Completely unheralded, this title made by Bob Chinn near the end of the Porno Chic era is the sort of discovery I don't expect while sampling through dozens of vintage porn features randomly -a clever, highly original film that happens to contain XXX content (and was made as porn). No, it's not an accidental winner but rather a rare case of terrific, confident filmmaking that sneaks up on you from the bargain bin.
I won't spoil the thrill of an offbeat discovery with too much detail. It opens as a conventional rom-com, with Eric Edwards, looking quite different wearing horned rim glasses, bumping into an old flame Jacqueline Lorians from college in a laundromat, with her pal Patty Petite in tow. He invites them to a cocktail party at his place, and Patty is enthusiastic, having to convince her roommate to go, as Lorians is dubious about hooking up with an ex boyfriend many years later.
Edwards' pal is Harry Reems, quite effective if a bit over eager to tackle a typical buddy role in a sitcom. He has anal sex with Erica Boyer and Edwards arrives home early, almost catching them in the act, to get ready to host the party. Chinn has established a friendly, lighthearted mood in the opening reels, with naturalistic acting and two sex scenes for the target audience (as Patty and Jacqueline have solid lesbian action at home).
SPOILER: Just as Harry is leaving, two gunmen ring the doorbell and rob him and Eric. This sudden U-turn in the very fine screenplay by Deborah Sullivan (aka Deborah Chinn, his wife) came as a complete surprise, and takes the movie into lightly comical sociology territory, as the guests arrive, all are taken hostage by the bumbling pair of criminals, and ultimately everyone has a fine time, much more entertaining than the dull cocktail party they were expecting. It's as if John Sayles had written a screenplay for a porn movie (I'm getting a bit fanciful in that notion) requiring the sexual content but with a sort of Whit Stillman level of dialogue sophistication. The basic clash of social unequals (Dan T. Mann and Steve Drake as the would-be criminals are out-of-work construction types, now mingling with literally cocktail party liberals) is fascinating.
Why this shot-on-film VHS release from the mid-'80s was completely swallowed up, unknown to public or critics alike, is a mystery, though in a cynical mood I would ascribe its failure to being "too good" for its audience. Given the gonzo revolution on the horizon when it was made that is likely true.
The cast is uniformly adept at creating their brief but evocative roles, and even players like Randy West or Dan T. Mann or Kim Carson who seem so familiar from their hundreds of lesser roles shine here -given the opportunity by the Chinns to do some real, unpretentious acting.
Give this sleeper a shot, and get ready for a fabulous non sequitur final line of dialogue, also slipped in cleverly from out of nowhere to perfectly put the movie in its place.
I won't spoil the thrill of an offbeat discovery with too much detail. It opens as a conventional rom-com, with Eric Edwards, looking quite different wearing horned rim glasses, bumping into an old flame Jacqueline Lorians from college in a laundromat, with her pal Patty Petite in tow. He invites them to a cocktail party at his place, and Patty is enthusiastic, having to convince her roommate to go, as Lorians is dubious about hooking up with an ex boyfriend many years later.
Edwards' pal is Harry Reems, quite effective if a bit over eager to tackle a typical buddy role in a sitcom. He has anal sex with Erica Boyer and Edwards arrives home early, almost catching them in the act, to get ready to host the party. Chinn has established a friendly, lighthearted mood in the opening reels, with naturalistic acting and two sex scenes for the target audience (as Patty and Jacqueline have solid lesbian action at home).
SPOILER: Just as Harry is leaving, two gunmen ring the doorbell and rob him and Eric. This sudden U-turn in the very fine screenplay by Deborah Sullivan (aka Deborah Chinn, his wife) came as a complete surprise, and takes the movie into lightly comical sociology territory, as the guests arrive, all are taken hostage by the bumbling pair of criminals, and ultimately everyone has a fine time, much more entertaining than the dull cocktail party they were expecting. It's as if John Sayles had written a screenplay for a porn movie (I'm getting a bit fanciful in that notion) requiring the sexual content but with a sort of Whit Stillman level of dialogue sophistication. The basic clash of social unequals (Dan T. Mann and Steve Drake as the would-be criminals are out-of-work construction types, now mingling with literally cocktail party liberals) is fascinating.
Why this shot-on-film VHS release from the mid-'80s was completely swallowed up, unknown to public or critics alike, is a mystery, though in a cynical mood I would ascribe its failure to being "too good" for its audience. Given the gonzo revolution on the horizon when it was made that is likely true.
The cast is uniformly adept at creating their brief but evocative roles, and even players like Randy West or Dan T. Mann or Kim Carson who seem so familiar from their hundreds of lesser roles shine here -given the opportunity by the Chinns to do some real, unpretentious acting.
Give this sleeper a shot, and get ready for a fabulous non sequitur final line of dialogue, also slipped in cleverly from out of nowhere to perfectly put the movie in its place.