Virtual Encounters 2

Movies like this aren't generally watched for their plot, so I'll dispense with even talking about it. Rather, this film is all about the skin, of which this film has plenty of(or at least the unrated version I caught), in surprisingly explicit detail, I might add. And thus, pretty much ruins the whole point of softcore. Leaving something out stirs the imagination, and unable to show real sex, the simulation is supposed to be more, I'll say 'dynamic', then the real deal. Sadly, this film does neither, and instead straddles the line between hard and soft quite poorly. If you want sex, you'd be better off getting a real porn. If you want imaginative (if not patently realistic) action, you'd be better off with something like Hotel Exotica. But there is plenty of skin, so it's not half bad.

The main character of this sex-filled drivel, Mel (Ethan Hunt), notes on several occasions, "She deserves better than this!" The "she" he refers to is Ginger, played by beautiful Brandy Davis, who indeed DOES deserve better than this. Brandy deserves better than this film, its lame script, and perverted Mel. A guy who gets off at watching his dream girl have sex with another man, even in virtual world, seriously does not deserve her AT ALL. An A- for the simulated sex scenes, an F for the script.

At any given moment, there are probably at least a half a dozen versions of any adult-themed movie on the market: hard-boiled and soft-boiled; bland `R' or spicy `NC-17'; edited for European markets and edited for domestic cable. So tuning in late at night, we rely completely on the luck of the draw. But perhaps that's part of the appeal, those little surprises that (metaphorically) fall into our lap.

So I was cautiously optimistic at the start of an `R' rated version of Sybil (or Cybil) Richards' latest entry in the Virtual Encounters' franchise. The plot, of course, is the merest scrap of an idea: horny college geeks set up a virtual reality business to cater to the sexual fantasies of other horny college geeks. And the opening scenes are strictly `R', with coy camera angles offering discrete glimpses of naked bodies. (Although there is a moment of greater promise, when the camera lingers over the elfin charms of Brandy Davis as a nude model in an art class.)

So the plot lurches forward. We see a James Bond clone seduce a Bond girl in a brief and demure scene. Ho hum. We see one of our horny college geeks as a biker boy, waiting for his biker girl . More ho hum.

And then, like some memorable event high on the Richter scale, the wickedly pneumatic Nikki Fritz shows up as the biker girl and the moment becomes molten. The scene is long and intense, spliced into this movie like one of those set pieces from Penthouse videos with names like `Hot Wheels' or `Leather Forever'. But don't misunderstand me. This is a good thing. In fact, this is a very good thing. And unless the MPAA has pushed the envelope on `R', I can only assume that some thoughtful programmer substituted an unrated version.

And since we have been very good boys this year, there's yet another present under the tree, as the equally voluptuous Chrissey Styler joins Nikki in seducing some very lucky construction worker. Hard hats fly, clothes are torn off and soon the screen is filled with naked, sweaty flesh. One more long and ferocious set piece, apparently spliced in from the same Penthouse video,

(And, as I watch more and more late-night cable and learn the syntax, here is a revision of one of the unwritten rules: girl-girl scenes are allowed in `erotic comedies', as long as the episode is fantasy or a dream.)

After a few less memorable moments pass, Chrissey Styler is featured in her own scene, as a coed client has a VR encounter with Chrissey as a private dancer. The pretty coed even gets lured on stage, undressed by Chrissey, and the two entertain us with their dancing and exchange a few provocative glances.

Without these three interludes, `VC2', would be a mildly entertaining trifle, with scenes that wobble from modest `R' to racy `NC-17'. But the charms of Chrissey Styler and Nikki Fritz are impossible to resist; their encounters vibrate like a sexual tuning fork and the rest simply surrenders to the fast-forward button.

The plot and characterization of Virtual Encounters isn't worth mentioning, so I won't. But the sex scenes featuring Nikki Fritz and Chrissy Styler are worth mentioning. A wonderful golden light fills the scenes, bringing out the beauty of Fritz and Styler's skins (and the guy's too, to be fair). The sex scenes are more in the nature of tableaux than actual depictions of sex, composed for their beauty and for showing off the beauty of the actresses. I will also say this -- Nikki Fritz is not at all shy about giving up her butt to the camera, and she's got a gorgeous butt.

Worth seeing strictly for the sex scenes, the Virtual Reality stuff is the merest rationalization for all the action.

Virtual Encounters 2 features: 1) professional production quality 2) good editing that won't bore you 3) dopey skinny boys 4) a cheesy but cheery story 5) fun music, and 6) very nice looking girls who move themselves well

They should show it in film school -- it's the best soft porn ever made. And be sure to get the unrated version.