ehitchcock

This movie belongs to Ty Randolph, who pulls off an acting coup in her portrayal of the seamless fusion of dominance and dependence in the personality of a predator, Charlotte Morland, who goes after the newly hired houseman Chris (played by Ken Abraham) while her despicable husband Stuart Morland (Jan Michael Vincent), who is only home on weekends, strings along his trampy secretary until he can decide "what to do with my wife" and Chris's sweet, not-too-bright girlfriend Michelle (Linnea Quigley), who loves Chris very much, can't wait to hook up with him in his new digs.

The result is a triple triangle: the Morlands and his secretary; the same Morlands and Chris; and Charlotte, Chris, and Michelle. What could possibly go wrong?

Although one part of the ending is revealed early on, it doesn't spoil the final twists. Quigley is adorable and believable, making you want to keep Michelle from harm; Vincent's one-note performance I judge to be good because every time Morland speaks I hate him more; and Jack Carter is good as Morland's lawyer though Ruth Collins is wooden as his secretary. Just for Ty Randolph and the final surprises, I think this movie is worth seeing despite its flaws.

The main weak spot is Chris, in two areas: script and casting. The Morlands are domineering people who make things happen; but the story is centered on Chris, a guy things happen to. With every development you're thinking he should know better. And the actor, Ken Abraham, can't seem to find the character--he wanders through various character types and fails to react at critical points. There's a good deal of movie-maker artifice too, especially the intrusive fantasy clips; they work when they tell us Chris fantasizes Michelle in all situatins, but the ones with Michelle Bauer as the "goddess of sex" confuse the story.

A light-hearted spy spoof with lots of (very) soft-core sex scenes, this movie is lifted well above the usual by Beverly Lynne's ability to project a warm, three-dimensional human being you might enjoy meeting over a cup of coffee. Her character Tanya, the titular super-spy who survives into sequels and a TV series, is quick-witted in her reactions even when the script is blank or mundane and is never so intent on her mission that she won't pause for a carnal frolic, to which she brings vigor, enthusiasm, and an attitude of "this is really fun!"--not, like so many others, the attitude of "this is what I do for a living" or even worse "will Aunt Mary see this?" Lynne's comedic sense finds its match in Alexandre Boisvert as Mark, Tanya's ex from the CIA, and their scenes together are the funniest in the movie.

Unfortunately, the other actors don't seem to know that to be funny, your character has to be earnest; most of them overplay their parts and some just can't act. With good supporting talent this movie might even have penetrated the Austin Powers/SNL territory. Although the few soft-core scenes that don't have Tanya in them are pretty run of the mill, the cinematography, lighting, staging, and editing are good throughout, and the writing maintains the bright tone set by Tanya and Mark.