Verdict
Summary
Forbidden Games isn’t much of an erotic thriller, but at least it’s watchable to a point. Smooth Operator is just junk, though, which drags this double feature collection down.
Forbidden Games (1995) Plot:
A psychic private eye tries to solve a series of murders.
Review:
Clairvoyant private detective Michael Brandon (Jeff Griggs) is summoned by the wealthy grieving daughter (played by Lesli Kay) of a recently deceased middle-aged CEO of a modeling agency with an attractive prospect: Do some digging into the dead guy’s recent activities and see if he can come up with any leads. The police department didn’t do much and passed the man’s death off as not-so-nefarious, and Michael will make a bundle even if he gets nowhere, and so he takes the job. Within a few hours he’s balls deep into a sexy and sordid shadow world of high-end bordellos, nude pool parties, and a nonstop conveyor belt of beautiful naked women who come onto him, ready to jump his clairvoyant bones. Michael’s marriage is on the outs, and his wife (played by Elisabeth Sandifer) makes it clear she’s divorcing him for a wealthier, more successful man she doesn’t love, and so he takes all easy comers as a consolation prize. When his psychic skills actually begin kicking in, he pieces together some hard truths, some of which implicate his client in the death of her own father … but also comes to realize that there are multiple culprits, all of whom he’s crossed paths with and gotten laid with in cozy encounters. When he makes it known to his client what he’s come up with, he takes a cool bribe and walks away with a fortune … and gets his shallow wife back.
Softly lit erotic encounters and a smorgasbord of silicone-boobed beauties who look like they’ve crossed right over from a Playboy tape make Forbidden Games a less than compelling thriller, but this was made in the dependable vein of better-known entries in the genre and so it’s got enough of the right elements to make it a zone-out viewing. It’s full of gaping flaws and idiotic script developments (for instance – the main character is blackmailed with a tape of him having sex with a woman he just met, but so what? He’s poor and wouldn’t be able to pay the blackmail, and he’s about to get divorced, so what does it matter?), but if you’re not really paying attention then the movie will just roll on by. Written and directed by Edward Holzman, a mainstay in the sub-“B” films in this genre.
Forbidden Games 2: Smooth Operator 2 (1995) Plot:
A woman in a man’s world of corporate business struggles to stay in shape … and in love.
Review:
Grace (Megan Hughes) works in the corporate world of advertising where the game is run and ruled by men. She’s attractive and gets unwanted attention from her colleagues (especially at the gym), and one of her coworkers (played by John Henry Richardson) is her biggest competition in the boardroom, even though Grace has the chops to climb the corporate ladder if it weren’t for the fact that she’s a woman in the ’90s. A cute coworker (played by Candace Kita) suggests she go on a diet and hire a personal trainer, and she even suggests one: Brian (Doug Jeffery, a former Chippendale dancer and a mainstay in softcore movies throughout the ’90s and beyond), whom she’s seeing “off the books.” Grace takes her up on the connection and the first moment she lays eyes on Brian, she’s smitten, and rightfully so: He’s charming, sexy, and wants to “take the wheel” of her life, counting her calories, and monitoring her heart rate, and it doesn’t take but a few extra bucks from her wallet to get him to go the extra mile and become a virtual gigolo and sleep with her and be her date whenever she wants to go out to dinner. When they’re out one night, she runs into her biggest competition from work, and sensing that he can push her boundaries a little, Brian dares her to slash the man’s tires, which she does and never feels guilt over it. Brian is dangerous! But because Grace is shedding pounds and getting laid and feeling great about it, she escalates her relationship with him by advancing him to “Go” by suggesting he become the company’s face of their fitness brand, which launches Brian into the big time, leaving her in the dust. Grace has just realized (maybe too late) that Brian was one “smooth operator,” but fate will be kind to her because she’s about to get promoted!
A sex-filled lame duck drama that doesn’t really deserve a proper review written about it, Smooth Operator isn’t much of anything and is more a bore than a tease, no thanks to a completely nondescript plot with zero intrigue. If Jeffery had played some kind of psycho lothario (which he made a career at doing in other movies), this would have worked much better for me, but as it stands, it was a wet noodle. From director Kelly Cauthen.
Skin Max’s double feature, no frills, DVD release of these two titles comes in standard definition in the “R” rated format. Both films are full-frame.
