I Like to Play Games Too

There's nobody to root for, or even care about, in Ed Holzman's would-be erotic thriller. Dominick (Bobby Johnston) runs a "private social club" that's really a front for an international prostitution and blackmail operation. Suzanne (Maria Ford) owns a clientless ad agency; a "friend," Nick (Scott Carson) suggests Dominick as a potential client. Dominick and Suzanne proceed to do their best to outwit each other in a series of sexual games.

With both of the principals more or less equally amoral, the only possible fun in this movie is watching them go at each other. But Holzman's leisurely pacing throughout, and characters that never go beyond skin deep, spoil the fun. Dawson is wasted as Dominick's personal assistant, Mona. The one character who has a shred of decency is Suzanne's assistant, Tracy (Stephanee LaFleur), but she's clueless and powerless--not much more than a spectator.

Holzman has done better work than this. The sex scenes even start to get tedious halfway through the film.

I Like To Play Games Too is another offering from the Eros label, part of the Playboy empire. Although this film aspires to be a sequel to the original ILTPG, the film is set in an advertising agency and the leading character is called Suzanne, this film is an entirely different animal.

Suzanne (Maria Ford) with her assistant Tracy (Stephanee LaFleur) runs her own successful ad agency. As part of her business dealings, she also likes to play sex games with her male clients, always beating them at their own game and dumping them when she wants. However, her latest client Dominick (Bobby Johnston) is a whole different kettle of fish, always managing to stay one jump ahead. Suzanne is having none of it and the stakes are raised but as usual in films of this type, there is a twist in the tale and we find out how Dominick plays the game.

This should have been my type of film. There is a plot, nudity and varying sex action but the continually roving camera was a distraction that I could have done without. How hard can it be to film a couple simulating sex? There was also the laboured dialogue delivery and the general impression that the actors were acting for the camera rather than being real characters with the camera as the invisible voyeur. The only saving grace was Stephanee LaFleur who made a decent try at being the concerned assistant. There was nudity aplenty but this did not, in my opinion compensate for the shortcomings. 2 stars.

The cast of this excellent soft core epic includes some real heavyweight actors such as Maria Ford, Kim Dawon, and Bobby Johnston.

Ms. Ford is just stunning and if something like an academy award was offered in this genre, she should get one. Unfortunately, Stephanee LaFleur, one of my favorites, has just a small part, almost a cameo appearance. Oh, to be a member of one of the "gentlemens' Clubs" depicted.

If you're a big fan of Maria Ford, this video is a must have. She is in almost every scene. She plays a woman who likes to manipulate men by playing games that they'll always lose so they don't get to have sex with her, or something like that. Anyway, she meets her match and ends up getting played for most of the video.

There were about nine sex scenes. I use the word "about" because some of them cut off midway through (it was part of the game). And one of them didn't really involve sex, Maria just does a strip tease. You also get Maria solo in the shower, Maria with a girl, Maria with two girls (one of which is a short haired Catalina Larranaga), and three scenes where Maria is with a guy. Then there are two other boy/girl scenes that don't have Maria, they feature Kim Dawson and Stephanee LaFleur.

All the sex scenes were good, but none were outstanding. I would have liked to have seen less of Maria and more of Stephanee and Catalina. And although the "tease" aspect will push the right buttons for some people, I would have preferred to see all the sex scenes carried through to completion.

Imagine my surprise finding out this sequel isn't a standalone entry, but keeps the tale of Suzanne rolling. Lisa Boyle is gone, but Maria Ford has taken her place. There's some good and bad news. It retraces a lot of the same territory the original did, but the nudity (unrated version) is at a constant high. If you're here for the right reasons you'll be satisfied, but 'I Like To Play Games Too' is less effective the second time out.

Suzanne (Ford) now runs her own PR firm and is put onto a new client by an ex-bf who couldn't play her games. The guy is Dominick (Bobby Johnson) who runs a dozen successful private gentlemen's clubs. The issue is he's no pushover, likes to play games himself. Not intimidated by Suzanne's prowess it seems she's meet her match. He dangles a lucrative contract over her head as he continues to push her buttons sexually and some hidden truths come to the surface.

The first title felt partly like it belonged to the bad girl / psycho sub-genre, but it's dialed back here. A lot less crazy girl energy. Ford gets center stage, but other ladies supply doses of nudity too. Usual mix of simulated sex, stripping, girl/girl. I was surprised by how much female flesh is displayed in just the first fifteen minutes. However the story, characters are rather flat and I was bored before it limped to a rushed all too convenient dialog heavy finale.

If you're looking for a decent T&A flick, 'I Like To Play Games' isn't bad. Motivations for getting naked go from arousal, foreplay, thrill of winning to other less interesting elements, but it starts out on a strong note. Plenty of full body shots (see the unrated version) and the story starts out with some promise. The original title was a simpler affair, but it was also the better of the two.