9 1/2 Wochen in Paris

Let me start with the good points: the movie is on a high quality print, the art direction is lovely, the sets are sumptuous, the exteriors are shot in Paris and the French countryside (how bad can you screw that up)

And that's about it. The entire movie is shot in a corny blue lighting scheme, and most of the sets are also blue. Given the presence of such a beautiful woman, Miss Everhart, and given that she did some rare-for-her topless scenes, some clearer lighting might have been sexier.

Talk about a lack of Chemistry between leads. These two never seem to like each other at any time.

Rourke looks better suited to do a sequel to Angel Heart than 9 1/2 Weeks. He's aging ... gracelessly. He looks like a ventriloquist's dummy that recently had his hair refitted. Despite his physical appearance, Rourke gives it his best shot, and he's pretty effective as a man locked inside himself, tortured by past mistakes and chances never taken. This could have been very effective opposite Kate Blanchett or Emma Thompson or Gwyneth, but just seems to echo unnoticed off Everhart.

Miss Everhart is a presence. Unfortunately, sound developed before color, and there were never any silent color movies, which would have been perfect for her.

She has a magnificent physical aura, at 5'11", with the mane of hair, the supermodel looks, and the ability to fill out a sweater with extraordinary curves. But the girl went to the Royal Kathy Ireland Academy of Dramatic Arts. In terms of depth, she makes Pam Anderson seem like Soren Kirkegaard. She delivers every line with the chirpy intonations of a high school cheerleader. Surely there is more to her than this? What possessed someone to cast her in this role as a successful and powerful career woman?

Well, what else is there to say about a pseudo-arty piece of erotica that isn't erotic? Missing the right leads, and missing any chemistry between them ... what else could redeem the movie? Plot? You want plot? Maybe you should try to re-watch Sleuth instead of renting this movie.

There aren't enough words to describe what a disappointment this movie was. As a staunch fan of 9 1/2 Weeks, I was dubious about a sequel, but even my low expectations couldn't match the reality of "Love in Paris".

Nothing about the movie was reminiscent of the orignal. The role of John Gray seemed more pathetic than anything else. In addition to his "impotent" personality, was the fact that Mickey Rourke had gotten so out of shape that he was never allowed to take his shirt off. (Thank God)

Angie Everhart was true to form with her poor acting skills, and the plot was so weak that several scenes were obvious and badly revamped copies from the first movie.

The sad part is that they couldn't even get the scarf right. How hard is it to find/make a scarf to look like the original? This goes to show that Love in Paris is NOT a sequel. It is a movie that must stand on its own, lest it tarnish the memory of that first and great movie that it is loosely based upon. Trust me, if you experienced any type of titillation/attraction for the first movie/original characters...you do not want to see Love in Paris. Not only will you be disappointed in it, but the images of a paunchy and washed-up Mickey Rourke will erase any pleasant memories of you have of charismatic John Gray.

Another 9 1/2 Weeks (1997)

1/2 (out of 4)

What on Earth were they thinking? John Gray (Mickey Rourke) travels to Paris to try and track down Elizabeth but after learning that she's now married he starts up a relationship with a young fashion designer (Angie Everhart). I think 9 1/2 weeks in hell would be much more pleasant that trying to sit through this film. It has one of the worst reputations in the history of sequels and it's easy to see why. It would be like trying to make a Friday THE 13TH film but instead of violence, gore and Jason you threw in singing, good vibes and Barney the dinosaur. I'm really not sure what the producers were thinking but this here is perhaps the most unerotic erotic movie ever made. They clearly were just wanted to cash in on the notoriety of the first movie and I understand that. I'm fine that they were simply wanting to make money but for the life of me why would they deliver something like this? There's very little sex, little nudity and there's nothing erotic that happens. The majority of the overbearing 105-minute running time features the two stars just going into various clubs and getting in trouble. They flirt, they talk, they talk some more and then they go home to do nothing. Director Anne Goursaud might have been given an impossible task but she didn't help matters any. The pacing of the film is downright horrid, the lack of style just made for an ugly mess and I'm really not sure why she decided to make everything so dark. The entire film just seems like a bad nightmare that you can't wake up from and this includes the two leads. Rourke and Everhart have zero chemistry together and Rourke appears bored out of his mind and wishing he was anywhere but in front of the camera. ANOTHER 9 1/2 WEEKS is a really bad movie on all levels and it's even poor when compared to much of the direct-to-Cinemax trash that was making the rounds during this period.

All that really stands out in my mind is the poor acting from "Lea". This movie lacked all purpose, and what made it worse was the poor excuse for acting from an otherwise talented model. Slow moving, lacked any depth in it's scenes, and made the first movie look like a masterpiece. Overall, not very good at all.

Ice-cold movie that fails to engage the viewer, despite having loads of glamor, which is what RavenGlamDVDCollector is all about, so if I'm not happy about it, something is seriously wrong. To the reviewer who said that Angie Everhart would have been great had it been a silent movie, hell, you summed it up most eloquently! She looks like a thoroughbred racehorse, but fails to emote any real feeling. True, she is a classy- looking leading lady, but comes across as not even lukewarm. Makes me wary of pursuing her other titles.

At the beginning of the movie there is this scene with a fantastically beautiful girl, only credited as 'beautiful blonde' (Philippa Mathews). However, John Gray isn't satisfied by her, and his attention wanders, he is distracted by a neighing cart-horse that seems to have suffered a stroke outside in the street. The police arrive and they administer a lethal injection to put the poor animal out of its misery. This is a metaphor for this entire movie.

Mickey Rourke isn't as bad as one of the reviewers made him out to be. Twelve years later, of course he'd be far less good-looking. Couldn't care much for the character of John Gray though. Movie cried out for Kim Basinger, who was riding the crest of the wave of L.A. CONFIDENTIAL at the time and couldn't be bothered, lucky for her. Or perhaps Adrian Lynne might have been there had Kim been there? Anyway, a decent spark of real interest might have kickstarted this flimsy plot.

Jeesh, those hateful paintings! So Liz is supposed to have painted that dreck? With Vittorio as the model? Yuck! They're worth a few hundred dollars, and that's for the frames. Jeremiah the Bullfrog on a bad day is a much more pleasing sight. Listen, they obviously obtained the rights to plow with other people's horses, but they sure lead them astray. So Kim wasn't available, so Liz is dead?

Stylish people are, I suppose, quite often merely coldly efficient. There is only a reptile heart there, I suppose. Which is what is wrong here. The fashion show fails to be really exciting, it's all so damned cold, it looks good, but really lacks warmth. Glamor with very little sex appeal, or perhaps, sex appeal with no real sexiness? Nothing playful. These observations have been very educational to me. I have pinpointed a coldness in too-fluently-executed perfection. RavenGLAM has learned of a flaw in beauty. Perhaps over- confidence caused this coldness? Perhaps super-cold people hide behind visual excellence? Hell, HELP! This movie is ruining RavenGLAM!

Best thing of the movie: End credit (!!! No I didn't mean it that way!!!) featuring Julienne Taylor. Why Did You Do It? Hauntingly beautiful. Words doesn't really fit in with the theme of the movie, so it is simply played at the end. But wondrously good, a joy to hear.

Very poor sequel. Unsatisfactory. My rating of three is simply influenced by positively rewarding several glamorous scenes, the beauty, the composition, the photography. I cannot allow myself to give it just a one, which it truly doesn't even deserve. For what has been lost here, is big.

In its defense, it hardly belongs on the Top 100 Worst Movies. There are thousands of titles out there that fit that bill. But if you bestow this accolade as a warning to future fools who dare to tread where angels backed off, then I quite understand, and just nod sagely.