Body of Influence

As one starts watching this movie, one thinks at first that it is a routine TV quality movie.It appeared at first to be a rip off of the theme from Madona's "Body of Evidence". Both movies rely on the sexuality of the female stars.I for one am glad that I watched this movie. Shannon Whirry's sexuality makes this mediocre movie worth watching. One scene in particular where she is recounting a tale to the psychiatrist while simultaneously teasing him by stripping and doing body gymnastics literally under his nose is unforgettable. She alone makes this worth watching.The other characters in this movie are memorable only to the extent that they are reacting to the hot sexual aura put out by Shannon Whirry. At least for males this is a much better than average movie.

Gregory Hippolyte, as with the excellent OBJECT OF OBSESSION, has provided a fine touch as a director, but that is not the case in this instance since the work at hand has relegated such basic elements as plot logic and continuity, acting, and editing to ancillary positions with the greatest emphasis being the disrobing of a generous supply of attractive females in the cast, a number of whom have primarily hardcore pornographic credentials, an apparent goal being bringing to a boil the adolescent juices of what must be a targeted youthful male audience. Nick Cassavetes plays as Dr. Jonathan Brooks, a successful psychoanalyst whose clientèle, it seems, is composed exclusively of plainly desirable but sexually frustrated wives who apparently share a perception that the psychiatric couch is kin to the casting variety, but Brooks remains in control of his libido until the appearance of Laura/Lana (Shannon Whirry), a new patient with an ostensible multiple personality disorder who, while under hypnosis, metamorphoses into a vixen for whose palpable attractions Jonathan is hard run not to yield his reputation and personal safety. A viewer quickly becomes familiar with the complete coordinates of Miss Whirry's ample bosom and may long for an additional garnish from her in the way of acting technique, a not unreasonable expectation as she presents a unique enunciative style, but the overall production is so wanting in quality, and not helped by its intrusive score, with only an occasional wry bit of dialogue sifting through the tedious softcore proceedings, notably this one: when Jonathan is lured by his game playing lover to what he believes is her apartment, he is startled to discover that its tenant is yet another lingerie attired wench, and after he protests to her that he is, in fact, a doctor there to meet a patient, the young woman sneers "Since when do doctors make house calls?" - a very apt and witty line that brings Brooks up short; sadly, the claustrophobic movie, shot in the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles and utilizing interior sets almost exclusively, continues on.

Shannon Whirry certainly has not attained the fame of Shannon T. But she is drop dead gorgeous!!! Stays in the buff enough to make this worthwhile for a B movie. Great scenes and reasonably good plot, nothing spectacular but if seeing one of the great bodies of all time is up your ally you should give it a try. Have your favorite adult beverage during the flick and chill out. While she has been in several others like it to bad she hasn't made more. One fine, fine looking woman. I would check out some of her other movies if you like this one. Where has this fabulous creature disappeared to?? A great body is a terrible thing to waste.

Not a lot of plot here, but who cares? Some of the same gang from the "Mirror Images" flicks, Whirry is a knockout who doesn't waste too much time in clothes. Like the "Mirror Images" movies, there's a shrink who turns Shannon into a sexual animal, which makes this one a good watch.

This film essentially begins with a Beverly Hills psychiatrist by the name of "Jonathan Brooks" (Nick Cassavetes) listening to a female patient discuss intimate details of her sexual frustrations in her marriage. She is then followed by another in a long list of other young female patients wanting to discuss similar issues. Being content in his current relationship with his fiancé "Jennifer" (Diana Barton) he manages to remain detached from these young ladies even though some of them try to their best to seduce him. That being said, however, this detachment is put to the test when one particular young woman named "Laura" (Shannon Whirry) walks into his office and begins to confide certain details about herself that intrigues him quite a bit. It's also during this time that his good friend, "Detective Harry Reams" (Richard Roundtree) seeks his advice on catching a serial killer who also happens to be on the loose nearby--and that's when things really start to spiral out-of-control for him. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this picture had all of the right ingredients for a good neo-noir, but the director (Gregory Dark) seemed to lose focus around the middle of the movie and almost ruined it by throwing in too many unrealistic scenarios after that. To be sure, I liked the acting of both Richard Roundtree and Shannon Whirry. Likewise, I also liked the fact that there were a number of attractive actresses included who also enhanced the scenery. Even so, a film of this type needs to be grounded in reality and, because it lacked that necessary ingredient, I have to rate it accordingly. Slightly below average.