JOHN G. AVILDSEN

Bil’s rating (out of 5):   B

USA, 1983.  Screenplay by Joan Tewkesbury.  Cinematography by David L. Quaid.  Produced by David L. Quaid, Hawk Koch.  Music by Jan Hammer.  Production Design by Anna Hill Johnstone.  Costume Design by Anna Hill Johnstone.  Film Editing by John G. Avildsen.  

Hilariously bad movie is lamentable for wasting the superb talents of Lesley Ann Warren in a rare leading role.  She plays a pent-up schoolteacher whose emotionally bankrupt husband loses his job at NASA and sleeps with her even less than he did before (which was not at all, just to be clear).

She goes out for a crazy night at a strip bar with her girlfriends and is shocked to discover that her student (Christopher Atkins) is the star attraction, sending her into a whirlwind sexual frenzy that isn’t improved when he starts showing interest in her.

Badly written and so incredibly tacky, the film boasts a surprisingly reputable director (Oscar-winning John G. Avildsen) and an impressive cast (including the wonderful Carrie Snodgress and Deborah Rush), but Atkins’ performance and the cheesy situations drag it down to tawdry soap opera. Warren is so good at being vulnerable, while Atkins is so good at being naked (an early eighties specialty of his), but his acting is just embarrassing.