In the late '60s through mid-'70s, the world of pop music spawned the new phenomenon of "groupies," women who loved music and were inclined to physically express their appreciation for their favorite rock stars. While some groupies became fabled enough to attain a degree of public notoriety, few were more famous -- or infamous -- than Chicago's "the Plaster Casters," a handful of Windy City women who were bold enough to approach some of the best-known rock stars of their day and make plaster of Paris molds of their manhood in a state of excitement. Plaster Caster is a documentary that looks back at the long, strange trip of Cynthia, founder and leader of the Plaster Casters. Cynthia (who prefers not to reveal her last name, for fear her mother might still find out about her notoriety after all these years) discusses her hobby, shows off her collection of artifacts (including her fabled cast of Jimi Hendrix), discusses her legal battle to recover some of her statuettes from former associates, and reveals that she's still living up to her name, now following the punk and indie rock scenes and preserving for posterity anatomies of members of the Mekons, the Demolition Doll Rods, and 5ive Style -- the latter of whom even gets cast on camera. Veteran rockers Eric Burdon and Wayne Kramer also weigh in with their memories of the Plaster Casters and the late-'60s rock scene. Plaster Caster was screened at the 2001 San Francisco Docfest, a festival celebrating nonfiction films.Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
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