Playboy Video Playmate Calendar 1988

Having saw the '1987' edition I knew what to expect from '1998 Calendar' by large. These vintage Playmates deliver solid moments, but also way too many for the so-so column. You can't be upset all things considered given it was the 80's norm, but you gotta know going in.

"Miss January" is Marina Baker - Mar 1987 - which plays up her British origins right away. Accent, Union Jack, quick dancing. Candid footage out and about in LA before stripping from lingerie in front of a bunch of mini TVs. I like her look, attitude and great body (5 mins total). "Miss February" is Kim Morris - Mar 1986 - who strolls a boardwalk before showing off her cooking skills. This leads to a diner waitress fantasy where she gets out of a uniform, down to lingerie and then completely naked. A case in too much setup and not enough payoff (4 mins total).

"Miss March" is Luann Lee - Jan 1987 - who has an intro that feels very 'Miami Vice' with vintage cars, night, music track. Though it's filler until we get down to her solo in a black dress. I liked the way she removes her panties and the camera work here. A few more nice shots follow, but it's a little too slow (5 mins total). "Miss April" is Teri Weigel - Apr 1986 - who shows off her natural talent for gymnastics. It's moderately erotic seeing her in a leotard, spinning and twisting around. Then it's a standard trip to bed wearing a see thru bodysuit, black bra, panties or just a blue nightie. There's a wait until naked, but then the good shots flow as her all natural breasts (at the time) get shown off and her lovely bush (4.5 mins total).

"Miss May" is Katherine Hushaw - Oct 1986 - biking thru Napa Valley, talking wine, eating grapes. A white summer dress appears briefly, but then she's naked and getting wet. It might be quick, but it's pleasing (4 mins total). "Miss June" is Anna Clark - Apr 1987 - in Australia. A music track sounding like Men at Work's 'Down Under' plays as she's shown in the outback, nude in the Great Barrier Reef. There's a lovely underwater shot of her, but otherwise doesn't offer much nudity (4.5 mins total). "Miss July" is Sherry Arnett - Jan 1986 - walking her hometown of St. Louis. Her pictorial is shown then getting messy with paint on her nude body (also appeared in the 1987 Calendar). Lots of closeups will make you happy (4.5 mins total). "Miss August" is Kymberly Paige - May 1987 - with big 80's hair, blonde vibes out on the street. Then some sparingly shots of her naked in bed. A much more playful number follows sucking on a lollipop that delivers the visuals you really want (5 mins total).

"Miss September" is Julie McCullough - Feb 1986 - who attends a race car event as it's shown. Then shopping, trying on a cowgirl outfit leads to her in the desert dressed the part. Topless albeit for a bandolier as a western music track plays. Doesn't last long before she's naked at a house outside (shown in part during the 1987 Calendar). Her butt as she gets wet from water pouring down from above is tops for visuals (4.5 mins total). "Miss October" is Devin DeVasquez - Jun 1985 - in a high energy photoshoot, but the lack of nudity is a buzzkill. Too much wasted time, little to get excited about (5 mins total).

"Miss November" is Julie Peterson - Feb 1987 - with another scene that wastes too much time. An old fashioned western romance with blink or miss it decent shots stuck between stock footage. On stage with flames fares slightly better, but not by much (6 mins total). "Miss December" is Donna Edmondson - Nov 1986, PMOTY 1987 - looking good in a sped-up montage of getting dressed and such. Though the best is her inside an open house. She looks great clothed and even better with nothing on. Follow-up shots of her nude in bed, posing in & out of clothing as part of a photoshoot or wet from pouring water are winners too (7 mins total).

'1988 Calendar' is a step backwards from what was released only a year before, but that's how Playboy titles have always been to some extent I suppose. Vintage ladies, 80's feels and a trip down memory lane.

My review was written in April 1988 after watching the program on Lorimar video cassette.

Latest edition of the annual Playboy video calendars (which date back in print form to 1958) is a marked improvement in the genre. Gone are the smarmy romps of a model with her loving parents, or the noxious voice-over paeans to Hugh Hefner and Playboy Magazine. Instead, the voyeur audience gets a series of entertaining music videos and fantasies.

Highlight and literally the hottest segment features Julie Peterson dancing to the song "Red Hot Love", after a funny archival bit that merges her with vintage Westerns. Stephen C. Confer helmed and photographed this and nine other segments, while Arnold Milo directed and lensed an excellent opening music video featuring Britisher Marina Baker; and David Kellogg handled the cutesy Donna Edmondson closer. Low point is a shaggy dog segment with Kymberly Paige.

Shooting on film rather than video adds to the quality of this program.

I have never been particularly into graphic depictions of violence or sex (such as pornos). I believe generally that subtlety is best. However I still remember in high school coming across this version of the Playboy video calenders. To this date, I still believe this to be one the most erotic videos I've ever come across. The scenes of nudity actually manage to be romantic and artistic, rather than just simply graphic. I wish this were still available on video, or better still DVD. I find it ironic that Blockbuster, the leading hypocrite of video retailers, should shun so abhorrently this type of video while selling almost any Eros or Zalman King video, seeing as they are simply trash without any redeeming qualities whatsoever.