Every Woman Has a Fantasy (1984)

In Every Woman Has a Fantasy, producer-writer Summer Brown (as Sandra Winters) and husband director-writer Edwin Brown (as Edwin Durrell), let the viewer into the inner sanctum of a group of women who meet weekly to discuss their lives and open up to one another about their sexual fantasies. Nancy Friday's My Secret Garden was published more than a decade before Every Woman Has a Fantasy was made, so I guess it was pretty well-accepted that many women had rich fantasy sex lives. The implication here, at least, was that it was still rare for them to open up about them, with friends, and especially partners.

When Ben (John Leslie) asks his wife, Teri (Rachel Ashley), if he knows any of the women in the group, she explains that the women not knowing each others' spouses is a benefit to opening up since there's no threat of the fantasies getting back to their husbands. Ben's fascination with the group turns to an obsession as he progresses from hearing the fantasies relayed by Teri to convincing her to smuggle in a tape recorder to hiding in the closet when she hosts the group to, finally, dressing in drag and posing as his visiting cousin, Jennifer, to sit in on a meeting.

Insatiable (1980)

It feels so good to have great sex.

Such is the life philosophy of incredibly successful model/actress Sandra Chase (Marilyn Chambers), but Godfrey Daniels's Insatiable ultimately asks, "And then what?" On the surface, Sandra seems to have the world in the palm of her hand. Much of the film takes place during the pre-production phase of Chase's forthcoming star-turn feature, masterminded by Flo (Jessie St. James), her...agent? Manager, maybe? Regardless, Flo is convinced that attaching actors Renee Reynolds (Serena) and Roger Adams (John Leslie) will make the movie a slam dunk success. Judging by the conversations between Sandra and her Aunt Victoria on Sandra's post-filming vacation, Flo was right.

It's demonstrated and reiterated that sex is very important to Sandra. Right off the bat, she has a super horny dream and the first thing she wants to do is tell Flo about it and is disappointed when she can't due to Renee's imminent arrival. She doesn't have much time to fret, though, since within minutes after meeting Renee, the two women are in the hot tub getting it on.

High Rise (1972)

From time to time, about 10 or 15 minutes into an adult film, it'll occur to me that what I'm watching would be a good flick to recommend to someone curious about why I'm so interested in porn made before, oh, 1984. Or even, given the right circumstances, throw on while having drinks with friends. High Rise definitely fits the bill.

The carnal education of a sexual naif and/or rekindling the heat in a dead bedroom are well-worn tropes of porn. High Rise puts a fun twist on it by having main character Susie's (Tamie Trevor) "fresh, novel sexual experiences" - a part of her therapist-prescribed "fast course in practical sexual stimulation" - set up as a series of titled vignettes, all occurring in the same high rise apartment building.

The soundtrack slaps, the scenes are visually interesting, the fourth wall is broken periodically, giving the film a lightly surreal, psychedelic flavor, and there's a cheeky twist at the end. Trevor is super sexy and charismatic as Susie. It's a real shame she had such a limited filmography (only four films, two in non-sex roles).

The hardcore scenes are fine. Notably, there's not a money shot to be found, a pro or a con depending on one's appreciation for ejaculate. My only quibble is that the three-way montage and the orgy scene are about 20% too long which end up wearing out otherwise remarkable editing.

Rimmer says:

[U]nderlying all the vignettes is a sophisticated sense of humor.

Yup.

I really, really enjoyed High Rise and would love for it to get a Vinegar Syndrome restoration. I'm giving the film an enthusiastic CC5!

RANDOM THOUGHTS
° Another Marc Stevens appearance, another scene in which he struggles to get - forget maintain - an erection.

° If my review doesn't sell you on seeing the film, reading the excellent piece The Rialto Report put together should do it. Among lots of fascinating information, it sheds some light on why Tamie Trevor's career was so short. Basically, she was nuts.

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