I was intrigued by a promising start to FANTASEX ISLAND, though unfortunately like too many of its brethren, it devolves into a series of repetitive sex scenes with diminishing point or context.
Set-up is promising, with the mysterious Mr. Dork and his perpetually horny dwarf sidekick Pupu welcoming a trio of new visitors to Fantasex Island. Ushered inside the palatial estate, each of these three gets a sexual fantasy fulfilled by the beautiful staff, several of whom are, weirdly enough, porn stars playing themselves under their own names (Serena plays "Serena," for example, though it's unclear if she's supposed to be *the* Serena in the context of the film). Meanwhile, Mr. Dork and Pupu roam the grounds, talking about not much in particular. Running gag is that Pupu (played by actual dwarf porn star Luis de Jesus, unfortunately in a non-sex role) is perpetually horny, wanting to join the fun, with Mr. Dork constantly berating him for being such a letch.
The set-up is actually quite fun, in a puerile way - I enjoyed the profane banter between Dork and Pupu, despite it being an endlessly repeated joke with no escalation or payoff. The sex scenes are competently shot, with elegant camerawork and a fair amount of heat between the participants. The problem is that these scenes, too, simply run through in the same motions, with no escalation or differentiation. One guy (long-time genre vet John Seeman) gets to play at being a dirty old man, reading a pornographic story to an eager young couple, while Jonathon Younger basically just gets to live out the fantasy of having sex with Serena (which - fair). After the initial couplings, however, the groups just keep reconfiguring themselves, cycling through endless combinations. No one really comes or goes, no one addresses the fantasies, and there's no progression to the plot. Despite the solid production values, once things get to the house, the film totally bogs down, and at 90 minutes, it's at least 15-20 too long. It would've been stronger if it cut things back a little.
Still, the movie isn't bad, even as it slowly reveals itself to essentially be a patch job - the "fantasies" are in reality probably just different, unrelated sex shoots that have been integrated post facto into the wraparound. That, or everyone was just trying to get through things as quickly as possible and gave up on developing an actual plot. Either way, as porn parodies go, the setup of FANTASEX ISLAND is exactly what you'd desire when renting it; the problem is, like most fantasies, the reality just doesn't live up to the ideal.
Set-up is promising, with the mysterious Mr. Dork and his perpetually horny dwarf sidekick Pupu welcoming a trio of new visitors to Fantasex Island. Ushered inside the palatial estate, each of these three gets a sexual fantasy fulfilled by the beautiful staff, several of whom are, weirdly enough, porn stars playing themselves under their own names (Serena plays "Serena," for example, though it's unclear if she's supposed to be *the* Serena in the context of the film). Meanwhile, Mr. Dork and Pupu roam the grounds, talking about not much in particular. Running gag is that Pupu (played by actual dwarf porn star Luis de Jesus, unfortunately in a non-sex role) is perpetually horny, wanting to join the fun, with Mr. Dork constantly berating him for being such a letch.
The set-up is actually quite fun, in a puerile way - I enjoyed the profane banter between Dork and Pupu, despite it being an endlessly repeated joke with no escalation or payoff. The sex scenes are competently shot, with elegant camerawork and a fair amount of heat between the participants. The problem is that these scenes, too, simply run through in the same motions, with no escalation or differentiation. One guy (long-time genre vet John Seeman) gets to play at being a dirty old man, reading a pornographic story to an eager young couple, while Jonathon Younger basically just gets to live out the fantasy of having sex with Serena (which - fair). After the initial couplings, however, the groups just keep reconfiguring themselves, cycling through endless combinations. No one really comes or goes, no one addresses the fantasies, and there's no progression to the plot. Despite the solid production values, once things get to the house, the film totally bogs down, and at 90 minutes, it's at least 15-20 too long. It would've been stronger if it cut things back a little.
Still, the movie isn't bad, even as it slowly reveals itself to essentially be a patch job - the "fantasies" are in reality probably just different, unrelated sex shoots that have been integrated post facto into the wraparound. That, or everyone was just trying to get through things as quickly as possible and gave up on developing an actual plot. Either way, as porn parodies go, the setup of FANTASEX ISLAND is exactly what you'd desire when renting it; the problem is, like most fantasies, the reality just doesn't live up to the ideal.