Estivantes pour homme seul

Although a mere footnote figure in French fornication film fauna, Robert Renzulli a/k/a "Bob W. Sanders" clearly heeded the advice of the seasoned strippers in the long-running and twice-filmed Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim Broadway show GYPSY that you gotta have a gimmick if you wanna get a hand, or ahead as the sticky double entendre lyrics would have it. While most of his brethren in boinking conveniently contented themselves staging their sexual shenanigans in urban and usually Parisian settings, as most porn production facilities were located within that region, Sanders sought solace way down south in a series of rural romps like LA PROF ENSEIGNE SANS PRESERVATIF, VICIEUSE AMANDINE and, by far his best-known work, CATHY FILLE SOUMISE. Apart from singing the praises of a less frantic and more laissez-faire attitude to all things adult, these unassuming little programmers painted a surprisingly sympathetic view of daily life in a farming community, an environment dear to Renzulli's roots and frequently considered backwards by his citified com-padres. Never even mind the ample opportunity for al fresco action !

Modest even by its maker's humble standards, ESTIVANTES POUR HOMME SEUL (which literally translates as Female Tourists or Holiday Makers for either Single or, more poignantly, Lonely Man) provides a pared down representation of his pet subjects as two big city couples go hiking in the picturesque countryside, only to be confronted by a primitive force of nature in the person of a mute goatherd who casually dispenses the uncomplicated pleasure the over-educated Parisian penii through questionable progress seem blatantly incapable of. A compulsively masturbating voyeur at first, played by an almost unrecognizable Gabriel Pontello (already an industry stalwart re-invented as a glamor puss matinée idol by Michel Lemoine for his '80s Olinka showcases), he steps in to save the most uptight of the lot (beautiful blonde Carole Stresse, something of a Renzulli regular who also appeared in Jean-Claude Roy's ORGIES ADOLESCENTES) from frustration.

Perturbed yet simultaneously resigned to the fact that it was probably her reticence that drove her away, the remaining trio decide not to let her disappearance hamper their holiday fun as both husbands have their way and then some with game for anything Danièle David, a reliable second stringer in more upmarket fare who really gets a chance to shine here, both sexually and as a warm and captivating actress. Left to her own devices after the men have had their jollies, she comes face to face with nature boy who amorously assaults and subsequently abducts her. Catching on that something's fishy out there and, perhaps more pressingly given their horn-dog status, left without female companionship, the guys decide to lure the wrongdoer out of his lair by having one of them (minor league woodsman Daniel Trabert a/k/a "Gil Duroc") try on the departed's wardrobe and pose as a mighty unconvincing lass while the other (Alain Azoulay from Dominique Goult's LEVRES GLOUTONNES) will then save the day. A last reel kicker however shows with whom the director's loyalties lie.

An albeit adequate five person cast, on top of which one of whom merely expresses himself through grunts, severely limits the pornographic possibilities. That must have been the filmmaker's fear anyway, as he throws in completely disconnected footage of a smoldering Sapphic threesome presented as a fantasy for one of the husbands and probably an outtake from an earlier project, presumably CATHY, considering its most recognizable participant Brigitte Lahaie's physical appearance. Unnecessarily underestimating the abilities of his quivering quintet, especially the delightfully depraved David who'll turn her wanton attentions towards a handy tree stump should she find her men wanting, Renzulli only disrupts an otherwise clean and compelling narrative flow as a result. Fortunately, veteran cinematographer Louis Soulanes - who did a sterling job on Jean-François Davy's massively underrated surreal suspenser LE SEUIL DU VIDE - was on hand to maximize the visual attractions of female cast and French countryside alike.