As far as I'm concerned, Edwin Brown ("Edwin Durell" in the later stages of his career) and his producer/wife Sandra Winters (formerly "Summer Brown") have made some of the finest adult films for couples to enjoy together, without ever falling into the so-called couples film trap of soft-pedaling the sex for the supposedly more timid female viewer. Starting with 1974's stylish Annette Haven vehicle CHINA GIRL, they've set out to convince the world that porn could indeed have universal appeal for both genders, a belief they've perpetuated through fine films such as THE JOY OF LETTING GO, FOR THE LOVE OF PLEASURE and A THOUSAND AND ONE EROTIC NIGHTS. While most critics would be quick to single out EVERY WOMAN HAS A FANTASY (1984) as their best work, I think IRRESISTIBLE is its equal in every respect. Mixing whimsical WALTER MITTY type comedy fantasy with some extremely erotic sex scenes, it stands as one of the greatest gems of the genre's Golden Age.
Less than successful travel agent Walter Brooks (played superbly by Richard Pacheco, fresh from his triumph in Sam Weston's TALK DIRTY TO ME and its superlative sequel NOTHING TO HIDE) finds himself stuck in a rut after 18 years of marriage to Arlene (Samantha Fox, who has never looked lovelier). On his way to work, he loses himself in carnal daydreaming about a cute hitchhiker (fan favorite Dorothy LeMay, perhaps the ultimate dirty movie ditz in flicks like Kirdy Stevens' original TABOO and its warped sequel) but lacks the confidence to move beyond the fantasies. One day, an old codger calling himself Miracle Meyer (well acted by character actor Misha Garr, also popping up briefly in Brown's EVERY WOMAN HAS A FANTASY II and Pacheco's directorial debut CAREFUL, HE MAY BE WATCHING) turns up at Walter's place of business, promising him erotic fulfillment through time travel for a mere $ 10 ! Understandably somewhat apprehensive both about the offer and the sanity of the person making it, Walter decides to try it anyway and, lo and behold, turns up at the court of Queen Cleopatra (the appropriately ravishing Starr Wood, the hands-on riding instructor from Fred Lincoln's SAME TIME, EVERY YEAR). After making beautiful love to the royal, he rather foolishly decides to alter the course of history by informing her of her impending fate, spooking her to the extent she has her guards incarcerate him. Fortunately, Meyer can whisk him back to the present day in a flash. That night at dinner, Arlene can't understand why her husband, who had been so listless of late, is all of a sudden in such a good mood, even with her mother visiting and fish which he doesn't like on the menu ! This makes for a wonderful little sequence that really brings out the character subtleties that Fox and Pacheco talented thespians both are capable of. Medieval Verona and Romeo's Juliet (a supremely slutty Gayle Sterling, star of Lawrence T. Cole's appropriately titled NASTY) are next with Walter deflowering Shakespeare's (fictional, but don't let that spoil your fun) heroine and inadvertently taking her back as she holds on a little too tight when her miffed Montague man catches them in flagrante. Until Meyer figures out a way to send her back, Walter decides to keep her stashed at the No Tell Motel on Eddy Street where she wears him out sexually, albeit with a little help from her friends in an award-winning orgy scene involving Gina Gianetti ("Cassie Blake" from Bill Eagle's first ALL American GIRLS), Mai Lin, Billy Dee and Lynn Francis, a performer who worked well into the '90s. Mata Hari (sultry Nicole Noir, resplendent in stockings and garters) is the subsequent historical hussy Meyer has lined up, but Walter has finally seen the light and requests to be returned permanently to 1964, the year he married Arlene. Their blissful wedding night lovemaking provides the perfect capper to this charming concoction, proving in the process that heart doesn't need to exclude heat and vice versa.
There's not a single aspect of IRRESISTIBLE that's not handled with the utmost professionalism. As I've already waxed lyrically about the cuteness of the storyline and the high quality acting of all involved, let me just add that Teru Hayashi's polished cinematography and intricate lighting techniques really bring out the beauty of performers who've never looked this eye-popping elsewhere (especially Fox) and that Terrance O'Reilly's editing effectively keeps up the pace for what is after all an above average length for an adult film at the time. But hey, I even like the typically schmaltzy ballad (a male/female duet, no less) that accompanies the "True Love Conquers All" ending ! In parting, I realize it would be a total cliché to state that IRRESISTIBLE lives up to its title, but as I've run out of other things to say by now, it'll just have to do !
Less than successful travel agent Walter Brooks (played superbly by Richard Pacheco, fresh from his triumph in Sam Weston's TALK DIRTY TO ME and its superlative sequel NOTHING TO HIDE) finds himself stuck in a rut after 18 years of marriage to Arlene (Samantha Fox, who has never looked lovelier). On his way to work, he loses himself in carnal daydreaming about a cute hitchhiker (fan favorite Dorothy LeMay, perhaps the ultimate dirty movie ditz in flicks like Kirdy Stevens' original TABOO and its warped sequel) but lacks the confidence to move beyond the fantasies. One day, an old codger calling himself Miracle Meyer (well acted by character actor Misha Garr, also popping up briefly in Brown's EVERY WOMAN HAS A FANTASY II and Pacheco's directorial debut CAREFUL, HE MAY BE WATCHING) turns up at Walter's place of business, promising him erotic fulfillment through time travel for a mere $ 10 ! Understandably somewhat apprehensive both about the offer and the sanity of the person making it, Walter decides to try it anyway and, lo and behold, turns up at the court of Queen Cleopatra (the appropriately ravishing Starr Wood, the hands-on riding instructor from Fred Lincoln's SAME TIME, EVERY YEAR). After making beautiful love to the royal, he rather foolishly decides to alter the course of history by informing her of her impending fate, spooking her to the extent she has her guards incarcerate him. Fortunately, Meyer can whisk him back to the present day in a flash. That night at dinner, Arlene can't understand why her husband, who had been so listless of late, is all of a sudden in such a good mood, even with her mother visiting and fish which he doesn't like on the menu ! This makes for a wonderful little sequence that really brings out the character subtleties that Fox and Pacheco talented thespians both are capable of. Medieval Verona and Romeo's Juliet (a supremely slutty Gayle Sterling, star of Lawrence T. Cole's appropriately titled NASTY) are next with Walter deflowering Shakespeare's (fictional, but don't let that spoil your fun) heroine and inadvertently taking her back as she holds on a little too tight when her miffed Montague man catches them in flagrante. Until Meyer figures out a way to send her back, Walter decides to keep her stashed at the No Tell Motel on Eddy Street where she wears him out sexually, albeit with a little help from her friends in an award-winning orgy scene involving Gina Gianetti ("Cassie Blake" from Bill Eagle's first ALL American GIRLS), Mai Lin, Billy Dee and Lynn Francis, a performer who worked well into the '90s. Mata Hari (sultry Nicole Noir, resplendent in stockings and garters) is the subsequent historical hussy Meyer has lined up, but Walter has finally seen the light and requests to be returned permanently to 1964, the year he married Arlene. Their blissful wedding night lovemaking provides the perfect capper to this charming concoction, proving in the process that heart doesn't need to exclude heat and vice versa.
There's not a single aspect of IRRESISTIBLE that's not handled with the utmost professionalism. As I've already waxed lyrically about the cuteness of the storyline and the high quality acting of all involved, let me just add that Teru Hayashi's polished cinematography and intricate lighting techniques really bring out the beauty of performers who've never looked this eye-popping elsewhere (especially Fox) and that Terrance O'Reilly's editing effectively keeps up the pace for what is after all an above average length for an adult film at the time. But hey, I even like the typically schmaltzy ballad (a male/female duet, no less) that accompanies the "True Love Conquers All" ending ! In parting, I realize it would be a total cliché to state that IRRESISTIBLE lives up to its title, but as I've run out of other things to say by now, it'll just have to do !