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Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
Released on: May 28th, 2016.
Director: Richard Mailer
Cast: Shannon McCullough, Pamela Mann, David Cannon, Paul Thomas, Jaqueline Lorians
Year: 1984/1984
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The Movies:
Vinegar Syndrome once again dips into the well of vintage adult film for another Peekarama double feature DVD release.
Classical Romance:
In our first film, Paul Thomas plays Eric, a man who makes a living for himself playing the piano at a reasonably upscale bar. At least that's how it seems. Really, the place makes him unhappy and none of his co-workers really seem all that into what they do. Most of the men who work in the place are far more interested in trying to score with the female clientele than doing their job, but it's a living.
Eric's got a friends with benefits thing going on with Monica (Desiree Lane), whose ambitions of making it as a rock star seem overly optimistic, but really, he's got his heart set on quiet, unassuming Laura (Jaqueline Lorians), also a wunderkind behind the ivories. Monica lets her ambition get the best of her when she auditions for a sleazy promotor who coerces her into performing in lingerie and then getting down with a little casting couch style action.
Laura is married to Charles (Herschel Savage) who is fooling around behind her back with a gal named Vicki (Bunny Bleu) while Tommy, the lifeguard where Eric works, gives it to a ditzy surfer girl (Cynthia Brooks) in his massive lifeguard compound. Eric eventually gets Laura's phone number but winds up with Monica and the surfer girl over at his unusually pink colored pad for a little fun before he can make his move. Will Laura be able to break it off with her philandering husband and be with someone who really understands her? Will Eric stop slipping it in easy gal Monica?
Classical Romance is a fairly straight forward drama, made soap opera style, with plenty of reasonably well performed and nicely shot boff scenes sandwiched in between the plot devices. The ending is predictable but the cinematography is good and the cast are reasonably committed and attractive enough to look at. The story is really no great shakes and director Richard Mailer seems uninterested in really going anywhere specifically memorable here but this is competent enough.
Physical Attraction:
The second feature is a bit more interesting, really because the story is considerably more bizarre than the first film's tale of unhappy marriages and sad-sack piano players. Bobbi (Shauna McCullough) is a prostitute who turns tricks for money, as prostitutes are wont to do. Her real passion, however, is jogging. She jogs a lot and hey, it's probably good for business as it keeps her in shape.
One day fellow lady of the evening April (Pamela Mann) asks her to help out - she's got a client who will pay big bucks to leer at them from the other side of his sliding glass door while they do the girl/girl thing for him on his patio. She agrees - it's easy money. When she's not jogging or playing gay-for-pay, she's frequently having grumpy sex with her pimp, a sleazeball named Luther (Craig Roberts). A fellow jogger named Ed (David Cannon) runs into Bobbi often enough while out on the trails that he starts to fall for her, but initially at least, she's not having any of it… until she decides she wants to join his track team and train for a shot at Olympic gold and get down with some gal named Nancy (Bunny Bleu) in the work out room!
Not only does this movie share many of the same cast members as Classical Romance but it shares a lot of the same plot devices too. Regardless of that, it is a more entertaining picture simply because it's a bit more preposterous. While there's really no reason a hooker with a heart of gold couldn't try out for some guy's track team and hope to hit the big time, the likelihood of that actually happening in the real world is kind of… yeah, not gonna happen. Kind of like Pretty Woman with more sneakers and a lot more sex, it's nevertheless just as well put together on a technical level as the feature it shares this disc with. The camera work is good, there's a catchy score, the sex is steamy and nicely shot and sometimes fairly creative in both execution and locations chosen.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Both features look great in 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen transferred in 2k from their respective negatives. The elements used were in excellent condition and while there is a scratch or two here and there, for the most part the transfers are as clean and as colorful as you could hope for. Expect some grain, but you'd be silly not to and it's never particularly distracting. These are solid transfers through and through, no serious print damage to complain about, sharp detail, very film like but still crisp and clean. Expect some grain, but you'd be silly not to. At this point in time anyone who has been following these releases knows to expect excellent quality - this release continues that trend.
Both movies get the Dolby Digital Mono treatment, in English with no alternate language options or subtitles provided. Both films sound fine. Dialogue remains clear and crisp and the scores sound good. Levels are properly balanced for both features though some might note some minor hiss in a few spots.
Extras are limited to a trailer for Classical Romance, static menus and chapter selection.
The Final Word:
Neither Physical Attraction nor Classical Romance are going to change your life, but both are well made adult soap operas and they're presented on DVD in very nice shape indeed. If sexually explicit drama is what you're after, this'll scratch that itch.
