Stolen Kisses - Heimliche Begierde

Stolen Kisses is a bit of a misnomer for this film because kissing is the least of the rather dreary action in this flesh vehicle. This is just another soft core romp for nudity specialists Tracy Ryan and Renee Rea, credited here as Ashley Jordan and Samantha McConnell, to strut their beautifully natural stuff. Susan Featherly who plays Jill also makes a welcome appearance. However, the women together with their male counterparts, do not convince as lovers and the sex action looks staged and fake. The worst offender is Jill's lover whose grimaces and facial contortions make love-making look like one of the twelve labours of Hercules.

A husband and wife who are contracted to kill each other is a bit of a rarity. Prizzi's Honor of 1985 springs to mind as does Mr and Mrs Smith of 2005 but splitting the two is Stolen Kisses. Max and Karen are a married couple but they are really agents working for opposing organisations. They both believe that they are doing their jobs successfully but in reality, their bosses know all about them. When it is obvious that their covers are about to be blown they are ordered to kill each other and make their escape. There are complications however. Max and Karen have fallen in love and they are not going to throw it all away. They hatch a plan but as the old saying goes, timing is everything.

This could have been an exciting film if a more capable cast and crew had been employed but perhaps this is all the budget allowed. The dialogue delivery is slow and deliberate. The realisation of the tasks ahead or the consequences of failure elicit little or no response from the characters. The typical soft core sex action is spoilt by the loud and annoying music. There appears to be a goof in the end credits. The Waitress is credited with a man's name and Agent Rice is credited with a female name. 3 stars.