Fantasies (1981)
* 1/2 (out of 4)
This was originally shot in 1973 when Bo Derek, then going by her original name, was 16-years-old and involved with director, writer and cinematographer John Derek. Needless to say, due to the subject matter this film wasn't released until 1981 after Bo had become a sex symbol with 10. In the film, she plays a young girl who begins to wonder about her changing body as well as her growing feelings for her older step brother (Peter Hooten). That's pretty much the story of this pretty bland romantic-drama that manages to be quite boring throughout the so-called controversial subject matter. It needs to be said that the young Derek has several nude scenes here, which is why the film couldn't find an original release and it's also going to be a reason why most people are going to want to stay away from this thing. I'll let one's own moral stance on the nudity decide whether they want to go any further with the film. The entire film has an extremely cheap feel to it and I really do have to wonder what John Derek was trying to do. I'm sure it was show off his young lover but it looks like he would have hired someone else to do the writing because his screenplay is quite horrid, is all over the place and it never really makes much sense. The love story is handled in a tender way but it just never comes to life. The entire subplot dealing with the hotel on the island is just bland. The film has some memorable Greek locations but these here aren't enough to make the thing worth sitting through. Hooten offers up a downright awful performance and the supporting cast isn't much better. Bo actually isn't too bad here and I'd argue that the performance here is much better than the stuff from her popular period. The film itself is pretty bad and not worth viewing except for those who want to see a young Bo. Or, if you want to see a scene where her grandfather pulls her shirt up to see how she's growing. Yeah, it's like that.
