Body of Influence

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.

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.

I have seen this movie when I was 16 years old that time...it was very sexy and erotic! Unrated verison is better than rated Verizon!

In "Body of Evidence", our protagonist is a psychiatrist who sees b-movie stripper bimbos who apparently have no qualms about stripping for him during therapy. He is played by Nick Cassavetes (son of John), but he meets his match when the bodacious Miss Shannon Whirry comes into his office, and sits in his chair by mistake.

Whirry was queen of these softcore b-flicks back in the '90s, perhaps second only to the other Shannon, Shannon Tweed. She might not have been much of an actor - her line readings here sound like she was hypnotised before shooting began - but believe me, her naked body was a sight to behold.

Whirry is a call girl in "Body of Influence", with recurring erotic dreams she describes to the Cassavetes character with no prompting whatsoever, nor any apparent reason for sharing.

It's funny that the filmmakers saw fit to cast an actress as limited as Whirry in a role in which she appears to have a split personality. For most of the movie she is the typical b-film seductress, but then she has spells of behaving like she needs an exorcist. This schizophrenia would be disturbing in a more serious movie: her seductive spells are probably just another aspect of her psychosis, thus making sex with her tantamount to rape. Here, though, it's just plain goofy.

You can accept that this psychiatrist has a surplus of sexy ladies as his clientele, but why was it necessary to show the lady stripping right at the beginning, only to have Whirry do the same thing later?

Sandahl Bergman, of "Conan" and "All That Jazz", shows up as yet another sexy patient. She doesn't show any nudity - I don't think she ever did - which makes you wonder why they saw fit to cast her in a SOFTCORE movie.

Predictably, the therapist's entanglement with Whirry's character(s) lead to his professional life spiralling out of control. He's assaulted by the husband of one of his patients and his long-suffering receptionist quits.

The movie doesn't really feel like it "concludes" as much as ends. There's a final twist and then it's credits time. I wasn't really on board for most of this movie; typically, the plot seemed to get in the way of the fun.

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.