EROTIQUE (not to be confused with EXOTICA which was released in
the US at the same time) is three unconnected erotic short stories.
They are by three different female directors who give their version of
a sexual fantasy from the woman's point of view.
Let me warn everyone up front that this is a correctly rated NC-17
show that has wall-to-wall sex. The meantime between sex in this show
is maybe three minutes. At the end of the review I want to discuss the
demographics of the audience when I saw it. You can stop for a second
and speculate now if you like before reading further.
The first segment is set in LA and is entitled "Let's Talk About
Sex." It is the story of a woman (Kamala Lopez-Dawson) who works at
one of those sex phone numbers. She has two problems. First, she
wants to get a job as a real actress but can not get people to hire
her. Second, she wants to talk to the callers her fantasy and not
theirs so callers keep hanging up on her and this keeps almost getting
her fired.
The director of this segment is Lizzie Borden. She also directed
the excellent WORKING GIRLS (1986). WORKING GIRLS is a documentary
style fictional film about prostitutes. I think it is a *** movie as
it portrays a tragically sad but realistic view behind the scenes of a
world few will ever see. In EROTIQUE, Borden does the only good
directing job, but her segment is still pretty boring in parts. The
script (Lizzie Borden and Susie Bright) has some funny dialog, but
mainly is lacking any real development.
The second segment happens in Hamburg and is called "Taboo
Parlor." It stars Priscilla Barnes and Camilla Soeberg as two lesbians
who decide, for the sake of variety, to find a man for a one-night
stand. It is written and directed very poorly by Monika Treut. Other
than a funny bus scene there is little to recommend it.
The final story is entitled "Wonton Soup" and is set in a gray and
dim Hong Kong. Most of the action takes place in an expensive, but
spartan apartment with almost no furniture. The director is Clara Law.
It has Tim Lounibos and Hayley Man as young lovers. Tim makes the
mistake of trying to spice up his love life by reading one of those 101
possibilities books. The scene where he tries to practice his new book
learning is the funniest scene in the entire show and the only good
scene in the most boring of the three stories. The script by Eddie
Ling-Ching Fong is minimalist.
The acting is pretty amateur. Kamala Lopez-Dawson was the only
really polished actor. For a movie about eroticism, I was surprised to
find only the love making performance by Hayley Man to have any real
passion.
Now for the demographics of the audience. I saw the show at a
local art house that I go to a lot. I have never noticed any
particular groups in attendance. It usually has a cross section of the
local community. Tonight was different.
There were a few singles of both sexes and a few couples in the
20s-40s range there. Most of the theater, however, was filled with
couples and single sex groups of quite senior citizens (70+). They did
not come in together as any large group nor did the groups seem to know
each other. I half expected them all to leave when the title came on
declaring that they went in the wrong door, but they all stayed and
listened attentively. Go figure.
Copyright © 1995 Steve Rhodes