Undici giorni, undici notti

Eleven Days, Eleven Nights (1986)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

After the Italian Horror market dried up several of the genres directors were left without work or had to switch gears and try something else. Joe D'Amato had already done hardcore features but his career got a boost with this softcore flick, which became a big hit in Italy and other countries. A man (Joshua McDonald) is about to be married in eleven days but he starts up a steamy love affair with a young woman (Jessica Moore), which leads the man to thinking twice about getting married. The only problem is that he doesn't know the woman is just sleeping with him so she can write a book on sex partners. This film starts off okay but slowly goes downhill due to some stupid characters, which are amongst the worst written I've ever seen. The stereotypes of the characters are at times laughable. For instance, the man's girlfriend is a plain, ordinary, boring, bookworm who wants to wait to have sex. There's a dinner scene with her parents, which just has to be seen to be believed. The one good thing about the movie is Moore who is able to display a great sexual presence. D'Amato does great with the softcore sex scenes but the rest is pretty bad.

Not enough nudity to be classed as 'soft porn', not enough tension to be an 'erotic thriller' and not enough laughs to be a comedy. But Eleven Days, Eleven Nights stands out as one of the better erotic movies in that it has a viable plot, fair acting and the direction & photography are at times exquisite.

The softcore sex scenes contain something for everyone - flashing, sex in a public place, transvestitism, even briefly a threesome. The story centres around a young lady called Sarah writing a book about her 100 sexual conquests, played by the unbelievably mature 19 year-old Jessica Moore. Number 100 is an ordinary American guy named Michael who is working as an engineer on a construction site...the trouble is he's getting married in 11 days time.

As Michael falls for Sarah he doesn't realise that he is merely being used for this book and puts his fiancee (who first suspects, then later knows) through hell even as she prepares for their upcoming wedding. Trouble is, Sarah is falling for Michael too...who will Michael end up with?

This was the film that was an international video hit in 1987, and put Joe D'Amato back on the map as a director. Now available (in the UK at least) on DVD. The low budget is used wisely and rarely shows. Most of the principle actors seem to have had short careers which is a shame...and the opening 10 minutes will make every woman wish she owned a black plastic mac!!

(1987) Eleven Days Eleven Nights/ Undici giorni, undici notti DUBBED DRAMA

This is another one of those movies where the thin and forgettable story line takes a back seat to the nude scenes much of it from Sarah (Jessica Moore). On the first 10 minutes, as she is coming toward a building, a large man wearing sunglasses is taking pictures of her. As he is snapping shots of her coming toward the building up until she goes to this empty floor where there are nothing but unclothed mannequins on different poses. And the obese guy is still taking photos of her. What is odd is that she begins to disrobe, she does not appear to notice him doing this as they are both on the same floor. And it was at this point, I was unable to watch anymore.

This movie that was strangely released at the cinemas here a long time ago was a trial to imitate the famous movie "Nine weeks and a half" starred by Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke although obviously with a lower budget. Nevertheless the female main character(Jessica Moore) is really beautiful and the story has sometimes very sweet touches seeming almost like a romantic movie, so if you like romanticism or erotism or both you can watch this. It´s neither very modern nor very good but at least actors are not bad and you can watch it better than most erotic movies. About Jessica Moore it is a paradox that she is playing here the role of a dangerous bitch-later in love, with only the age of 19 when she played some years later the role of the daughter of a terrified family in a movie called "The broken mirror" seeming younger there, because in this movie you could never imagine that this magnific blonde is so young, she is so well-grown....,I love her.

This is notorious Italian director/cinematographer Joe D'Amato's most successful 80's softcore sex flick. It certainly succeeds as standard 80's erotica--and in my estimation even surpasses its most obvious Hollwood inspiration, Adrian Lyne's overrated "9 and 1/2 Weeks"--but it's not nearly as interesting as some of D'Amato's sleazy 70's stuff like a lot of his "Black Emanuelle" films.

The plot involves a female writer who as part of a book project has slept with 99 men (pretty impressive considering the part was played by Jessica Moore who was all of 19 at the time). Her 100th unsuspecting "victim" is an American architect who she first seduces on a New York ferry and then begins a very hot and semi-kinky affair with despite the fact he's due to be married in 11 days (and 11 nights). A love (or lust) triangle soon develops between the writer, the architect, and the latter's bride-to be, but as this is a (not-always-too-believable) male fantasy, you know the one of the women is bound to eventually lose out while the guy will get to have his cake and eat her--I mean, eat it--too.

As always with D'Amato the cinematography is very good and the music while cheesy is actually pretty catchy (much better than the execrable "hits" in "9 and 1/2 Weeks"). The numerous sex scenes are much more silly-kinky than disturbing-kinky and any "drama" here is pretty hard to take seriously. Of course, no small amount of the appeal of this movie is Ms. Moore herself (actually an Italian actress whose real name is Alessandra Ottavia). She had supporting roles in "Don't Fear Aunt Martha" and Lucio Fulci's "Ghosts of Sodoma" where she mostly passed as an ordinary teen, but dolled-up and naked she is absolutely incredible. She has a body like Jessica RABBIT come to life. I kinda would have liked to see her in action with the OTHER 99 guys besides the douchebag in this movie (in one of the kinkier scenes she does try to set up an interracial three-way between her, the architect, and a studly black guy). Moore and D'Amato would team again in the semi-sequel "Top Model". I'd recommend them both.