Michael Zen was one of porn's most pretentious directors -a big shot during the VHS era, and I wonder if his movies are still of interest. This fumbling attempt at a sit-com suffers mightily from Zen's hubris, as he substitutes silliness for the light touch a sophisticated comedy requires.
Told tediously in a series of flashbacks as the typically odious Joey Silvera chats at bar about his ad agency colleagues to secretary Chasey Lain. Chief protagonist is played (in an awful, Razzie deserving performance) by Steven St. Croix, sitting at the end of the bar looking slovenly and doing stupid slapstick, like putting cherries in his nostrils.
Had this movie been made a decade later, perhaps Zen could have drawn on "Mad Men" for inspiration in depicting comically the internal politics of an ad agency, but no such luck. Instead we have the self-centered, detestable executives like Steven and Joey mocked and getting their just desserts.
Central conceit is that St. Croix in flashback is juggling having sex with his hokily '50s "homebody" wife Jeanna Fine and his sexy mistress Jill Kelly. When his secretary Chasey Lain purposely switches his gifts to the two ladies, suddenly they begin behaving as if they had exchanged personalities.
Sitcom humor ensues plus ridiculous porn cliches like wife Jeanna Fine, no longer mousy and submissive, scoring a 3-way with her plumber (Tony Tedeschi) and repairman (Bobby Vitale). Very short movie, about 70 minutes plus useless outtakes at the end, emphasizes preposterous overacting, even giving Joey and Steven closeup scenes in straitjackets making faces.
Is Zen merely condescending to his audience, or did he believe that an over-the-top approach is what they want to see? At this point it doesn't matter, as all that fans will get out of this clunker is the very well-known (and well-remembered) talent and beauty of Jeanna Fine, Jill Kelly and Chasey Lain. Matters like acting and storytelling have become almost irrelevant, a state of play that saves Zen's bacon (except from criticism by folks like me who hold Adult Cinema to a much higher standard).