There were three reasons why I thought this sex comedy would be good. One, it's made in the UK and I find most of the British sex comedies of the 1970s very funny. Two, it stars Thick Wilson, a guy who made a brief appearance in the well-known COME PLAY WITH ME, directed by George Harrison Marks. He wasn't given anything funny to say in that film but something about this guy just made me laugh when I saw the scene he was in (and I don't mean the fact he's obese). Third, it was written by Tudor Gates, a good writer IMO and writer of one of the best sex comedies, INTIMATE GAMES, released in 1976.
Unfortunately I was disappointed after viewing SEX WITH THE STARS.
It lacks all the charm associated with the sex comedies of the 1970s. To be fair, EMMANUELLE IN SOHO (also being a 1980s film) is different from the 1970s efforts too. But the difference is that I remember the latter as being good when I saw it four years ago. I also want to point out here that I'm not a snob when it comes to films; I love many sex comedies from the 1970s such as the CONFESSIONS series, the ADVENTURES OF series, COME PLAY WITH ME, SPACED OUT, KEEP IT UP DOWNSTAIRS, CAN YOU KEEP IT UP FOR A WEEK? and so on. I even love the much-loathed and much-mocked ZETA ONE. But SEX WITH THE STARS is just plain dull, lacking the laughs, the energy and even the silliness that made those films all fun to watch.
No one watches a sex comedy expecting a great plot with twists and turns. So I can't argue about that point. A shy guy who writes an astrology column for a magazine is instructed by his boss to spice it up. What plays out is a series of vignettes where the guy has sex with girls born under different star signs. The fact that a shy bloke becomes a Lothario overnight is meant to be funny in itself, and indeed similar plots in films such as THE LOVE PILL, do work to produce some comical results. Sadly when watching this film, I was just bored. The lead, played by an actor who I've never heard of called Martin Burrows, had none of the charm or quirkiness required to play this sort of character. Watch David Pugh in THE LOVE PILL (if you can find it since the film has never had an official DVD release) or the guy with the glasses in SPACED OUT (can't remember his name off-hand) and see the difference between them and the dull guy in SEX WITH THE STARS. It makes all the difference in this type of film.
Thick Wilson enjoys himself playing the boss but he's not given any particularly funny lines. That was a big let-down for me because I thought he would be given quite a bit to do.
There are plenty of sex scenes to be found in the film. They are not erotic, which I'm not complaining about since they're not meant to be in these very British depictions of sex. But they are not funny either. Compare this to Robin Askwith's hilarious exploits in the CONFESSIONS films and you'll see the difference. Who could forget the scene with Robin Askwith and Sue Longhurst on the latter's kitchen floor for example?
Overall there really isn't much to say about this film. It was made right near the end of the British sex comedy boom. I wish I could agree with the two people who posted positive reviews. But I can't. This film is boring and a massive disappointment. I recommend it only to people who wish to see every British sex comedy ever made.
