The Other Woman

My review was written in October 1992 after watching the movie on Imperial Entertainment video cassette.

Boasting a nifty twist on the old triangle theme, "The Other Woman" is a highly erotic video feature from the director of "Night Eyes". It's also the first of the current erotic thriller genre to feature a black actress in a leading role, with good results.

Film is probably the best feature yet from Axis, an outfit that has made half a doznen stimulating undressed suspenders and romancers beginning with "Carnal Crimes". Combo of semi-name casts, plenty of sex and attractive lensing makes hese a staple for pay-TV and video.

Severe in mien blonde Lee Anne Beaman toplines as a hard-hitting investigative newspaper reporter working on a case exposing powerful businessman/power broker Sam Jones.

She becomes distracted from her job when it seems that her psychologist/auhor husband Adrian Zmed is guilty of adultery. While he's away on a book tour, she tracks down black call girl/model Jenna Persaud to confront her as the mistress.

Excellent twist in Georges des Esseintes' modern script has the guilt reversed when Beaman discovers that Persaud is merely an innocent fan of her husband's, not his lover. Next twist is far-fetched but effective within the genre. Beaman falls in love with Persaud and latter becomes "the other woman" not in adultery but rather a lesbian affair.

Jones' violent methods and some double-dealing on Persaud's part bring the film back into thriller territory. Final twists are clever.

Director Jag Mundhra maximizes the opportunities for sex in this format, with both leading ladies proving to be uninhibited and alluring. Persaud, a topless dancer from the Canadian circuit recently showcased in Penthouse Video's "The Great Pet Hunt Part I", is quite sympathetic, while Beaman is forceful in the central role.

Using what's billed as a "probe lens" by Innovision Optics, Mundhra at crucial moments presents wide-angle distorted extreme closeups during the softcore sex scenes which are quite effective. Gaudy costumes by Ricardo and Lothar Delgado and other tech credits are above average.

Readers of Penthouse magazine will remember that Jenna Persaud, a dark beauty, brought a welcome splash of color to that magazine's pages in several layouts some years ago. Then she starred in this nifty and unpretentious little erotic thriller which showcases her potent sexiness as well as that of her co-star Lee Anne Beaman. This gem succeeds where many more recent flicks of this type have failed in that the director never forgets his fundamental mission. The scene where the two female leads get together is artfully shot and among the best of its kind in the genre.

...then one will be alright with it.

Actually,having said that,I don't think I EVER deluded myself into thinking this was anything BUT an erotic thriller. I would say this show,if it were being judged for the "Erotic" quality alone,would register as an 8 or 9. Factor in the sparsity of true drama,the laughable action scenes and mind-numbing plot coincidences,and this show drops to a 4 or 5.

A lovely,blue-eyed blonde news reporter(LeeAnne Beaman)'s quest to break a story on a shady local businessman is sidetracked by her trying to ferret out her husband's infidelity and sub-sequentially,the lovely dark-skinned beauty(Jenna Persaud,former Penthouse pet and not much of an actress) she suspects is the one he's cheating with. The story is almost comical,but as long as you stay in the vein of the soft-core story,it will slide off you the viewer like water off a duck's back.

A decent late-night watch or rent,but nothing more.

The Other Woman (1992) is a soft core classic. The story is about a woman who has some skeletons in her sexual closet which is causing a strain on her marriage. She's repressed in more ways than one. Her male co-workers make off the wall comments about her and hubby doesn't seem to be interested in her anymore. That is until one day whilst coming across some of hubby's personnel items (he's on a business trip), she finds something that'll change her life forever.

A great made-for-video flick. There's a hot scene between two ladies (tastefully done might I add)is worth the effort of finding this hidden gem. The storyline is actually interesting for a change and the acting is not that bad. Interracial fun and classy photography make this one a winner.

Highly recommended.

There are two versions of this film floating around. The mainstream video/cable t.v. version and the unrated video version. I have seen both versions and the unrated one is the best. Stay away from the R-rated version because it's missing a few minutes. For maximum enjoyment, watch the unrated version. You wont be sorry.

From the previous comment: "then one will be alright with it." Having all that is said,I don't think I would ever deluded myself into thinking this was anything but a erotic thriller. But when this made-to-video flick came out in 1992,"The Other Woman" is regarded as one of the greatest erotica thrillers to ever come out of the 1990's. This is director Jag Mundhra's best work and he takes erotica to new heights never before mentioned here. It is one of the great "soft-porn" flicks to ever grace the 1990's,and it has a very interesting plot about a journalist(Lee Ann Beaman) who not only uncovers something big against the mob,but also finds some startling information about her husband's lover. Not only that it has put a strain on her marriage,but she also has some skeletons in her closet that brings a dark secret on her past. She also finds out that the other woman(Jenna Persaud,a former Penthouse model of Middle Eastern decent brought a splash of color to its magazines during the 1980's and 1990's makes her debut here as a actress)is having not only an affair with her husband,but also she has a sexual attraction to her(which in turns reveals the dark secret to her lesbian past). What results here is some of the greatest erotica ever filmed where as it succeeds where others failed.

The question is to why this gem of a movie is not available on DVD is a crying shame. When it was released straight to video in 1992,there were two versions to this movie that are floating around and its only available on VHS,which with Beta and the Laserdisc are the age of the dinosaur. The "R" rated or "cable" version has several scenes that are deleted. It is best to get the "Unrated" version of this movie which has some great scenes. In the "Unrated" version,there are two,count them,two juicy lesbian sex scenes in this movie. The first one,where it has Lee Ann Beaman's character going back to her dark past and looking into the photos of her mother,and the scene of where she finds her mother and her female friend,making out in the bedroom. The other scene is where Lee Ann Beaman and her co-star Jenna Persaud really get it on is one if not the steamiest hottest lesbian sex scenes ever filmed is only in the "Unrated" version. Where as the "R" rated version has a running time of 90 minutes,the "Unrated" version is the better deal and has more erotic scenes has a running time of 103 minutes.

For the record: When is "The Other Woman" coming to DVD? A lot of fans would love to know. And for fans? Whatever happened to Lee Ann Beaman?