User Reviews

Even though technically he already got his hardcore bearings by directing 1973's at the time unattributed SLEEPY HEAD and the following year's A TOUCH OF GENIE, simulated skin flick Maestro Joe Sarno didn't really take the porno plunge until 1976 when the homegrown grind house marketplace economically allowed no other option than full color penetration. Shot back to back (to back...) with at least three additional projects (THE TROUBLE WITH YOUNG STUFF, HOT WIVES and THE HONEY CUP), SLIPPERY WHEN WET belies it silly come on of a title by emerging as something of a minimalist masterpiece, constricting the action to just a couple of sets with a mere handful of exterior shots thrown in for good measure. Adjusting to the fledgling format's limitations in terms of time and budget, Sarno (adopting the "Karl - sometimes Erik - Andersson" moniker as a nod to his Scandinavian cycle of sex epics) shows a knack for turning these creative constraints to his advantage. Since "opening up" the plot was not a possibility, he would zoom in even closer on characters and their invariably troubled relationships to the exclusion of almost everything else. As in most of his work before or since, Sarno predominantly focuses on female characters, something that was quite revolutionary. Sarno would bucked the dispiriting status quo right from inception with serious studies of both female psyche and sexuality, inextricably linked, subject matter he brazenly brought along as he ventured into more graphic territory.

Predating the couples film craze by at least half a decade, SLIPPERY may actually appeal more to women with its strongly female-centric narrative and sex scenes, not exactly bashing guys but rendering them largely obsolete or incidental. Close chums ever since college, three women from varying walks of life have kept in touch even though there's plenty going on that could forever drive them apart. Former golden girl Ellen (C.J. Laing) is married to Don (Jeff Hurst) but immediately withdraws from him right after climax, caught up in frustrations she's unwilling to admit, so he turns towards her hot to trot best friend Kate (Hope Stockton) who's harboring secret lesbian longings for her erstwhile sorority sister but will accept her husband as a temporary pacifier instead. Tellingly, though equally married, we never get to see Kate's much complained about husband, "Martin", just another in the film's line-up of increasingly disposable male presences. Inbetween boyfriends, erotic artist and mutual friend Stella (Annie Sprinkle) inadvertently proves the catalyst as all three carnally convene at her swanky bachelor pad and masks are dropped.

As in all of Sarno's best, the conflict is propelled forward by an outsider to the story's central unit, in this case Southern white trash "model" Chris, hellbent for whatever reason to disrupt the deceptively calm surface by forcing the former friends to come to terms with their suppressed desires, shattering their hypocrisy. Outrageously portrayed by the massively underrated Crystal Sync, Chris comes to dominate proceedings right from the moment she takes up unrequested residence at Stella's place, alternately observing and manipulating. She has her work cut out for her. Apart from Ellen and Kate's unrealized attraction, there's Stella's own set of sexual hang-ups in strong contrast to her publicly projected image of the bohemian free spirit. All too rarely called upon to act, although it could be argued that she lives her life as if it were performance art, Annie Sprinkle shows unexpected range and dramatic depth, cast against type as a closet prude. Anyone familiar with our Annie knows this must take some acting ! The same can be said for consummate wild child C.J. Laing, a porn performer whose disinterest for drama as superfluous and dishonest has been widely reported. Rarely bothered to provide anything beyond the fevered fornicating that had compelled her to enter the industry in the first place, only a handful of dedicated dirty movie makers seemed capable of eliciting an actual thespian performance out of her, with results that surpassed most people's expectations. Roberta Findlay did with ANYONE BUT MY HUSBAND, as did Radley Metzger for BARBARA BROADCAST, and Sarno makes three, casting her as the exact opposite of how she was publicly perceived. Fleeting fan favorite of under a dozen titles and employed as enticing eye candy in most, Hope Stockton probably provides the biggest shock of all as the compulsively conniving Kate, an increasingly touching character once her motives are revealed.

Scored by the eerie solitary guitar of cult musician Jack Justis, legendary in legit circles for his contribution to the original Broadway cast album of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ SUPERSTAR and a Sarno regular on both sides of the explicit fence, the sex kicks into high gear right from the start, both increasing and intensifying characterization. As in his simulated work, the director concentrates on female pleasure, never more so than with the extremely expressive Stockton whose face turns flushed and inside out at the moment of climax, a cherish-able sight to behold. Sync's forceful initiation of Annie with the use of an obscenely large salami sausage has gained considerable notoriety yet plays out far less outrageously than its description, because neither actress breaks character throughout, keeping viewers interested in their dramatic evolution.