When all is said and done, and though he was responsible for few of their masterpieces (excluding LES BAS DE SOIE NOIRE and L'INITIATION D'UNE FEMME MARIEE), the frothy fornication farces of Claude Bernard-Aubert a/k/a "Burd Tranbaree" will probably go down as being most representative of production and distribution company Alpha France's house style that dominated Parisian porno palaces throughout the Seventies, breathing its last (theatrical) gasp at the dawn of the next decade. Invariably set in the country's capital, among the comfortably well-off, they were good-natured yarns of married couples who had come to take each other for granted until they discovered that a little fooling around could spice up their stale relationship no end. Already approaching middle age by the time he made his dirty movie debut (1976's LA FESSEE at 46), Bernard-Aubert clearly clung to his bourgeois values. So while all kinds of transgressions might be committed wholeheartedly over the course of the movie, the status quo had to be somewhat restored in the third act.
True to formula, GARCONNIERES TRES SPECIALES presents two contrasting couples. Lively Marie-Claude (Marianne Aubert) and her game for anything husband Jean-Claude (Guy Royer) have the textbook open marriage, enjoying simultaneous extra-curricular sex in their adjoining apartments with an intricate set of two-way mirrors enabling them to "spy" on each other for added oomph. Leaving town for a while, they decide to let their dearest friends reap the benefits of this ingenious set-up. Frumpy Françoise (Elisabeth Buré) and workaholic Jean-Loup (Hubert Géral) provide the flip side to the marriage medal. Neither one's informed of the exact nature of the fully-stocked flat where they can go spend some private time away from wedlock, nor are they initially aware of the other's presence right next door. Thus the scene is set for the type of bedroom farce that was the French theater's bread and butter throughout at least the first three quarters of last century. A solid workmanlike director prior to entering the adult industry, Bernard-Aubert keeps the pace up 'n' running, cheerfully inviting viewers along for the ride.
Sex is both plentiful and varied, nothing too adventurous but infused with infectious energy from its cast. There does seem to be a preoccupation with threesomes however. The always welcome Aubert kicks off in high gear right after the sparse opening credits, draining Richard Lemieuvre and rarely seen hunk Patrick Perrin (from Pierre Unia's enjoyable VACANCES POLISSONNES) of their vital juices. This scorcher's inter-cut with Royer ably servicing the likes of pretty Cathy Dupré (often billed as "Jennifer", as on Jean-Luc Brunet's underrated VIRGINITES A PRENDRE) and exotic Isabelle Brell, who was prominently featured in Jean-Claude Roy's similarly themed DERRIERE LE MIROIR SANS TAIN.
It would stand to reason that these acrobatics would eventually be mirrored by their conservative counterparts. Exhuding class from every pore, seasoned Buré daintily handles Lemieuvre and stalwart Piotr Stanislas while Géral does his darnedest to keep up with blond Laura May (one of Gérard Loubeau's SECHS SCHWEDINNEN AUF IBIZA) and brunette Eva Muller, a fly by night starlet best remembered for Michel Barny's SONIA ET L'AMOUR DES FEMMES.
Two of the most undervalued performers in the French adult industry, Buré and Géral acquit themselves equally well on a thespian level, making their bored interaction all too believable and giving off a real spark when rekindling their not quite lost love. Non-threatening stud muffin André Kay, a Michel Lemoine regular who played Olinka's small town beau in ROSALIE SE DECHAINE, is the insurance salesman who winds up as Françoise's first tentative stab at adultery. Alluring Olivia "Moanie" Flores portrays slinky upstairs neighbor Valerie who entices her into a bit of smoldering Sapphic afternoon delight.
True to formula, GARCONNIERES TRES SPECIALES presents two contrasting couples. Lively Marie-Claude (Marianne Aubert) and her game for anything husband Jean-Claude (Guy Royer) have the textbook open marriage, enjoying simultaneous extra-curricular sex in their adjoining apartments with an intricate set of two-way mirrors enabling them to "spy" on each other for added oomph. Leaving town for a while, they decide to let their dearest friends reap the benefits of this ingenious set-up. Frumpy Françoise (Elisabeth Buré) and workaholic Jean-Loup (Hubert Géral) provide the flip side to the marriage medal. Neither one's informed of the exact nature of the fully-stocked flat where they can go spend some private time away from wedlock, nor are they initially aware of the other's presence right next door. Thus the scene is set for the type of bedroom farce that was the French theater's bread and butter throughout at least the first three quarters of last century. A solid workmanlike director prior to entering the adult industry, Bernard-Aubert keeps the pace up 'n' running, cheerfully inviting viewers along for the ride.
Sex is both plentiful and varied, nothing too adventurous but infused with infectious energy from its cast. There does seem to be a preoccupation with threesomes however. The always welcome Aubert kicks off in high gear right after the sparse opening credits, draining Richard Lemieuvre and rarely seen hunk Patrick Perrin (from Pierre Unia's enjoyable VACANCES POLISSONNES) of their vital juices. This scorcher's inter-cut with Royer ably servicing the likes of pretty Cathy Dupré (often billed as "Jennifer", as on Jean-Luc Brunet's underrated VIRGINITES A PRENDRE) and exotic Isabelle Brell, who was prominently featured in Jean-Claude Roy's similarly themed DERRIERE LE MIROIR SANS TAIN.
It would stand to reason that these acrobatics would eventually be mirrored by their conservative counterparts. Exhuding class from every pore, seasoned Buré daintily handles Lemieuvre and stalwart Piotr Stanislas while Géral does his darnedest to keep up with blond Laura May (one of Gérard Loubeau's SECHS SCHWEDINNEN AUF IBIZA) and brunette Eva Muller, a fly by night starlet best remembered for Michel Barny's SONIA ET L'AMOUR DES FEMMES.
Two of the most undervalued performers in the French adult industry, Buré and Géral acquit themselves equally well on a thespian level, making their bored interaction all too believable and giving off a real spark when rekindling their not quite lost love. Non-threatening stud muffin André Kay, a Michel Lemoine regular who played Olinka's small town beau in ROSALIE SE DECHAINE, is the insurance salesman who winds up as Françoise's first tentative stab at adultery. Alluring Olivia "Moanie" Flores portrays slinky upstairs neighbor Valerie who entices her into a bit of smoldering Sapphic afternoon delight.