The Kissing Game

Between the poles of Brad Armstrong's filmmaking career: all-sex at one end and overblown self-proclaimed "blockbusters" at the other comes this trim neo-noir tale of grifters and double-crosses, an excellent Wicked release.

Serenity and Randy Spears star as a small-time team of con artists, whose prey is Herschel Savage. They blackmail him with incriminating photos of his sexual dalliance with Serenity, who effortlessly picks him up in a hotel bar, where superstar Stephanie Swift cameos as the bartender.

What makes Brad's quality script unusual is that he couples the unfolding of the caper with Randy's voiceover narration detailing the planned operation while we watch what actually happens. This ploy elevates one's interest in what otherwise might be routine storytelling.

With a strong supporting cast including Missy as Savage's sexy wife, and Sydnee Steele providing anal sex in a threesome with bosomy blonde Sterling and Missy's real-life hubby Mickey G., the crime goes awry and several dynamite plot twists lead to an amoral ending.

Except for overacting in the final reel when matters come to a head, Spears is effective as the antihero and Serenity is terrific as female lead. But it is auteur Armstrong who proves he's capable of fashioning a dynamite movie by playing small ball rather than swinging carelessly for the fences.