Another 9 1/2 Weeks (aka Love in Paris) (1997)

The successor to Adrian Lyne's 9 1/2 Weeks (1986) was this direct-to-video release by director Anne Goursand.

[Note: Another inferior sequel was The First 9 1/2 Weeks (1998) - a prequel taglined: "A Journey Beyond Pleasure" - directed by Alex Wright, with Paul Mercurio and Clara Bellar.]

This first sequel, set ten years later, starred Mickey Rourke (as obsessed, depressed and suicidal John Gray) journeying to Paris to attend an art exhibit. He was also there to find Elizabeth (from the first film), where he paired up instead with her red-headed best friend, mysterious high fashion clothing designer Lea Calot (Angie Everhart).

The film opened with Gray using a cold straight-edged razor to play with and tease the prominent nipple of a blindfolded blonde (Philippa Matthews, credited as Beautiful Blonde). Later, he poured wine over the naked, rose petal-covered body of Lea.

There were also scenes of orgasmic lesbian sex with Lea's assistant Claire (Agathe de la Fontaine) (who was in an abusive relationship with her own boyfriend), and the pouring of hot wax on a half-naked woman (Sasha Van Duyn, credited as Girl in Night Club) on a spinning wheel in a night-club.

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)

The first in a PG-rated series of James Bond spoofs was Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997). Mike Myers portrayed a cryogenically frozen 60s spy, Austin Powers, who was defrosted 30 years later to battle the villainous Dr. Evil (Myers also).

There was an attempted seduction of Austin by busty "Italian confidential secretary" Alotta Fagina (Fabiana Udenio), the girlfriend of Evil's henchman Number Two (Robert Wagner). When Alotta arrived, she suggested: "Let me slip into something more comfortable" - and Austin watched her strip silhouetted behind a screen before she emerged in a tiny bathrobe. She summoned him to join her as she approached her hot-tub and stripped naked ("Come in, and I'll show you everything you need to know"). As she washed him, she found his business card and discovered his true identity -- Austin Powers -- causing her to further seduce him ("In Japan, men come first, and women come second (or sometimes not at all)") with sake ("Sake it to me, baby") and her proposition: "Let's make love, you silly hairy little man."

This was the film that featured the "ultimate weapon" to defeat Austin Powers, Fembots. Fembots (introduced with Nancy Sinatra's singing of "These Boots Were Made For Walking") were beautiful blonde android replicants, wearing white boots and two piece outfits. They were "the latest word in android replicant technology. Lethal, Efficient, Brutal. No man can resist their charms." They had protruding gunbarrels that emerged from their bikini-covered breasts [the Fembots' brassieres were based on the one worn by Ursula Andress in the cult Italian sci-fi movie The 10th Victim (1965)]. They demonstrated their lethal breast-weapons on emasculated guards.

The Go-Go-Girl "Fem-Bots" Wearing Purple, Fuzzy Teddy-Bear Nightgowns to Seduce Austin Powers

Later in the film, the Fembots wore purple fuzzy teddy-bear nightgowns - they asked Austin: "Care to have a little fun?" - one of them jumped onto his shoulders, while the others protruded tubes from their breasts ("jumblies," British slang) (he asked: "Is it cold in here?") and sprayed him with a pink-colored gas. Powers found himself lying in bed with the Fembots, who stroked him to tantalize him, as he attempted to think of distracting things: "Baseball, cold showers...Margaret Thatcher naked on a cold day..." When they challenged him: "You can't resist us, Mr. Powers,"

He performed a sexy strip-tease dance (down to Union Jack red underwear and hairy chest) to the tune of "I Touch Myself," causing them to short-circuit with sexual electricity as their heads twitched violently and then exploded. He explained later how he defeated the Fembots with machine-gun boobs: "...All of a sudden, the Fembots came by and smoke started to come out of their jumblies. So I'd thought I'd work my mojo, right, to counter their mojo. We got cross-mojonations, and their heads started exploding."

In the final classic honeymoon scene three months later, Austin Powers and Vanessa were in their hotel room's bedroom suite; as they talked on a videophone to British Intelligence Agent Basil Exposition (Michael York), the two were cleverly shielded by various objects as they moved about naked.

Bliss (1997)

Writer/director Lance Young's directorial debut film was an honest and frank erotic drama that explored marital sexuality. The film initially earned an NC-17 rating from the MPAA.

It told about the sexual problems of a married couple after six months, during which time the wife continually faked orgasm ("I-I have a confession to make. Uhm, I fake my orgasms"):

• Maria (Sheryl Lee), an unfulfilled wife
• Joseph (Craig Sheffer), a repressed architect

Unlicensed, unconventional marriage counselor and tantric sex specialist Baltazar Vincenza (Terence Stamp) treated them, encouraging Joseph to refrain from love-making for awhile, but instead to express his intimate feelings while holding her, to practice the "nurturing position," and to gently caress Maria's entire body with a light blissful touch ("You are sensitizing her body, awakening her ecstatic responses").

Eventually, Joseph was taught how to use his ring finger to find her "sensitive" and "raw" G-spot ("the sacred spot") and then told to: "Never break eye contact with Maria."

"The first few times the sacred spot is touched, it can be frightening. She may experience pain... Just keep stroking, the sensation will change."

Afterwards, Maria appeared to begin enjoying sex so immensely and aggressively that it frightened Joseph, and after one particularly intense bout of sexual intercourse, Maria panicked, cried and suffered severe throat swelling (as she pictured past emotional child abuse called a "body memory") that required hospitalization and further hospital group therapy - it eventually caused their temporary separation. Due to her repressed history of sexual abuse, Maria remembered her childhood trauma:

"I remembered that my father's favorite thing was to kiss my vagina when I was a baby. I remembered that sometimes I'd wake up in the middle of the night sucking his penis. I didn't even know what it was."

Her father first penetrated her when she was five and told her: "That's what Daddys and little girls do." When it inexplicably stopped at age 11 or 12, she admitted she still "loved him," and had enjoyed the sexual feelings, but had continually blocked her feelings and pain by pretending to be happy.

She courageously admitted to husband Joseph that she had to confront her self-hatred, to separate him from her previous abuse, and to find self-understanding - and they were eventually reconciled.

Boogie Nights (1997)

Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson's fact-based period film, with the recreated look of the LA adult film-porn industry in the San Fernando Valley in the late 70s and early 80s, was about the empty search for fame, wealth, and hard-core sex; this was an acclaimed film with three Oscar nominations (Best Supporting Actor and Actress, and Best Original Screenplay); the ensemble film told about the lives of a number of misfits - mostly damaged and lost individuals, including a well-endowed superstud:

• set in 1977 in LA's San Fernando Valley, the film opened with a virtuoso, lengthy tracking shot that entered into and continued to move through the interior of a Reseda, CA Hot Traxx nightclub managed by Maurice Rodriguez (Luis Guzmán), in order to introduce all of the film's main characters, including many who worked in the LA porn industry
• LA "exotic pictures" porn filmmaker Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds) was greeted and ushered into the club - he entered with his part-time girlfriend and maternalistic, red-headed, cocaine-abusing porn queen star Amber Waves (Julianne Moore)

Maurice Rodriguez (Luis Guzmán) In Front of His Hot Traxx Nightclub	Ushering in Amber Waves (Julianne Moore) and Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds)	The Camera's Uninterrupted Tracking of the Guests
Opening Scene - Steadicam Tracking Shot: Entering the Hot Traxx Nightclub

• Jack approached the nightclub's 17 year-old kitchen busboy Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg) in the kitchen; Jack was interested in considering Eddie as a new prospect, but Eddie misinterpreted his interest and suggested: "So, you want five or ten?...If you just wanna see me jack off, it's ten. But if you just wanna look at it, it's only five"; they formally introduced themselves, and then Jack hinted: "I got a feeling beneath those jeans, there's somethin' wonderful just waitin' to get out"
• after returning home, Horner's assistant producer Bill "Little Bill" Thompson (William H. Macy) found his unfaithful, nymphomaniacal porn star wife (real adult star Nina Hartley) having sex with a strange man in their bedroom; he angrily approached: "That's my wife, you asshole"; Bill's wife ordered: "Get out. Go sleep on the couch. Don't stop, big stud"
• after work, Eddie arrived at his parents' home in Torrance, CA to perform Bruce Lee-styled karate moves in front of a mirror, as he egotistically ogled his own muscular body and sizeable, well-endowed bulge under his briefs; during breakfast the next morning, Eddie was assailed by his emotionally-abusive father and mother for his directionless life and for being a high-school dropout who worked at a car wash during the day and a faraway nightclub at night

Eddie Bragging to His Girlfriend Sheryl Lynn About His "One Special Thing"

• while Eddie was having sex with his eager girlfriend Sheryl Lynn (Laurel Holloman), she complimented him on his sexual prowess and was impressed by his prominent endowment: "Your cock is so beautiful!"; he responded by stating his ultimate objective in life: "Everyone has one thing, you think? I mean, everyone's given one special thing, right?... Everyone's blessed with one special thing. Hey, I want you to know I plan on being a star. A big, bright shining star. That's what I want. That's what I'm gonna get"
• back in the nightclub, LA filmmaker Jack Horner, who had expressed an earlier interest in Eddie's reputation, whispered a suggestion to one of his porn actresses - teenaged starlet Brandy (aka Rollergirl because she always wore roller-skates) (Heather Graham) - a HS dropout who was resuming her high school studies; as part of Eddie's audition for adult films, she took Eddie into the back stockroom where she performed oral sex on him
• after work as Eddie walked home, Jack drove by and invited Eddie to join him with Rollergirl and his star-girlfriend Amber Waves for a stop at a late-night diner; his intention was to groom and promote Eddie as his next potential superstud porn star
• at a table, Horner described the costs and benefits of adult film-making: "So what I'm tryin' to tell ya, Eddie, is that it takes a lot of the good old American green stuff to make one of these things, you know what I mean. I mean, you know, you've got your camera, you got your film, you got your lights, you got your sound, you got your lab costs, you got the developing, you got your synching, you got your editing. Before you turn around, you spent maybe $20,000, $25,000, $30,000 dollars on a movie....But if you make a good one, there's practically no end to how much money you can make"
• Horner continued to promote the porn film industry to Eddie, promising him that he could be a super-star; he stressed how important it was for his male star to be virile: "...if you don't have those juices flowin' down there in the Mr. Torpedo area, in the fun zone. But you got to get the people in the theater. You know, you need the big dicks, the big tits..." - and then in another breath, he described how he wanted to make a quality porn film: "How do you keep them in the theater after they've come? With beauty and with acting. Now I understand you've got to get 'em in the theater. You know, you gotta keep the seats full, but I don't want to make a film where they show up, they sit down, they jack off and they get up and they get out before the story ends. It is my dream, it is my goal, it is my idea to make a film that the story just sucks 'em in, and when they spurt out that joy juice, they just got to sit in it. They can't move until they find out how the story ends. You know, I wanna make a film like that...it's my dream to make a film that is true and right and dramatic"
• later that night in his San Fernando home, Horner proposed hiring Eddie due to his good looks, charming charisma, and genital size: "I'm thinking I want to be in business with you, Eddie"; to sweeten the deal, Horner suggested that Rollergirl have sex on the couch with Eddie (although she had already just performed oral sex on Eddie in the nightclub's stock-room): "I want you to go over there and sit on the couch with Eddie"; she removed everything but her roller skates before jumping on top of Eddie: (Rollergirl: "Are you ready?...Oh yeah...I don't take my skates off - and don't f--king come in me"); from the sidelines during Eddie's audition, Horner added nonchalantly: "Aim it at her tits, Eddie"

Sex on the Couch with Rollergirl (Heather Graham)

• in the early morning after Eddie returned home, his awaiting mother (Joanna Gleason) again berated him for his wasted, loser-life while destroying some of his wall posters and decorations; before leaving for good, he angrily promised her that he would make something of himself: "You don't know what I can do, what I'm gonna do, or what I'm gonna be! I'm good! I have good things and you don't know about! I'm gonna be something! I am! And don't f--king tell me I'm not!"

Porn Actor Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly)

Pedophilic Porn Financier Colonel James (Robert Ridgely)

Scotty J. (Phillip Seymour Hoffman)

• Eddie fled to Jack Horner's home - where he would take up permanent residence - where a pool party was in progress; attendees included over-confident and boastful porn actor Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly), pedophile porn financier Colonel James (Robert Ridgely) with an underage teen, and black porn actor Buck Swope (Don Cheadle); while they sat at a poolside table, Buck's girlfriend Becky Barnett (Nicole Ari Parker) insultingly advised him to change his cowboy-style: "YOU HAVE TO GET A NEW LOOK!", but she was happy with her own look: "Chocolate Love - 100 %"
• during the pool party, Horner's assistant producer Bill "Little Bill" Thompson again found his wife having sex with a muscle-bound stud in the home's driveway while surrounded by a crowd of stunned onlookers; she scolded her husband: 'Shut up, Bill. You're embarrassing me"; the perturbed "Little Bill" jealously stomped off and complained to fellow cinematographer Kurt Longjohn (Ricky Jay): "My f--kin' wife, man, she's down there, some idiot's dick in her, everybody's standin' around watchin - it's a f--kin' embarassment....My f--king wife has an ass in her c--k in the driveway, Kurt! All right?! I'm sorry if my thoughts are not on the photography of the film we're shooting tomorrow, OK?"; however, Kurt was more interested in discussing photographic elements for the next day's shoot
• shortly later, the Colonel's young female companion snorted coke, overdosed, and was found on a bedroom floor bleeding from her nose, and she was whisked away in the Colonel's limo by his chauffeur to an emergency room; one of the other porn film crew members, gay boom operator Scotty J. (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), took one look at Eddie and became infatuated; Eddie was also introduced to the film financier Colonel, who suggested Eddie think up a stage-name "with a little pizzazz," and predicted that Eddie would be a huge success as a porn star: ("I'm looking forward to seeing you in action. Jack says you've got a great big cock...May I see it...please?"); his hopes were confirmed when Eddie lowered his shorts for him
• later that evening in the hot tub, it was proposed that Eddie select a new moniker for himself; he described his thoughts: "I just want a name, I want it so it could cut glass, y'know, like razor sharp....Well, when I close my eyes, I see this thing. It's this big sign. And the name is in like bright blue neon lights with like purple outline. And this name is just so bright and so sharp that the sign - it just blows up because the name is so just. powerful. It says: 'Dirk Diggler'"; Horner agreed that it was a perfect choice: "I think heaven has sent you here - Dirk Diggler. I think the angels have blessed us all because of you"
• newbie porn star Eddie, now renamed Dirk Diggler, was hired by Horner; the nervous newcomer to the industry was preparing for the filming of his first hard-core film scene, opposite Amber Waves; in the scene, after a 3 year tour of duty with the Marines, a candidate named John was applying for a film acting job and was being interviewed; before the scene was shot, Dirk asked Amber about climaxing, and she advised: "You just come when you're ready....Come on my tits if you can, OK? Just pull it out and do it on my stomach and my tits if you can"; she assured him that he would do a good job; with the camera rolling, she requested to examine his goods: "Why don't you take your pants off? It's important I get an idea of your size"; after judging him, she immediately hired him: ("I think that you have the job, but why don't I make sure of something. (she inspected him) This is a giant cock"; as the tawdry scene continued, they hungrily kissed and stripped down

Amber Waves with Dirk Diggler During a Film Shoot
Reassurances Before Filming		"This is a giant c--k"
		Pause in Filming
On the Desk	Climax of the Film Shoot	Dirk to Jack: "I can do it again if you need a closeup"

• soon, Eddie's fame and youthful, extraordinary looks brought him wealth and notoriety, allowing him great "suck-cess," a new wardrobe, and notoriety; however, Eddie was disillusioned by the violence inflicted on women on adult films, and proposed to Horner that he star in a series of adult action-flicks as a crime-fighting PI named "Brock Landers" - with Reed as his partner "Chest Rockwell"; the series made Horner's films even more popular, and Eddie/Dirk was praised with three awards at the 2nd Annual Adult Film Awards show in Las Vegas (Best Newcomer, Best C--k and Best Actor); he acquired many more possessions (some monogrammed) as well as a new 1977 bright orange 2-door Chevrolet Corvette
• at Horner's New Years' Eve Party at the dawn of the year 1980, Floyd Gondolli (Philip Baker Hall) and the Colonel discussed the future of the porn industry with Jack, and suggested that the future of the stag and hard-core business was not with film, but in videotape production and distribution: ("Why not be prepared? The Colonel's got the money. You got the talent, Jack. I got the connections and the equipment and the mail order distribution, not to mention those kids out-there, who are hot-f--k-action to the max, Jack. This here's the future. Videotape tells the truth...Film is just too damn expensive and the theaters are already converting to video projectors"); however, Jack refused the offer and became argumentative about how he was a pure filmmaker and refused diminishing quality on video: "You come into my house, my party, to tell me about the future? That the future is tape, videotape, and not film? And it's amateurs and not professionals? I'm a filmmaker, that's why I will never make a movie on videotape"); Horner's statement was one that he would eventually disavow
• at the party, Eddie was urged by the idolizing and drunk Scotty to take a look at his new car (a less expensive copy-cat version, an orange Datsun), and then impulsively grabbed and tried to kiss Eddie; upset by the unexpected advances, Eddie told Scotty he wasn't gay ("What is the matter with you?") and returned inside; Scotty sat in his car, repeatedly telling himself: "I'm a f--kin' idiot"
• during the party at around the stroke of midnight, "Little Bill" Thompson was again humiliated when he discovered his unfaithful wife in a back bedroom having sex; he slowly walked to his parked car outside to get his gun to commit a double murder and suicide in the company of the other shocked guests
• Dirk's success and massive ego, regarding himself as the king of porn, also led to his downfall: ("But I mean, God, what can you expect when you're on top, you know? It's like Napoleon when he was the king, you know, people were just constantly trying to conquer him, you know, in the Roman empire, so it's history repeating itself all over again"); and then on camera, he bragged about his exceptional endowment and criticized his many detractors: "I only am who I am because I was born that way. I have a gift, and I am trying to not be selfish about it but to use it, OK? And if you want to knock me for that, it's your own problem, OK? Jealousy will get you nowhere"
• it was revealed in a powerful confession scene across a glass barrier at the jail with Horner, that the perverted Colonel, Horner's financier, was arrested and imprisoned for causing a lethal overdose in a young girl (and presumably cocaine possession and statuatory rape); in addition, after authorities searched his house, they found evidence of child pornography (and he admitted: "It's my f--kin' weakness"); as a result shortly later in the film, Horner was compelled to take Floyd Gondolli's deal to convert to videotape production
• in late 1982, the strung-out Eddie/Dirk was introduced by Horner to his "new boy on the street" - a competitive and young rival successor named Johnny Doe (Jonathan Quint) who was being recruited just like Eddie had been years earlier; Eddie was immediately jealous and walked away; by early 1983, Dirk had resorted to dangerous drug-dealing and drug-use that was beginning to affect his impotence and ability to maintain an erection
• while strung-out on the set and demanding to be filmed immediately because he had finally become aroused in front of a mirror, he had a vehement argument with Horner (and Johnny Doe) when he boasted that he was the top star, not Johnny Doe: "I'm ready to shoot... I'm ready now. It's gotta be now....I'm the biggest star here, man. That's the way it is. I wanna f--k. It's my big dick, so everybody get ready f--kin' now!...You're not my boss, you're not the king of me. I am the f--kin' king of Dirk. And you're nothing without me, Jack!" - and he was promptly fired
• the untalented Eddie, as he became a cocaine-addict, turned to other business ventures such as the recording industry with his friend Reed, while Jack was shooting cheap videos with his new star Johnny Doe as Rock Harders; Rollergirl was planning to take the GED to complete high-school and was encouraged by Amber, whom she regarded as her "Mom"; Eddie and Reed conflicted with the recording studio recording boss Burt (Robert Downey Sr.) who refused to release their song demo tapes without payment - and called it a "Catch-22" situation; black porn actor Buck Swope (who worked days in a stereo store), with dreams of opening his own audio-stereo equipment store was refused a traditional bank loan: ("This financial institution cannot endorse pornography"), although he argued back: "Why are you doing this to me?...I am an actor. I am an actor"
• in a secondary side-plot, in the fall of 1983, Amber - who was engaged in a contentious custody battle with her ex-husband Tom (John Doe) over their son Andrew, was judged as an unfit mother; her participation in the porn industry, her own cocaine addiction, and criminal record doomed her chances of winning her case; she broke down outside after being turned down
• meanwhile in late 1983, Jack failed in an attempt to branch out with a new TV-reality porn show titled "On the Lookout" - he and Rollergirl rode in a limousine looking for male customers, ending up with a violent altercation on a street corner; intercut with the porn show was Dirk's attempt to earn money through gay hustling with a customer named Joe (Channon Roe), when he was beaten up by a gang of homophobic gay-bashers; at the same time, in the aftermath of a bloody donut shop robbery leaving three dead, Buck Swope fortuitously grabbed a bag of stolen cash and used it to open his own electronics store
• one of the film's highlights was a nerve-wracking cocaine sale/rip-off in 1984 by Dirk with his two friends, exotic male dancer Todd Parker (Thomas Jane) and Reed Rothchild, as they were attempting to scam silver bath-robed, raving local drug tycoon Rahad Jackson (Alfred Molina) at his estate, during the sale of a half-kilogram of baking soda disguised as cocaine for $5,000 grand; meanwhile, Rahad's young Asian servant boy Cosmo set off firecrackers in the background - all accompanied by Night Ranger's "Sister Christian" and Rick Springfield's "Jesse's Girl" on the soundtrack; a determined Todd unwisely demanded that they see the contents (presumably cocaine and cash) of the floor safe in the master bedroom; there was an inevitable violent ending to the scene; Todd was shot in the shoulder by the bodyguard and returned fire, killing the bodyguard; shortly later, he was lethally shot in the chest by Rahad
• in the unexpected, surprise conclusion, Dirk returned to Horner's place to humbly apologize ("I need help and I'm sorry") and was reconciled with Jack Horner; he was comforted by Amber who regarded him as her lost son ("It's OK, baby"); Dirk went back to work for Horner after earlier splitting from him following a violent argument over his rival "new boy" Johnny Doe

Dirk Diggler's Revelation and Claim to Fame

• in the film's final lines, Dirk practiced his lines before a mirror (a scene playing homage to Scorsese's Raging Bull (1980)) before resuming filming an adult film with Horner: "...I'm gonna help you settle this. First, we're gonna check the hole and see what we can find. Then, we're gonna get nice and wet, and you're gonna spread your legs. Oh, that's good. So you know me. You know my reputation. Thirteen inches of tough load, I don't treat you gently. That's right. I'm Brock Landers. So I'm gonna be nice. So I'm gonna be nice. So I'm gonna be nice, I'm gonna ask you one more time. Where the f--k is Ringo?" - then he stood up, unzipped his pants, and pulled out his endowed, 13 inch-long flaccid penis (his "special thing") (a prosthetic), and added: "I am a star. I'm a star, I'm a star, I'm a star. I am a big, bright, shining star"; then, he rezipped his pants and added: "That's right!"

Breast Men (1997)

This dark comedy and psuedo-docu-drama first aired on HBO-cable TV in late 1997 with an attention-grabbing title. It was about the history and commercial exploitation of silicone breast enhancement surgery. The film was advertised with taglines: "They changed the shape of the 20th Century," and "Two young doctors with a dream of making it big...Really big!"

The two medical personnel who opportunistically thought up the idea of boob jobs in the early 1960s were:

• Dr. Kevin Saunders (David Schwimmer), idealistic medical intern
• Dr. William Larson (Chris Cooper), older, Houston, Texas cosmetic surgeon, business partner

It showed chemical company Dow Corning's product development and how the two men were impacted by the consequences of implanting gelled silicone into women's chests, both positively and negatively.

Prospective Female Patients For Breast Enhancement Surgery
Lisanne (Gail Matthius)	Terri (Beth Broderick)
Pleased Post-Op Girl (Mary Deno)	Unknown

It included mostly non-sexual scenes of prospective clients showing their before (Gail Matthius as Lisanne) and after (Judith Hoag as Valerie) breasts, and consultations of patients (Rena Riffel as swimming pool girl and Mary Deno as Pleased Post-Op Girl, who exclaimed: "They're beautiful") with the doctor and comments on their body image.

Valerie (Judith Hoag)	Eileen (Heidi Swedberg)
Unknown

In one scene during Dr. Saunders' first pre-boob job consultation with his future wife Laura Pierson (Emily Procter), she asked: "So, what do ya think?" with his downplayed reply: "I think they're super," although he added: "I think we can go bigger." Later, she showed off her larger breasts - enhanced with CGI trick photography and allowed another patient (Jennifer Lyons to sample them), but suffered the tragic consequences of a ruptured implant.

Laura Pierson (Emily Procter)
Before
After

In another slightly improbable scene, Dr. Saunders breast-massaged another gorgeous patient, credited as Sexy Patient (Playboy TV's Night Calls co-host Tiffany Granath) by demonstrating a particular technique: ("Push in, lift up. OK? Then you want to massage them gently clockwise like this, and counter-clockwise like this (pause) everyday, several times a day, OK?") -- she became visibly turned on and when asked for questions, purred: "Yeah! Show me again."

The film ended on a more tragic note, with competition between the two rival doctors, self-absorbed Saunders debauched by wealth and drugs (and entering the sordid sex-industry world of porn stars and strippers, enjoying lap dances from Savannah (Lisa Falcone), and resorting to snorting cocaine off stripper Dawn's (Julie K. Smith) enhanced breasts), and an increase in lawsuits against Dow-Corning due to disfigurement and disease. The credits sequence showed even more examples of breast enlargements.

Chasing Amy (1997)

This low-budget comedy-drama was an honest and appealing story of a love triangle between New Jersey comic-book enthusiasts and a lesbian-identified bi-sexual also in the profession. Critics of the controversial film felt that the lesbian's 'conversion' to heterosexuality was writer/director Kevin Smith's assertion that lesbianism was reversible:

• Holden McNeil (Ben Affleck), heterosexual comic book writer
• Banky Edwards (Jason Lee), Holden's homophobic buddy, a comic book artist
• Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams, Kevin Smith's offscreen girlfriend, a Golden Globe nominee for her role), lesbian, another comic book creator

An attraction began to develop between Holden and Alyssa during a dart game in a local bar. Later, Alyssa invited Holden (with Banky tailing along) to another bar that she often visited - he didn't know it was a dyke bar; Alyssa was brought onstage: ("Get up here and sing, bitch") to perform the song "Alive" ("I want to feel passion, I want to feel pain") dedicated "for that someone special out there." Shockingly, the "special" person turned out to not be Holden but Kim (Carmen Llywelyn) - a platinum-blonde dyke wearing a white T-shirt who was watching in the audience. After the song finished, Alyssa pointed to the admiring woman, beckoning with one finger for her to come forward; the lesbian couple then kissed while Holden did a double-take as he looked on in disbelief (he mistakenly thought the love song was for him).

Banky applauded and then said about the pairing: "Hot! Now that, my friend, is a shared moment." The lesbian couple continued to get "mushy" and kiss each other, as the two guys shared their table in the club, when the wide-eyed Banky confessed: "When are we ever gonna get a chance to see this kind of s--t live without paying for it?" In their bar booth as their honest sexual banter (typical of the entire film) continued, Alyssa described to an incredulous Banky how she could 'f--k' the other woman without strap-ons, explaining:

"F--king is not limited to penetration, Banky. For me, it describes any sex when it's not totally about love. I don't love Kim, but I'll f--k her. I'm sure you don't love every girl you sleep with."

One of the film's most memorable scenes followed - a parody of a similar scene in Jaws (1975), in which Banky and Alyssa revealed their sexual scars from past oral sex encounters (Banky's broken tooth, Alyssa's back scar from a heel wound, Banky's injured neck, and Alyssa's scarred knee).

During their growing relationship, while sitting on playground swings together, Holden and Alyssa discussed and debated definitions of virginity - the experienced Alyssa forced the conservative-minded Holden (who at first stated that a person remained a virgin until they had intercourse with a member of the opposite sex) to often revise his "standard definition." Alyssa stated her own belief: "I think virginity is lost when you make love for the first time." Both of them discussed extenuating circumstances that blurred the definition, such as rape, or a broken hymen, or non-penetrative lesbian sex, or anal sex.

Banky (who was jealously miffed at Holden's strong interest in dykish Alyssa) discussed a scenario involving four individuals on a four-way road with a $100 dollar bill in the road's intersection: a male-friendly lesbian, a man-hating dyke, Santa Claus, and the Easter Bunny; he asked Holden: "Which one is going to get to the hundred dollar bill first?"; when Holden answered the man-hating dyke, Banky congratulated him for having the right answer and explained: "Because the other three are figments of your f--king imagination!"; his implication was that Alyssa would never become a male-friendly lesbian, but was rather a man-hating dyke. Banky blew up at Holden: "What is it about this girl, man? You know you have no shot at getting her into bed. Why do you bother wasting time with her?"

Banky was beginning to develop feelings of romantic jealousy (as a closeted homosexual), and he described how he risked losing his close friendship with Holden: ("This relationship is affecting you, our work and our friendship and the time's gonna come when I throw down the gauntlet and say it's me or her. Then what are you gonna say?...Would you trash twenty years of f--kin' friendship because you got some idiotic notion that this chick would even let you sniff her panties, let alone f--k her?...What the f--k makes this bitch all that important?"). Holden was forced to admit that he was in love with Alyssa.

Holden's Speech, Professing His Love for Alyssa

Soon, Holden was pursuing Alyssa even in spite of her sexual leanings; no longer able to hold back his feelings, he confessed his love to her in a long speech; he stopped his car, turned to her, and blurted out: "I love you....I love you. And not, not in a friendly way, although I think we're great friends. And not in a misplaced affection, puppy-dog way, although I'm sure that's what you'll call it. I love you. Very, very simple, very truly. You are the-the epitome of everything I have ever looked for in another human being. And I know that you think of me as just a friend, and crossing that line is-is-is the furthest thing from an option you would ever consider. But - I had to say it...I know that some part of you is hesitating for a moment, and if there's a moment of hesitation, then that means you feel something too. And all I ask, please, is that you just - you just not dismiss that, and try to dwell in it for just ten seconds."

After his heart-felt confession, in the pouring rain, Alyssa unburdened her own feelings to him about his "crush" on her: "No, it's unfortunate that you're in love with me. It's unfair that you felt the f--king need to unburden your soul about it. Do you remember for a f--king second who I am?...THERE'S NO 'PERIOD OF ADJUSTMENT,' HOLDEN! I'M F--KING GAY! THAT'S WHO I AM! AND YOU ASSUME I CAN TURN THAT AROUND JUST BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT A CRUSH?"; after dismissing him, she ran back into Holden's arms and passionately kissed him before they had sex together.

A roadblock to their gender-transcended relationship surfaced when Holden questioned her sexual past (he learned that it was one of wild experimentation and adventurous sex; she had acquired the nickname 'Finger Cuffs' after engaging in a menage a trois threesome with two guys during HS - Rick Darris and Cohee Lundin (John Willyung), involving both oral sex and intercourse simultaneously: (Cohee: "So Rick's the one that come up with the nickname, cause that day she had us locked in tight from both sides like a pair of god-damned Chinese finger cuffs!").

Flashback: The Origin of Alyssa's Nickname in HS Told by Cohee Lundin (John Willyung)

Alyssa to Holden: "I was an experimental girl, for Christ's sake!"

When the conservative-minded Holden confronted Alyssa about her high-school promiscuity ten years earlier and how she had been "used," Alyssa vehemently defended herself: ("You don't think I would've let it happen if I hadn't've wanted to, do you? I was an experimental girl, for Christ's sake! Maybe you knew early on that your track was from point A to B, but unlike you, I was not given a f--king map at birth, so I tried it all! That is until we, that's you and I, got together and suddenly I was sated! Can't you take some f--king comfort in that? You turned out to be all I was ever looking for - the missing piece in the big f--king puzzle!"); Holden ended their conversation by stating his hope: "I want us to be something that we can't...A normal couple."

After Holden's conversation with Alyssa, during lunch at a local diner with local stoners and drug dealers Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith), Holden listened as Silent Bob told about his own past romantic relationships; he happened to explain the reason for the film's title when he descibed dating someone named Amy; Silent Bob confessed that his insecurities (similar to Holden's) about his girlfriend Amy's past sexual escapades, adventures, and history unfortunately led to their inevitable break-up when he mistakenly and regretfully pushed her away: ("So I've spent every day since then chasing Amy... So to speak").

Holden gathered both Alyssa and Banky together and suggested a threesome as a solution to resolve all of their issues: ("I know what we have to do. And then you - Bank, you Alyssa, and I - all of us can finally be alright...We've all got to have sex together"); his proposal was not well received by Alyssa who promised to always love Holden, but said she could not agree to any more sexual experimentation: ("I'm past that now. Or maybe I just love you too much. And I feel hurt and let down that you'd want to share me with anyone. Because I never wanted to share you. Regardless, I can't be a part of this. Or you. Not anymore I love you. I always will. Know that. (She slapped him) But I'm not your f--kin' whore"); she then stormed off to move on with her life - they were all left to live their separate lives.

The Devil's Advocate (1997)

In director Taylor Hackford's sexy, supernatural occult) horror drama and suspense thriller was a proto-typical film of the 1990s; it referenced elements of the Faustian tale (about selling one's soul to the devil), English writer John Milton's notable work Paradise Lost (published in 1674), and Italian writer Dante Alighieri's narrative poem Divine Comedy (in particular, the first of three sections titled Inferno) with its imaginative view of the afterlife including a descent into the underworlds of hell and purgatory:

• the story opened in the small town Gainesville, Florida where young defense lawyer Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) lived with his wife Mary Ann Lomax (Charlize Theron); the undefeated attorney was involved in a particularly difficult trial - the case of charges of child molestation against a HS math teacher; a short recess was called after the Prosecutor in the case had just questioned the young victim Barbara (Heather Matarazzo), who testified that her teacher Lloyd Gettys (Chris Bauer) had touched her under her blouse and skirt; Lomax was extremely worried that he was about to lose the first case in his career
• Kevin returned to the courtroom and established through harsh questioning that Barbara didn't like her math teacher (and was doing poorly in his class), had often exhibited bad behavior, had written a note calling Gettys a "huge hog beast," and had pressured her friends to falsely claim that Gettys had also hurt them; as a result of Lomax's defense, he was able to "squeeze a man like Gettys through the door of reasonable doubt"
• (SPOILER): During a fantastic day-dream or fantasy, Kevin was envisioning his future and what would possibly happen after conducting a very severe cross-examination to discredit the young victim, even though he knew that his client, child-molester Lloyd Gettys was indeed guilty; in other words, Kevin chose to join in the corrupted service of Satan by freeing his client, resulting in many unforseen consequences for his actions
• Kevin found himself recruited to come to NYC by a representative of New York law firm, lawyer Leamon Heath (Ruben Santiago-Hudson); he was tested by the very powerful, multi-national NYC law firm to assist in jury selection; while in NY, Kevin learned that as a result of his courtroom questioning, the verdict came back that Gettys was "not guilty" in only 38 minutes
• high-above New York City on a rooftop, the treacherous senior board member and head of the firm John Milton (Al Pacino) - (deliberately named to imply "Paradise Lost") was impressed with Lomax's assistance in jury selection, and negotiated to offer the aspiring Florida defense attorney fame and fortune; Milton revealed his perversely-seductive nature by appealing to Lomax's vanity with offers of wealth, power, fame, and sex
• Lomax accepted an offer of a high-paying job and the couple moved to Manhattan, where Lomax began a busy schedule of work, while Mary Ann was left at home by herself; they didn't realize that their lives had been totally altered
• Lomax met some of the other lawyers in the firm, including pretty and attractive red-headed co-worker Christabella Andreoli (Connie Nielsen); Lomax found himself entering into the perversely seductive tutelage and corrupted service of the diabolical John Milton - had he figuratively sold his soul to the devil?
• Lomax proved himself by winning his first case - defending voodoo practitioner Phillipe Moyez (Delroy Lindo) - on trial for sacrificing a goat; his next proposed, high-profile case was to defend billionaire businessman Alexander Cullen (Craig T. Nelson) accused of murdering his wife, her stepson, and the maid
• with Lomax away and hard at work on the Cullen case, Mary Ann's increasing isolation caused her distress; her mind became troubled during a shopping trip with two other lawyer's wives: Jackie (Tamara Tunie) (wife of Leamon Heath), and Diana (Pamela Gray) (wife of Managing Director Eddie Barzoon (Jeffrey Jones)); she imagined in a brief vision that Jackie's face had turned demonic

The Hallucinatory Love Scene with Mary Ann (Charlize Theron) and Christabella (Connie Nielsen)

• to console Mary Ann for being away from her for long periods of time, Kevin suggested that they should have children; in a very hallucinatory sequence during love-making with his wife, Kevin fantasized that he was also having sex with Christabella
• Kevin's fundamentalist mother Alice (Judith Ivey) met Milton during a visit, and had a disturbing conversation with Kevin's boss; it seemed that she had possibly known Milton from an earlier encounter in New York decades earlier [Note: Her sole act of intercourse in her entire life produced Kevin!]; upset by her discussion, Alice urged Kevin and Mary Ann to escape NY ("Babylon") and return home to Florida; at the same time, the very isolated and desperate Mary Ann was having nightmarish dreams about a baby playing with her removed ovaries, and the next day was diagnosed by a doctor as infertile; fearful, Mary Ann vainly begged Kevin to go back to Gainesville
• Eddie Barzoon, who felt threatened by Kevin's fast ascendancy in the law firm, was found beaten to death in Central Park by ghostly homeless vagrants who appeared as demons
• in the Alex Cullen murder case, Kevin accepted the false testimony of Cullen's secretary Melissa Black (Laura Harrington) who had a perjured alibi that she was having sex with Cullen on the night of his wife's murder, and Cullen was acquitted
• after the secretary's testimony cleared Cullen, Lomax discovered Mary Ann in a local church covered by a blanket, claiming that Milton, who had earlier flirted with her, was having sex with her - and then forcefully raped her (Milton "made me do it"); Lomax was disbelieving since Milton had a solid alibi - he had been in court with him, and he took Milton's side against his wife; to prove her story, Mary Ann lowered her blanket to show cuts, bruises and scratches all over her body; fearful that Mary Ann was inflicting self-harm and injury, Kevin admitted Mary Ann to a mental institution
• the film's major turning point came at Eddie Barzoon's funeral when Kevin noticed that Alexander Cullen was stroking his 14 year-old stepdaughter Alessandra Cullen's (Monica Keena) skin - and suddenly imagined Cullen as the child-molesting HS teacher Gettys who he was defending in his case in Florida; Kevin was also urgently notified by US Justice Dept. agent Mitch Weaver (Vyto Ruginis) that Milton's worldwide firm was corrupt (involved in arms brokering, chemical weapons and toxic waste, money laundering - "Milton is into everything"), and that Barzoon - now dead - was about to testify against Milton; he added that released pedophile Gettys was under arrest for another underage crime - this time a homicide of a 10 year-old girl found in the trunk of his car; immediately after, Weaver was conveniently struck and killed by a car in Lomax's view, as Milton at Barzoon's funeral service dipped his fingers into baptismal holy water causing the liquid to boil, with his hysterical laugh in curtains of flames
• in the next startling scene set in the mental institution, the mentally-ill Mary Ann envisioned her case manager Pam Garrety (Debra Monk) as a demon; she barricaded herself in her room and suicidally slit her throat as Kevin tried to break into her room to prevent her from hurting herself
• Kevin confronted Milton in his law office, who confessed that he had raped Mary Ann; Lomax attempted to shoot and kill Milton with gun shots, but he was invincible - due to being Satan himself; he also revealed that he was Lomax's father ("Call me Dad"); Milton reminded Kevin that everything he had done was of his own free-will choices ("Stop deluding yourself") - he was too busy and had neglected Mary Ann, causing her to be attracted to Milton and ultimately commit suicide, and he had defended the guilty teacher Gettys; Lomax reluctantly admitted that Milton was right
• Milton delivered a climactic, fiery monologue in which he called God an "absentee landlord" and revealed himself as the charismatic, evil Satan himself: ("...Well, I tell ya, let me give you a little inside information about God. God likes to watch. He's a prankster. Think about it. He gives man instincts. He gives you this extraordinary gift, and then what does He do? I swear, for His own amusement, His own private cosmic gag reel, He sets the rules in opposition. It's the goof of all time. Look, but don't touch. Touch, but don't taste. Taste, don't swallow. Aha ha ha. And while you're jumpin' from one foot to the next, what is He doin'? He's laughin' His sick, f--kin' ass off. He's a tight-ass. He's a sadist. He's an absentee landlord. Worship that? Never!"); Lomax asked: "'Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven'", is that it?"
• Milton added that he was a humanist through and through, and had been on man's side (as opposed to the absent God), and had made the 20th century his own century: "Why not? I'm here on the ground with my nose in it since the whole thing began. I've nurtured every sensation man's been inspired to have. I cared about what he wanted and I never judged him. Why? Because I never rejected him. In spite of all his imperfections, I'm a fan of man! I'm a humanist. Maybe the last humanist. Who, in their right mind, Kevin, could possibly deny the twentieth century was entirely mine? All of it, Kevin! All of it. Mine. I'm peakin'. It's my time now. It's our time."
• as the wall sculpture mural with naked figures came to life behind him, the charismatic, evil Milton further seduced and tempted Lomax with Kevin's half-sister Christabella to have sex with her and offering him the possibility of fathering the Anti-Christ; while referring to his own 'free will' to make the choice
• in response to Milton's offer of "Everything, anything...How about bliss for starters, instant bliss, bliss on tap, bliss any way you want it," Lomax began kissing the nude Christabella, but then asked "What about love?"; Milton interjected: "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate" and urged: ("It's time to step up and take what's yours")

Attorney Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) Committing Suicide

Satanic John Milton Shrieking Hysterically: "No!"

• instead, Lomax voluntarily committed suicide by shooting himself in the head, citing his use of "free will." In reaction, Milton shrieked hysterically "No!" and due to his hot volcanic rage, he and the wall mural burst into raging flames while a naked Christabella age-withered and died, and Milton was converted into angelic form resembling Lomax

Christabella Age-Withering and Dying in Milton's Hot Rage

• after this climactic series of events, Lomax was brought back to reality, and returned to the Gettys case courtroom during a recess period; Mary Ann was still alive, and everything previously viewed was Kevin's fears of his future if he defended a known pedophile
• in the Florida courtroom, Lomax announced (as part of doing "the right thing") that he would no longer represent his guilty client and cross-examine the witness - thus threatening his own disbarment
• during the final curtain-closing meeting between Lomax and press newsman Larry (Neal Jones), the reporter summed up his high-profile offer of a sensational media story about Lomax's turn-about - bringing fame and stardom: "A lawyer with a crisis of conscience?...It's huge!...You've gotta give me an exclusive. This is wire service. This is 60 Minutes! This is a story that needs to be told. It's you! You're a star!"

"Vanity - definitely my favorite sin!"

• and then after acquiring acceptance of his deal from Kevin (and Mary Ann), the press-man morphed into Milton, and gloated with a devilish grin: "Vanity - definitely my favorite sin!" - insinuating that the Devil would continue to intervene in the Lomax's lives; he then dissolved into flames as The Rolling Stones' Paint It, Black played

Eight Days A Week (1997)

Early 90s ex-Mickey Mouse Club star Keri Russell (in her first major film role before starring in the WB series Felicity for four years) appeared in this teen romantic sex comedy by director Michael Davis. It signaled the gross trend toward American Pie type humor. The film only found an audience after video release and after Russell's fame on the popular TV show serial.

The film opened with the voice-over of socially-inept, love-struck nerdy neighbor Peter (Josh Schaefer) gawking and fantasizing over his next-door-neighbor Erica (Keri Russell) - the unattainable, gorgeous, girl-of-one's-wet-dreams:

This is more retarded than when I got that gumball stuck up my nose. Or the time I wanted to be the first white Harlem Globetrotter. And this has got to be more embarrassing than the time my mom walked in on me while I was trying to simulate vaginal friction by rubbing my boner between the mattress and box springs... No, this tops it. And it's all because of Erica. Erica. It sounds so much like "erotica." And it's fitting: She's a walking wet dream. The kind of girl whose mere glance at you could get your pecker to stand up and say, "Howdy." And not your normal, run-of-the-mill erection. We're talking the kind that could be picked up on radar. The kind you could hang a flag from. And her breasts. They must have tractor beams in them. They pull my hands toward them like the Death Star dragging in the Millennium Falcon.

This film leered at the sexy and cute Russell in many of the film's segments, including a wet tank top and cut-off shorts romp under a front lawn sprinkler, and during sunbathing in a skimpy pink bikini.

Erica (Keri Russell) - Sunbathing

Event Horizon (1997, UK)

Director Paul W. S. Anderson's fantasy sci-fi horror film was about an interplanetary deep-space research vessel named "Event Horizon" that was launched in the year 2040 to explore the boundaries of the solar system (including to the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri), but then vanished during its maiden voyage - it was a major space disaster. It had disappeared without a trace beyond the 8th planet, Neptune.

The top-secret mission of the Event Horizon - with an 18-man crew - was on its initial flight, to test a new gravity drive (or experimental engine) able to create an artificial black hole (an opening or rift in the space-time continuum) - it could be used to bridge two points in space-time (like a wormhole), reducing travel and journey time over astronomical distances.

In the year 2047, the research vessel mysteriously reappeared after seven years. It was in a decaying orbit around Neptune. The crew on a secret rescue mission to rescue the Event Horizon, on a ship named USAC Lewis and Clark, included the Event Horizon's designer - US Aerospace Command Scientist Dr. William G. "Billy" Weir (Sam Neill) - a widower who was still suffering from the death of his wife two years earlier.

[Note: It was entirely possible that the entire film was a nightmarish dream of Dr. Weir's. He was under tremendous strain due to the disappearance of the Event Horizon, a ship he designed. Just before Dr. Weir awoke in the film's opening in his apartment - on a space station orbiting Earth - he had a frightening dream of a screaming, scar-faced corpse (without eyes) floating before a lighted cross-shaped window inside the Event Horizon. Was he being contacted by supernatural forces? Alternatively, he could have been experiencing a recurring dreaming of his wife Claire's last moments before committing suicide, seen later.]

During the long flight to the edge of the solar system, the rescue crew members were placed in stasis (cyrogenic sleep in a water tank or grav tube) to counteract the tremendous G-forces of the flight. Dr. Weir second dream or vision was of briefly and prematurely awakening in his stasis tank on the Lewis and Clark, and seeing his naked wife Claire (Holley Chant) sitting at the bridge's helm, with blank eye sockets (a second soul without eyes), who spoke: "I'm waiting!" He screamed himself awake at the sight.

The only audio distress signals sent out seemed like a series of screams and howls, and possibly the Latin phrase "Liberate (save) me!" Was it the ship's last transmission? After reaching the crippled vessel drifting in space and finding no signs of life, they docked with it. They believed that the artificial gravity drive was off-line. A three person group boarded the Event Horizon to explore the two sections of the ship: (1) the engine room with the gravity drive, and (2) the forward bridge (that could function separately as an escape vessel). Inside the vessel, there was some evidence of a massacre - a frozen and mutilated human corpse was seen floating in the bridge area, with its eyes gouged out.

During chief engineer Ensign Justin's (Jack Noseworthy) entry into the gravity drive area, the system suddenly activated and a large, damaging shock wave was generated and caused a breach in the hull of the rescue vessel Lewis and Clark - Justin was rendered catatonic and lifeless. Due to the extensive damage, the rescue crew members had to transfer everything (including themselves) onto the Event Horizon - with only limited oxygen remaining.

On board, the crew began to experience horrific visions of past memories and frightening hallucinations, apparently based upon their own personal fears, secrets, failures and lives:

• medical technician Peters (Kathleen Quinlan) saw bloody lesions on the legs of her son (Barclay Wright), who was being cared for by her ex-husband
• commanding officer Captain S. J. Miller (Laurence Fishburne) had memories of abandoning a subordinate who was screaming to be saved - a young officer named Eddie Corrick (Noah Huntley), credited as Burning Man, who was burned during an onboard fire during a previous mission on the Goliath and left behind
• Justin revived, convulsed, and began to cry out about ""the dark inside me" - before ultimately attempting suicide by ejecting himself into space without a spacesuit, and suffering decompression injuries
• while repairing a short circuit in a greenish-colored, claustrophobic gravity drive duct, Dr. Weir had a second tormenting sight of his deceased wife Claire (with two empty eye sockets), presumably ignored and depressed by him due to his work, and urging him to join her ("Forever!")

Capt. Miller realized how the Event Horizon had become a living entity that had perceived his innermost fears: "I never told anybody. But this ship knew about it! It knows my fears, it knows my secrets! Gets inside your head and it shows you!"

Dr. Weir With His Suicidal Wife Claire

During his third and final sighting, Dr. Weir saw Claire in his home's bathroom before taking a bath and cutting her wrist with a razor blade (as he sat next to her) and then she was viewed from a top-shot with her body floating in her own red blood in the bathtub. He had begged for her not to kill herself: "Not again, please, please." Claire then emerged from the tub and told him as she cradled his head against her stomach to comfort him, before squeezing his head to produce intense pain: "Billy, it's alright...You'll never be alone again. You're with me now. You're with me. I have such wonderful, wonderful things to show you." Stricken by guilt and complete torment, the evil-possessed Dr. Weir ripped out his own eyes to join Claire in her 'hellish dimension.'

Dr. Weir Ripping Out His Eyes

Dr. Weir With His Own Eyes Ripped Out

With empty eye sockets, Weir explained his nefarious plan to the others about how his ship had gone beyond the stars and returned 'alive' after reaching another evil dimension: "Where we're going, we won't need eyes to see....I created the Event Horizon to reach the stars, but she's gone much, much farther than that. She tore a hole in our universe, a gateway to another dimension. A dimension of pure chaos. Pure evil. When she crossed over, she was just a ship. But when she came back, she was alive!" His objective was to activate the gravity drive, open the gateway to the evil dimension, and steer the Event Horizon there with its new captive crew.

It was surmised that the original warning signal was not "Liberate me," but "Liberate tutame - ex inferis" (in other words: "Save yourself - from Hell"). It was feared and verified that the ship's gravity drive had opened a portal in space to another dimension - possibly "Hell." The playback of the Event Horizon's degraded videolog showed what had happened on the spaceship when the original crew went insane - after activating the gravity drive on the day of their departure. The experimental mission had left them vulnerable by forces outside the known universe, and had allowed a malevolent entity to possess the ship and their bodies.

The videolog of the original crew showed quick-cut scenes of torture, self-mutilation, cannibalism, and orgiastic sodomy. Two bloodied figures ripped organs out of each other. One man vomited an entire arm from his mouth. The Captain held out his own torn-out eyeballs, one in each hand, as he cried out: "Save yourself from Hell!"

The Fifth Element (1997, Fr./US)

Writer/director Luc Besson's science-fiction techno-thriller set in a futuristic NYC (2263 AD) was noted for its exceptional sets, visual effects and costume designs.

Actress/model Milla Jovovich played the role of an extra-terrestrial female named Leeloo who was the actual "Fifth Element" -- the human embodiment of love as a Perfect Being who would be involved in the plot to stop Evil from ultimately destroying Earth.

In the memorable regeneration or body reconstruction scene in a NY laboratory, the Perfect Being was resurrected as a beautiful nude woman with orange hair. She wore a white cut-out costume and was teamed up with cab-driver Major Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) after literally diving off the multi-story Manhattan building into his vehicle.

The Full Monty (1997, UK)

Peter Cattaneo's fresh, highly-celebrated comedy with discreet nudity was about an unlikely group of unemployed, down-on-their-luck Yorkshire (Sheffield, England) men, some of whom were steelworkers with not-so-perfect, flabby bodies, who took to stripping as "Chippendale"-like dancers as a money-making scheme. For its time, it was a buoyant and enjoyable film that displayed working-class blokes who stepped outside their stereotyped definition of masculinity to perform rhythm-less dances.

The title - THE FULL MONTY - meant to 'take it all off' and show everything - (complete nudity "with their widges hangin' out" - "widges on parade").

One of the best scenes (the film's most famous moments) was when group members were in line (queued up) at the Job Centre unemployment (dole) office, and they spontaneously practiced their routine to the tune of Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff" before the real show. In the Chippendales-style, feel-good moment - the unemployed men from the Sheffield mill factory heard the 70s disco hit on the radio and rhythmically started moving, unable to resist the beat - they first slowly shifted in place, moving one body part at a time, until they were fully dancing in unison.

Job Centre Line-Dancing

When they performed for "one night only" in the film's conclusion, they promised to go for the "full monty" (total nudity) - dancing to Tom Jones' bump-and-grind "You Can Leave Your Hat On." One of the group members announced to the cheering crowd:

"We may not be young, we may not be pretty, we may not be right good, but we're here. We're live, and for one night only, we're going for the full monty!"

The stripper group restored their dignity and amusingly stripped on-stage - they quickly transitioned from dark blue uniforms to skimpy red-leather G-string thongs; then they removed their underwear to the delight of many screaming female fans and covered their privates with their hats - the last remaining article of clothing. They only displayed their nude cheek bottoms when they were viewed from the rear. The image froze on the group when they tossed away their hats - seen from behind as they revealed all.

In & Out (1997)

Director Frank Oz's PG-13 rated romantic comedy featured a remarkable cast of characters for a mainstream Hollywood film about homosexuality - it included Kevin Kline, Tom Selleck, Oscar-nominated Joan Cusack, Matt Dillon, Debbie Reynolds, Bob Newhart, and Wilford Brimley.

The story was about the repercussions following the revelation of the gayness of a high-school English literature teacher Howard Brackett (Kevin Kline) in a small, fictional Indiana town. One of Howard's former students, Cameron Drake (Matt Dillon), had been chosen for an Academy Award Best Actor nomination for his portrayal of a gay soldier. During Drake's winning acceptance speech at the Oscars, he thanked his teacher, and impulsively outed him by declaring that Brackett was gay. [The incident was based upon the real-life occurrence, when Tom Hanks won for Philadelphia (1993) and during his 1994 acceptance speech thanked two homosexual individuals: high-school drama coach Rawley Farnsworth, and his former classmate John Gilkerson.]

Bi-sexual Howard was about to be married to co-worker/fiancee Emily Montgomery (Joan Cusack) after a 3-year engagement, so the revelation was shocking to the town. Celebrity gossip TV reporter/journalist Peter Malloy (Tom Selleck), a gay man who was covering the story, tried to reassure Howard about being outed, after smelling out Howard's sexual proclivity by asking the question:

"What was Streisand's eighth album?"

The film was most striking for its prolonged (10-second) same-sex kiss between Howard and Peter. When Howard's wedding fell apart (he had never made love to his fiancee), and he was fired from his school, he garnered the support and attention of students, his family and other townsfolk, including Hollywood star Cameron Drake - who had divulged the outing.

Jack Frost (1997)

This below-par, straight-to-video serial killer horror comedy was not to be confused with the fanciful dramatic family film Jack Frost (1998) with Michael Keaton.

It featured a unique and repulsive misogynistic scene of extremely bad taste - a giant demented snowman with violent murderous tendencies had just lethally injured aspiring actress Jill Metzner's (pre-American Pie Shannon Elizabeth in her feature film debut) boyfriend Tommy (Darren O. Campbell) with an icicle to the forehead.

Then during Jill's hot bath, he added his own frozen form to her bath (hinted at by his floating phallic-shaped nose carrot), then re-formed himself and attacked/raped her with his carrot-nose. As she screamed, he pounded her head against the shower wall, and then as she collapsed dead on the floor, joked:

"Looks like Christmas came a little early this year. Well, hope it was good for you, honey. (Jack Frost replaced the carrot into his face) Oh, I must remember to send flowers." (Laughter)

Lawn Dogs (1997)

Actress Angie Harmon, who later achieved recognition for her serious legal aide role in TV's Law and Order, appeared in this John Duigan-directed drama as neighborhood Pam. It was about the life of a 10 year-old precocious and excitable neighbor girl named Devon Stockard (Mischa Barton in her feature film debut role).

The story was partially about her formation of a friendship with a local outsider who mowed lawns in the affluent but rural suburban Kentucky neighborhood of Camelot Gardens, a new housing development.

The movie opened with her enigmatic voice-over:

Once upon a time in a far-off land lived a girl and her mother and father. Their village was surrounded by a high wall. Outside the wall was the forest, home of Babi Yaga, the witch. Babi Yaga had iron teeth that could bite through trees. His legs were like chicken legs and he ate little girls for dinner. But inside the wall, the girl was safe.

In one of the film's scenes, 21 year-old, trailer-dwelling lawn cutter and loner Trent Burns (Sam Rockwell) was making love to Pam (Angie Harmon), when they were interrupted by a noise at his trailer window, caused by his kindred spirit Devon.

In another scene, Devon reacted to her mother Clare's (Kathleen Quinlan) sexual encounter with a fraternity-college kid by urinating on her father's car windshield, and by removing her nightgown on her roof and howling wildly at the moon.

Also, Trent blocked traffic when he stopped on a one lane bridge, stripped naked (with full-frontal nudity) and then gracefully dove (with flips) into the river.

In a slightly controversial, non-sexual scene, Devon opened her shirt to show Trent her long pace-maker surgery scar and have him touch it.