Schwarzes Leder, heißes Blut II

Exploitation movies get redefined every ten years or so. Changing tastes is not so much the reason as the changing ways to deliver this stuff to its public. In the era of direct to-video, and made-for (late night) cable, the genre has become fragmented, but prospered as well.

One consistency throughout the ages is the need for a sexy woman-she needs to act a bit, but not too much because her actions should always speak louder than her words.

Kari Wuhrer, once of MTV's Remote Control, is moving to the forefront here, She's a better actress than Shannon Whirry, younger, hipper than Shannon Tweed. Keep an eye out for her.

At 86 minutes `Hot Blooded' as it was titled for DVD is not a major waste of time. And if you keep your finger near the ‘fast forward' button you can probably cut the time spent in half.

As for David Keith, your 10 or so minutes are not worth whatever pittance they paid you. Step up to the plate son, or step away all together.

I actually had hopes for this movie since I've seen Kari in a few other things and think she has some talent. Alas, this dud is a case study in what not to do in a screenplay. Completely undefined characters without a shred of likeability, and no plot whatsoever. Is it a road/buddy/comedy/thriller/romance/drama? The filmmakers don't have a clue, and neither do we.

Yet another story of a guy and a girl on the run in a hot car, with a gun. LOVE AND A .45 is perhaps the best of the numerous recent stabs (ouch!) at this genre, though none of the 90s entrants match up to such 70s classics as THE LONERS, JOY RIDE, or BOBBY JO AND THE OUTLAW. College kid, driving from Ohio State to Lancaster, PA (he must be going via Miami; at one point he still has 560 miles to go!), rescues truckstop hooker from assault by trucker. Naturally they become travelling companions. During the trip she attempts to loosen him up with sex and a new wardrobe, but the trucker is in hot pursuit, and there are other complications, and it gets a bit bloody before it gets over.

Kari Wuhrer really chews the scenery as the psycho, man-hating hooker and is quite over her head dramatically. The hero is a bit of a schlumpff, and the story fairly sleazy. Shot in Canada but it recovered long enough to hit pay-cable. Not even a good source of cheap thrills, since the filmmakers carefully keep Kari covered up to about PG-13 level during the 2 or 3 m.o. scenes.

Try THE LONERS (1972) instead, which has career performances by Todd Susman and Alex Dreier, not to mention Dean Stockwell in his hippie biker phase and wonderful Gloria Grahame as a harridan mom.

Literally. And by smoke I mean cigarettes, in an incredibly sensual manner. If you have a smoking fetish, then this movie and Kari Wuhrer are for you. The tease and attitude are unmistakably intentional. She knew exactly what she was doing and she played it up, to perfection.

Run away from this movie. Even by B-movie standards this movie is dreadful. It is also insidious in it's theme. The main theme is that people who reject society and have no respect for anything are cool and worth admiring. People who treat others with respect are losers. Guncrazy is a movie that speaks for the disenfranchised a lot better than this movie, see it instead.

No normal kid would do what Trent does. State Troopers do not work as they do in this film etc. Seeing this movie makes you realize why writers use the hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold cliche. Mija is a completely unsympathetic hooker,who yes, has had a terrible life. However, she is such a terrible person the audience cannot identify with her.

Usually there is one thing a movie can be recommended for, in this case there is none. It is such a ridiculous movie it insults the person who tries to identify with the main characters. The acting is adequate by B-movie standards and the direction presents nothing new or interesting.