The Bimbo

THE BIMBO is an entertaining (minus some dull stretches -ironically during the sex scenes, not the exposition footage) porn comedy that shows it never hurts to try a little in the dialog department. Instead of the annoying improv approach of 99.9% of porn, scripter "Clinton Darke" contributes amusing wordplay.

The format recalls lesser Neil Simon (insult intended), at the level of say MURDER BY DEATH or THE CHEAP DETECTIVE. (Not to overly pick on the genius playwright, but his movie stock has never sunk lower, as a current generation of film buffs seems to have seen thousands of horror films plus the collected work of Franco & D'Amato but wouldn't be caught dead watching a Neil Simon movie -they're hopelessly out-of-date.) Kimba (Leanna Foxxx) is the brainless school chum visiting pal Susie (played by the truly fabulous Cameo) on the eve of latter's wedding. The groom is a balding, fairly creepy guy named Orrin (Wayne Summers), and we meet his unlikely family around the dinner table: dad Harold (Randy West, a bona fide member of porn's "over a 1000 features" club) and wife (Devonshire).

When Orrin leaves the table to run an errand, a gunshot rings out: he's been murdered off camera. Enter police detective Tom Chapman, who engages into some priceless Abbott & Costello banter with West (kudos to writer Darke).

Many sex scenes later, Kimba comes up with the murder weapon hidden in West's bedroom and turns him into the police for killing his own son. There's a clever plot twist at the finale revealing the true identity of the killer (who hired a hit-man, the rest of the cast being at the table when the murder occurred).

With some funny lines, the performers do an excellent job in balancing comedy with hot sex. Though Foxxx in the title role is automatically a standout (literally, given her legendary rack), the most attractive and arousing femme in the cast has to be Cameo. Director John T. Bone, who as "John Bowen" made one of my all-time favorite softcore sex films HINDSIGHT, is particularly adept at spotlighting in closeup Cameo's amazing stubby nipples. He also gave the legendary Playboy Playmate Kathy Shower's nipples a showcase in HINDSIGHT, and even did the same for her co-star Cyndi Pass in that classic, so he clearly is master of this particular fetish.

Foxxx is less than ideal in the title role; she was the logical successor to Susan Nero amongst porn starlets but oddly enough projects an obvious intelligence that clashes with the "bimbo" character. Nevertheless, she joined Bone & Darke for a quickie sequel RETURN OF THE BIMBO, which, alas, is unavailable on DVD. A couple of other actresses, Jacqueline and the great Dominique Simone, are briefly tossed into the video for variety's sake, but wasted.