Merchants of Venus

I bought this on DVD for 2 quid (USD3) on a market simply because Beverly D'Angelo, a favourite of mine, and Prunella Gee, ex Bond Girl, were in it. I wasn't expecting much and wasn't disappointed in that respect.

It tries to deal with too much too quickly - immigrant labour in the USA, the sex toy industry, porn movies, odd relationships - it could have concentrated on any one of these for it's scanty 74 minutes with no problem. The result is a mish-mash with a sketchy plot that jumps about too much and leaves holes behind it.

Nevertheless, there are some wonderful cameos. Beverly D'Angelo as the short tongued dominatrix is hoot (God only knows what Mr. Pacino made of this!!). Brian Cox and his mate as the Russian Mafioso are also excellent as is Troy Donohue in a cameo as the FBI Agent who is a secret admirer and shoplifter. However, Michael York, about as British as you can get, is not a very convincing Russian. Good soundtrack by Erasure and I nearly fainted when I saw Andy Bell, my brother's Doppelganger, as the porn director.

So, worth 2 quid but no more. Amusing in its parts but disappointing as a whole.