Movies on DVD/VHS

Just Can’t Get Enough

My first impressions as Just Can’t Get Enough sluggishly made its way through the first 15 minutes or so were that it was rather silly and that the script was, well, questionable. When you’re writing about the Chippendale dancers, you’ve got to do a good job, because the subject matter requires it. I mean, a bunch of untalented guys stripping … you can get that on any porn video, and you don’t have to endure the guys being clothed the majority of the time.

But after a while, the tale turned intriguing, especially if you haven’t heard it before (I hadn’t). Based on the Chippendales’ true story, Just Can’t Get Enough follows the lives of the original Chippendale male dancers (who apparently were straight), along with the lives of Steve Banerjee (Shelley Malil), the founder of the Chippendales, and Nick Denoia (Peter Nevargic), the choreographer (could he possibly be gay?), who convinced Banerjee to make the Chippendales “professional.” Greed, drugs, and sex got in the way. The story actually starts the ball rolling with the murder of Nick, so it becomes a whodunit in the process.

The main character, Chad (played by Jonathan Aube, who is iffy in the acting department but should appease some of you in the eye-candy department), is squeaky clean compared to the remaining personalities. In the beginning, he has a girlfriend and doesn’t sleep around; inevitably, he loses his girlfriend, then sleeps around. He also becomes the mustachioed face of Chippendales. Most interesting is J.P. Pitoc (Trick and recently on Six Feet Under), whose character’s sugar daddy is a sugar mommy, and he genuinely loves her. His only problem: bad hair (actually, in this case, a bad wig, from which I could not avert my eyes).

If you’re in the mood for a little camp (and intermittent skin shots), Just Can’t Get Enough is available on DVD and VHS by calling Wolfe Video at 1-800-GET-WOLFE or by visiting www.wolfevideo.com, where you can enter a contest to win a two-night stay in Las Vegas; the contest ends April 30. —Blase DiStefano

I, the Worst of All

Set in a magnificent recreation of 17th-century Mexico and based on a true story, I, the Worst of All is the portrait of a brilliant and beautiful poet, Sister Juana Ines de las Cruz (Assumpta Serna), who enters the convent to pursue her love of writing and goes on to gain international renown as one of the best poets in the Golden Age of Spanish poetry. However, this is the height of the Inquisition, and her intellectual prowess soon leads to clashes with the archbishop of Mexico (Lautaro Murua).

Sister Juana is protected only by the beautiful new Vicereine (Dominique Sanda), who befriends and shelters Sister Juana, while simultaneously becoming her erotic muse. The very existence of their friendship flouts convention, but as long as the Viceroy’s tour of duty lasts, Sister Juana is safe.

Based on the book The Traps of Faith by Nobel Prize-winner Octavio Paz, I, the Worst of All is considered director Maria Luisa Bemberg’s feminist masterpiece and was her last film.

I, the Worst of All is available on DVD from First Run Features by calling 800-488-6652 or by visiting www.firstrunfeatures.com. —Troy CarringtonHarem

Set in early 1900s Baghdad, Harem tells the story of a young woman named Safiye (Marie Gillain), who first becomes the Sultan’s favorite concubine, and later his official wife. As she rises in the ranks of power, she and a eunuch (Alex Descas) plan an elaborate scheme for the release of the female slaves. The two engage in an affair that transcends the boundaries of human intimacy. When the political machine crumbles, the Sultan escapes to Europe, leaving all the concubines behind. Safiye fights for her rights under the new order.

Steeped in atmosphere and eroticism, Harem presents an enchanting world where everything is a feast for the senses: shapes, sounds and smells, fruit, flowers and jewels, wines and sweets, and flesh of beautiful men and women.

Harem is the second in Ferzan Ozpetek’s erotic trilogy, beginning with Steam: The Turkish Bath and concluding with His Secret Life (see next review).

Available on DVD and VHS from Strand Releasing (www.strandreleasing.com). —TC

His Secret Life

In His Secret Life, a 10-year marriage is shattered when a sudden and tragic accident kills Massimo (Andrea Renzi), the beloved husband of Antonia (Margherita Buy). Barely able to contain her sadness, Antonia discovers that Massimo has been living a secret life for a good many years. Shocked out of her grief, Antonia begins to search for details and any information leading to Massimo’s mistress, only to discover that his secret lover was a man, the handsome and young Michele (Stefano Accorsi). When she slowly begins to meet the rather large extended “family” of friends who spent so much time with Michele and Massimo over their years together, Antonia soon finds herself drawn to her husband’s other, secret life.

The winner of the Best Narrative Feature of the 2002 New York Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, His Secret Life is a captivating and profound portrait of sexuality that the L.A. Times called “moving and vibrant” and that the New York Times called “lovely and touching.”

His Secret Life is the closing chapter in director Ferzan Ozpetek’s erotic trilogy, which began with Steam: The Turkish Bath. Harem, the previous review, is his second.

Available on DVD and VHS from Strand Releasing (www.strandreleasing.com). –TC

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