Like most of Adam & Eve's couple-oriented features from the turn of this Century, "Intimate Strangers" is more about mood and that floating "New Age" feel that typifies the label's trademark, not about story or gonzo raw sex. It's extremely well- made by Nicholas Steele and his team but less than compelling viewing.
Dialog is minimized as the voice-over stresses how chance encounters can inspire sexual fantasies for people. This is made evident in the "Rashomon" opening sequence where we get two successive sex scenes, one from the beauty Crystal Carter in her mansion gazing at delivery man Lee Stone in his truck, and then another sex act fantasized by Stone. He calmly delivers the package and drives off, nothing whatsoever happening between them, but a wistful mood, exemplified by the title's meaning, has been established.
This format is repeated for six vignettes, though some of them seem to be real rather than imagined. It hardly matters, as the cumulative effect is a dreamy, Saturday Afternoon type of porn far removed from today's gonzo world. I find slipping an A & E porn video into the DVD player relaxing (like the ubiquitous Lesbian Videos flooding the market these days) rather than drop-everything arousing.
The most atmospheric sequence pairs Flick Shagwell and Anthony Hardwood, comically credited at the end as "Rainwoman" and "Rainman". They hook up due to car trouble in the rain, and make love in an exceedingly wet state across the hood. This reminded me of a terrific vignette concerning illicit lovers Lisa Ann and Tommy Gunn in "Erotic Stories 3: Lovers and Cheaters". Get out the water cannons, oh ye purveyors of porn!
