Felicity

If Merchant Ivory had set out to make a Russ Meyer's style film, this would be the result. The movie manages to walk a tightrope between it's brainless-ness, it's soft core porn, it's paper thin "plot" and somehow through it all doesn't come off as exactly sleazy. Calling it "sensual" feels wrong and somehow lends it more credibility than it probably deserves but all the same it's not exactly crass either. A weird little balancing act that pays off by being, if not great, than something better than the filmmaker's intended. Not good, not bad, just is.

This kooky and kool soft core skin flick I remember seeing as a teenager on the old Private Screenings channel. It's the kickaxe story of a sweet, fresh young thing's sexual awakening in the mysterious Orient. I fell head over heels in love and lust with the main actress Glory Annen in this film when I first saw it. She only did a few films besides this, "Spaced Out", "Alien Prey" etc...but this was definitely her crowning achievement. I guess she stopped acting cos I haven't seen her in anything in years. It's too bad, cos she was so absolutely gorgeous! She wasn't your typically busty, perfect looking Hollywood bimbo, but that's what I liked about her! Who wants to like the girls that everyone likes? Not me! You can keep Pamela Anderson Lee, I like women that look like women, not Barbie dolls. I'll take Glory any day of the week!

With no knowledge of what to expect from this film but reading the plot description and having somewhat of an idea, it was certainly more explicit than it presented itself as. There is very much a plot but perhaps a lot more explicit and nude scenes than ought to be. It is very much a coming of age film with the lead title character of Felicity having a very quick sexual awakening.

Everything felt as it, it occurred quite quickly and very easy for Felicity. Where at an instance she was raped by her older driver yet didn't seem to care, notice or tell her friend. The sceneries of Hong Kong look well and are nicely shot. The way she randomly met the love interest in the end was rather odd yet plausible. Right place at the right time type of incident. A lot of the film is quite predictable with the change of an innocent young naive teenager (said to be 17) transformed to very eager craved. The film is very close to soft core but it's presented in a rather art house way.

Felicity is essentially an Australian ripoff of Emmanuelle with a good measure of Histoire d'O, Fear Of Flying and the collected works of David Hamilton thrown in. The movie isn't exactly trying to hide its paragons -- instead when young Felicity witnesses a copulating couple on a jetliner (like in Emmanuelle), she describes this scene to a friend as "just like in that movie, Emmanuelle". In case anyone hadn't noticed.

Felicity is your average innocent finishing school girl (magna cum laude in "Ballet In Very Skimpy Costumes" and "Showering With The Gardener Getting A Good Shufti") on her odd trip to Southeast Asia to explore her sexuality. And get laid. This sounds like a movie which will just go through the motions, but the movie surprised me by being pretty good nevertheless. In fact, although Felicity follows the road most traveled and leaves out no softcore stereotype (including the sponge bath at a Chinese brothel (which in this case is partially staffed by blondes)), it's a rare case of a copy improving on the original.

Much of the accolade is due to the actress playing the heroine, Glory Annen. She's pretty and natural, and she plays the difficult role of the saucy ingénue with great aplomb and enthusiasm. I was especially impressed by her voiceovers, her husky voice is like aural Viagra. And dramatically she is well matched by her love interest, played by Chris Milne.

Unusually for a softcore movie, the story is surprisingly subtle and convincing, and at least gives some consideration to the female perspectice. It's obviously not exactly the DA Pennebaker type of realism, and I'd urge anyone watching this movie to use condoms for Christ's sake if you must have casual sex on a Chinese brothel junk, but Felicity does have bad experiences (a lousy "first time"), inhibitions and desires, and she wants to both have sex, and love and emotions.

What sets it even further apart from Emmanuelle is the omission of intellecto-philosophical blatherings and swinger-"what gives her pleasure gives me pleasure, especially if can have carnal knowledge of the crème of the crop of Thai prostitutes and their younger sisters in the meantime"-ideology. And whereas Emmanuelle is pretty much game for anything depraved old men are into, Felicity is slightly less kinky and make-believe; and also there are no rape scenes and dungeons.

Yep, you'll even be able to watch this with your girlfiend or wife without risking her mentioning it in the divorce proceedings one week later.

Can that be considered a pun? If so that I would ask you to ... forgive me. As you may be able to forgive Felicity ... actually she doesn't need your forgiveness at all. She may need my puns ... nah she does not need those either. What she does need is ... well I think you know where this is going ... and who is coming? Yes another pun arrived.

One can say that this seems more than inspired by Emmanuelle. And while it is not direct copy it does have a lot of things you will recognize (like the chair and of course loads of nudity and sexual situations). I reckon the first "real" encounter, is not really pleasing for Felicity ... but she her curiosity has been awakened by that point. And there is no stopping now ... as a song would suggest.

The movie does have cliches in it and it is predictable. But it also is really well played. And while the exploitation tag may be deserved to a degree, there is more here than meets the eye (or any other body part for that matter, excuse the pun).

It does miss opportunities though. Like when she and a lover come out of the elevator and are asked "goind down", they could have said, "we just did" ... instead we get a corny "what a lovely couple" a few seconds later from the woman getting on the elevator (alone).

I watched the uncut version, apparently there was a version that was cut a bit. Funnily enough in its home country of Australia ... it had most of the issues there. Something that is being discussed in extreme length in deleted scenes from the great documentary "Not Quite Hollywood" - included on the disc version of this. Don't be easily offende ... and you'll enjoy what you are being served.