Cable softcore romantic movie "Phantom Love" opens with a cornball damsel in distress story replete with crummy swordfight and timid sex scene, making fun in pantomime with voiceover the genre.
It turns out to be novelist Ellen handing in her latest pirate saga to her publisher, who advises her to get inspiration (suggesting his childhood stomping grounds of Florence, Italy as a travel location) to come up with some fresh ideas for future books.
Everything here is old-hat and flatly presented, even the structure of a romance novelist imagining and presenting her fictional work. Griffin Drew stars in the story within the story taken from a 19th Century journal Ellen reads (and cribs from) as the strong woman who must save her family estate, Tamarind Manor (where Ellen is currently staying in Hollywood-set Florence, a b&b).
Griffin must choose between marrying a wealthy man to save the family legacy or go with the man she loves. Along the way half a dozen softcore sex scenes are included.
This sort of entertainment was frequently produced for cable TV two decades ago, sometimes even casting big-name Adult stars like India Summer and Kaylani Lei, but has gone out of fashion, often replaced by censored versions of hardcore porn movies. It's easy to see why, given how stale and tired this movie is, almost acknowledged in the early scenes of self-mockery.
