Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 4, 1993 TAG: 9309050014
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Mike Mayo
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
When I learned that a 3-D version of the "Kama Sutra" was going to be released on home video, my first thoughts were probably as salacious as yours are now. I mean, consider the lurid possibilities. But the producers of "Creative Loving: The Art of Love in 3-D" chose not to take the low road.
Instead, they open with a jolly fat fellow sitting in the middle of a vaguely Indian set. He explains what a fun time he's had writing his "Kama Sutra" and goes on to dispense little pearls of wisdom, such as advising you to "shampoo your lover's thighs." (Later he explains that in this context, shampoo really means massage.)
Several attractive couples then simulate his ideas and theories. It's not much different from the simulated activity that's so common in more conventional guilty pleasures. The difference is the 3-D, which is achieved through polarized glasses. Two pairs are included with each tape. The
effects themselves, though, have to do with strategically placed potted plants and flowers that pass between the human subjects and the camera and appear to be on a different plane. You see, almost all of the action seems to have been staged on a big turntable. The camera is constantly circling the couples.
You could get much the same effect by placing Ken and Barbie in a microwave oven with a carousel _ not that Ken and Barbie have ever engaged in that sort of thing in a kitchen appliance, or shampooed each other's thighs. But you get the idea.
"Tomcat" is a low-budget Canadian sci-fi movie about a guy (Richard Grieco) who becomes the title character after a scientist (Maryam D'Abo) does a little Frankenstein number on him to cure a genetic disorder. He gets quick reflexes, an affinity for high places and a certain loose moral code. Writer/director Paul Donovan tells the story in an inventive, unusual manner and the film has a certain grotesque humor that helps it over the rough spots. Considering the formulaic nature of the material, the acting's not bad either. The main problem here is that the story is over about 15 minutes before the movie is, so the conclusion is needlessly padded.
"Secret Games 2: The Escort" is a sequel in title only about Kyle Lake (Martin Hewitt), who makes a dubious career change from critic to performance artist. His wife is not amused, so Kyle starts recording a series of "artistic" tapes with a woman he meets through an escort service. The rest of the plot is based on the differences between men and women that fill the self-help bestseller lists and the guest lineups of Oprah, Montel and Phil. Soft-core veteran director Gregory Hippolyte has given the film a highly polished look with with dark glossy sets, low-key lighting and a soundtrack filled with classical music and Gregorian chants.
(By the way, be on the lookout in October for Hippolyte's "Sins of the Night." It's one of the guiltiest pleasures ever and will be reviewed here the next time the subject is visited.)
Sequels continue with "Flesh Gordon Meets the Cosmic Cheerleaders." The original is one of the great guilty pleasures. This one isn't nearly as much fun, but it is notable for rude, scatological humor. It seems that Americans have become so obsessed with not offending each other _ as groups and as individuals _ that we're becoming bland and homogenous. Not this spirited little flick. It begins with jokes about flatulence and a sport called "codball" before it becomes seriously tasteless. I'm ashamed to admit that I laughed, but that's what guilty pleasures are all about.
"Night Eyes 3" is the third and probably not the last in a series of popular video originals about people who watch video originals. Writer/director/star Andrew Stevens has found a successful formula and is making the most of it. The story here, as in the others, involves video surveillance cameras and all the naughty voyeuristic things that can be done with them. The indefatigable Shannon Tweed, as the star of a successful TV cop show, is the object of all the attention. For a well-worn formula flick, this one begins well enough but becomes predictably violent and a little incoherent by the end.
Finally from "the-truth-the-whole-truth-and-nothing-but-the-truth" department, we have "Forum Letters Volume One." Readers of Penthouse magazine are familiar with these absolutely factual missives in which male models who moonlight as test pilots and race-car drivers write in to describe their romantic encounters with the entire Dallas Cowboy cheerleading squad. All right, perhaps that's a slight overstatement, but this tape dramatizes six similar encounters, all presented with a deliberate pace and romantic voice-over narration.
\ THE ESSENTIALS:
(By definition, guilty pleasures contain nudity and sexual material. "Tomcat" and "Night Eyes 3" also have some violence.)
Creative Loving: ** NightVision. Unrated. 60 min.
Tomcat: ** Republic. 101 min. Rated R.
Secret Games 2: The Escort: ** Imperial. Unrated and R-rated. 92 and 82 min.
Flesh Gordon Meets the Cosmic Cheerleaders: ** 1/2 New Horizons. Unrated and R-rated. 101 min.
Night Eyes 3: ** Prism. Unrated and R-rated. 101 and 97 min.
Forum Letters Volume One: ** A+Vision. Unrated. 80 min.
\ New release this week:
El Mariachi: ***
Stars Carlos Gallardo, Consuelo Gomez, Reinol Martinez, Peter Marquardt. Produced, written, directed and edited by Robert Rodriquez. Columbia Tristar. 80 min. Rated R for graphic violence.
It's easy to see why this has been such a hit at film festivals. Combining a fresh approach with an established formula in an inventive way, it's the kind of low budget ($7,000!) movie that enthusiastic audiences take to heart. Essentially, first-time filmmaker Rodriquez has recycled the plot of "A Fistful of Dollars" and set it in contemporary Mexico. His hero is a musician caught between warring gangs. Subtitled.
by CNB