movies of the time.
Enter an inebriated Charles Bukowski wearing a white t-shirt with the words:
WET-T-SHIRT
CONTEST
WATER BOY
It's a cringy scene with Bukowski awkwardly trying to play grabass with a young woman who has no idea who or what he is, while he competes with a fellow WATER BOY wearing the same t-shirt. As the good folks at Festival de Cannes like to say, “Ce film est très mauvais”.
“a bit part” is a poem that reads like a hazy recollection of the events that transpired that day. The funniest line is his girlfriend’s critique of Bukowski’s big scene scene:
“These people made an asshole out of you!”
The poem is signed by Bukowski and dated “3-11-80” and has his San Pedro address.
As far as I know, the poem has never been published.
The manuscript has some light toning and wrinkles. It looks to have been folded three times and has a noticeable crease in the bottom portion.
The manuscript comes with a promotional photo of one of the victims and the other WATER BOY, but we only see Bukowski’s outstretched right arm firing the hose. The photo has thumbtack holes on the corners and a large crease on the left side that almost splits the photopaper.
"BUT WAIT"as the commercials of the time liked to say, “THERE'S MORE!” That more is a matchbox-size replica of the SUPERVAN itself, looking like it’s been sitting in your uncle’s barn since that last road trip to Reno in 1982.
Case 5 and
