Matinee Idol

Director - Henri Parchard (The Neon Bed, Deep Seven)
Starring - Jesie St. James (Ah Caramba, Going Wild), John Leslie (Dixie Ray Hollywood Star, Dog Walker), and Herschel Savage (52 Pick Up, Faithless)
Release Date -1984
Genre - Drama/Erotic
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     With Thanksgiving behind us and holiday hours taking over the store my stress levels are starting to rise.  Christmas is coming and my day job is extending hours longer than I am accustomed to.  On top of that, we are hitting the holidays with a new addition on the way.  With my spare time limited I wanted something fun to check out and doesn't require a lot of brain power to sit through.  I immediately set my sights on Vinegar Syndrome and one of their sleazy releases.  Next on the chopping block is the 1984 sleazy drama Matinee Idol.  I want to thank Vin Syn for sending this one my way and offering up some mindless entertainment for the working class man!

     This film follows two major adult film stars, Linda Hand (St. James) and Lance Hardy (Leslie), who have let their stardom get to their heads.  Both consider themselves icons in the erotic film business but they are jealous of the other's success.  During a scene with each other Linda bites Hardy on is part and he now refuses to work with her.  The production company is out of money if they can't get the two together so they set in play a series of events to try to get them to kiss and make up (out). 
     I've always liked exploitation and sleazy flicks but I never got into the hardcore side of sexploitation until I started reviewing Vinegar Syndrome's releases.  Some have been pretty entertaining while others were a little rough to watch.  Matinee Idol is right down the middle of the road.  It had some entertaining moments but just couldn't keep me watching.  The acting in this one is solid.  A majority of the cast is adult film stars so their acting is a little over-dramatic at times.  These scenes were clichéd but they were still entertaining.  Most of the time I don't enjoy overacting but here its funny instead of awkward.  The cast is natural in their own skin and on camera which was the perfect combination for a sexploitation flick.  The story for this one was drawn out for far too long.  The story, like most films of it's kind, is simple and stretched to reach a feature length running time.  To fill in the gaps (literally) we have several sex scenes and scenes full of pointless dialogue.  The story would have been better, or at least tolerable, if the film was edited shorter.  Finally, no blood or gore for you bloodhounds.  Instead, we get an oversexed cast with flat characters and an extremely bland story.  Overall, Matinee Idol is not a story driven sexploitation flick that I enjoy.  The film is more hardcore with a plot which just doesn't hold my attention.  If you want sex over anything else then you may enjoy this.  If you want story I would recommend checking out another Vin Syn release.