Penthouse: On the Wild Side

My review was written in January 1989 after watching the show on Vestron/Penthouse video cassette.

Released late last year, video from Penthouse is stronger stuff than the softcore competition. Voyeur segments vary in quality, with big-name loss leaders proving quite disappointing.

In latter category is a useless 2-minute photo montage of nede stills taken years ago of Madonna, calculated to irritate her but which please no one. Similarly useless is a dated piece on the making of "Caligula" in which Penthouse chieftain Bob Guccione hogs a lot of credit, and on-the-set interviews with such stars as Malcolm McDowell misrepresent their later dissatisfaction with the release version of the film.

Most stimulating segments, designed merely to turn on the viewer and not for enlightenment, are statuesque model Rhonda Vandegriff in a narcissistic mode, a beautifully photographed homage to the late porno star Shauna Grant (credited here under her real name Colleen Applegate) and a sexy lesbian interlude in which dominatrix-styled hairdresser Michelle Bauer transforms Julia Parton into a punkette.