Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 30, 1994 TAG: 9404290029
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Mike Mayo
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The answer is yes, but the lines aren't perfectly distinct in these matters.
At one end of the spectrum there's "Cabin Fever," deliberately and unashamedly aimed at female viewers. It's a simple, two-character story about an older woman (Belinda Farrell) on sabbatical in a remote cottage, the younger handyman (Judd Dunning) who's working there and the physical relationship that develops between them.
Writer-director Deborah Shames has a background in serious educational films and Disney television documentaries. She knows the business of filmmaking well enough to have spent a limited budget wisely. She tells a short, 45-minute story with solid, if not lavish production values. It is erotic, not explicit, with an emphasis on lusty romanticism and humor.
The video is a couple of years old. It's already been written up in People magazine and USA Today, and seems to have found a large audience. At least it's been popular enough in the marketplace to generate a second, longer film, "Voyeur" due for release soon.
Despite its title, "Sexual Malice" also has a certain feminist angle. It's essentially a long-form version of the famous "It's 11:30" Diet Coke commercial where the office women watch the construction worker take off his shirt.
The situation: wealthy fast-track lawyer (Diana Barton) unhappily married to college teacher (Edward Albert) falls for male stripper (John Laughlin). Director Jag Mundhra is a veteran at this kind of highly polished soft-core fluff. Roughly the first half of the film keeps to the women's perspective; the second turns to conventional male fantasies. As is so often the case with this genre, the film looks slick - downright gaudy at times - and the acting isn't bad either.
Even though "Cold Sweat" was directed by a woman, Gail Harvey, it's a standard thriller with a dark, tongue-in-cheek humor. The main players here are a hitman (Ben Cross) haunted by the ghost of a recent victim, a financially strapped businessman (Dave Thomas), his faithless wife (Shannon Tweed) and their drug-dealer (Adam Baldwin). The plot moves along in standard fashion for about an hour and then comes thoroughly unhinged in the last act. Like so many Canadian productions, the film has a bleak look and a standard plot that's twisted into unexpected directions. Not to all tastes but quirky.
In many ways, "Lipstick Camera" is the most interesting of this group. It's about an ambitious young woman, Omy (Ele Keats) who wants to be a TV news photographer. Her idol is a cynical cameraman named Flynn (Brian Wimmer). Hoping to impress him, she borrows a tiny "lipstick camera" from her friend Joule (Corey Feldman). The three of them are caught up in a possible murder involving a mysterious German (Terry O'Quinn) and a woman (Sandahl Bergman) who claims to be his wife.
Though the thriller elements of the plot take up too much time, the main characters are handled remarkably well. Corey Feldman takes what could have been a so-so supporting role and turns it into a believable and sympathetic character. Ele Keats does a lot with the lead, too. How much is Omy willing to sacrifice for her budding career? Mike Bonifer, director and co- writer with L.G. Weaver, makes her a complex character, one with more depth than you normally see in a protagonist, male or female.
Finally, we have "Saturday Night Special." It attempts to combine "Body Heat" and "Austin City Limits." The results are mixed at best. Will the wiley Darleen (Maria Ford) seduce ex-con Travis (Billy Burnette) into bumping off her no-account hubby (Rick Dean)? There are no real surprises in the plot and director Dan Golden handles the physical action clumsily. Still, Maria Ford is a sexy, spirited heroine who steals the film from her co- stars.
Her character may not be exactly what female videophiles have in mind when they're scouring the shelves for guilty pleasures. But this is an evolving genre. If the audience is out there - and it certainly seems to be - the video industry will cater to it.
THE ESSENTIALS:
(All these guilty pleasures contain nudity and sexual material. Violence is restrained or absent.)
Cabin Fever ***
Erotic Escapades. 45 min. Unrated.
Sexual Malice ** 1/2 A-Pix. 96 min. Rated R.
Cold Sweat ** Paramount. 93 min. Rated R.
Lipstick Camera *** Triboro. 93 min. Rated R.
Saturday Night Special. ** New Horizons. 77 min. R-rated and unrated.
by CNB