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Two Moon Junction
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| Year: |
1988
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Director: |
Zalman King
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| Stars: |
Sherilyn Fenn, Richard Tyson, Louise Fletcher, Burl Ives, Kristy McNichol, Martin Hewitt, Juanita Moore, Don Galloway, Millie Perkins, Milla Jovovich, Nicole Rosselle, Kerry Remsen, Hervé Villechaize, Dabbs Greer, Chris Pedersen, Harry Cohn, Brad Logan
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| Genre: |
Drama, Sex, Romance |
| Rating: |
  5 (from 1 vote) |
| Review: |
April Delongpre (Sherilyn Fenn) is a rich Southern belle who is engaged to be married to the son of another wealthy family, Chad (Martin Hewiitt), but she is not sure she wants to be wed and settle down when she feels she is so young that she should have a few years of fun first. However, pressure from her family, and especially her matriach grandmother (Louise Fletcher) ensures that there's no way of getting out of the upcoming nuptials, so she has almost resigned herself to it. That is until she visits a carnival that has rolled into town, and catches sight of musclebound worker Perry (Richard Tyson) there...
Many was the fan of Twin Peaks delighted that Sherilyn Fenn, who had been one of the stars of that show, had made this softcore sexploitation effort a couple of years before, because the movies got to go that bit further in what they could depict, so yes, they all got to see her starkers. Alas, that was about the highlight of Two Moon Junction, as otherwise we were in the would-be tasteful territory of the eighties chief exponent of this type of thing, Zalman King, and while he didn't skimp on the unclothed actresses, or actors for that matter, his work took itself far too seriously to be judged much fun otherwise.
Although this was released to cinemas, it did its best business on home video where the viewer could fast forward to their favourite parts and make judicious use of the pause button. This could be why there was less nudity in theatrical films after the early nineties as a rule, although there was not really much need to see this and its like with a bunch of strangers, unless you wanted to start hooting with laughter at the leaden dialogue and desperate attempts to be melodramatic: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof this was not. Indeed, there are many who don't want to use the fast forward and enjoy this on a bad movie level, although whether Mr King knew he was making camp is an unknown.
All the signs are that he was perfectly straightfaced in his endeavours to whip up the audience into an erotic ecstasy, which naturally rendered it all the more risible. If this were made in Britain April's pursuit of Perry would be the equivalent of a poor little rich girl copping off with some bloke off the waltzers at a fairground, but here it's an affair on a par with Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler, or that's the intention. We can tell she's feeling permanently horny because she has a secret hole in the shower where she can peep on her fiancée's friends as they bathe in the next room, and as that spouse to be is played by the bloke off of Endless Love, we wonder as she does if she's making the right decision in committing her life to his.
April and Perry start enjoying each other's company until an unexplained accident at the carnival (lots of sparks and minor explosions) sends him into a fury about health and safety, so owner Hervé Villechaize (in his final role) throws him out, and, to illustrate what a ruthless bunch these carnies are, kills his dog too. This drives the couple into a brief life on the run, where they end up at motels for sex and crying (on her part), but the path of true love never ran smooth and soon they are conducting a shouting match in public, which gets them a round of spontaneous applause as April yells "I'll buy you breakfast asshole!" I don't know about you, but a breakfast asshole doesn't sound too appetising, so it's no wonder they don't finish it and end up canoodling passionately in full view of the other diners. As an example of how lust can force people into outright irrationality, maybe Two Moon Junction scores, but most will be wanting to see Sherilyn naked, with which the movie obliges you. Music by Jonathan Elias.
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| Reviewer: |
Graeme Clark
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