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What's more confusing: the plot of this movie, or the fact that someone thought it was a good idea to make a softcore flick with hardly any sex or nudity?

"Victim of Desire" is a mid-nineties softcore thriller made by legendary b-director Jim Wynorski, and starring the queen of soft porn herself, Shannon Tweed. It also features Penthouse Pet and fellow b-girl Julie Strain, and legendary exploitation actor/filmmaker Wings Hauser.

It also has a guy who kind of looks and sounds like a less charismatic Kevin Bacon playing the role Bacon would have played if they could have afforded him, ie. a cop. I think that's Marc Singer - known to cult movie fans from "Beastmaster".

I found it hard to follow the plot developments at the beginning of the movie. You get that Strain is, as always, typecast as the bad girl, as she always was in all those Andy Sidaris movies. Was that because she had dark hair?

According to Wikipedia, even Wynorski and his producer had trouble understanding the script, but they were told to film it anyway. "Victim of Desire" is a movie he is said to regret making.

Strain is apparently two timing an overweight, computer geek type guy, while scheming to get his money.

I guess that Tweed, being blonde, is the good guy. But the Kevin Bacon-lite character, apparently a cop, bugs her apartment while she undresses in a different room. Then he and a slovenly partner put her under what seems to be very obvious surveillance, and Tweed proudly undresses for his binoculars, looking right at him. Are we to surmise that she is aware of the bugs he planted, as well?

The movie seriously wanders when its main romantic entanglement begins. It becomes impossible to focus on.

For a supposed softcore flick, the movie actually doesn't have that much sex or nudity. It's tempting to say it has too much plot, but that doesn't feel right. The actors are like flies buzzing around a corpse that has already been picked clean. They probably had no more idea of what was going on in the movie than Wynorski did.

No better or worse than most of Shannon Tweed's straight-to-video films. The final twist is pretty clever and you probably won't see it coming, but the plot moves at about 5 miles per hour, and it's filled with stupid, bumbling characters that hurt its credibility (notice the scene where the hero practically hands over a gun to a potential murderess; or how about the scene where the killer has a perfectly good opportunity to shoot the hero but delays unnecessarily). Tweed is gorgeous as always, but not sexy in this movie (yes, there is a difference). Julie Strain, who is arguably even more beautiful, is mainly kept offscreen. (**)

When director Jim Wynorski - king of T&A quick paychecks - says this is one of two films he regrets making you take notice. 'Victim of Desire' has the talents of Shannon Tweed & Julie Strain. I went in expecting two things - silly story, boobs - and walked out with slightly more which made it an okay one time watch.

CEO Leland Duvall (Wings Hauser) is under investigation by the SEC for embezzling 70 mil when he's killed, but who did it and who'll get that money. His wife Carla (Tweed)? His upset VP (Jay Richardson)? Linda (Strain) who juggles being friends with the wife, VP's girlfriend and also Duvall's mistress? Can SEC investigator Starky (Marc Singer) get to the bottom of things while keeping his pants on?

Singer gets painted very early on as weirdly "nice guy" awkward around women. He gets played for a sap but gets the "last laugh" so to speak. Hauser was a hoot in 'Champagne & Bullets' and gets to pull another eccentric character minus the booze. Tweed gets topless & has two sex scenes. Strain gets one and a gratuitous shower where her boobs have never looked bigger while you'll appreciate some lower body nudity.

I'm not saying 'Victim of Desire' does anything very special, but some laughable elements plus the nudity kept it from being a pain. The story is not the confusing mess some say it is. The combo of Tweed & Strain could have been hotter, but I've seen much worse from Wynorski and things look presentable here at all times.