Paul Thomas's ambitious attempt at creating a literally dreamy, erotic fantasy sex feature fails, primarily due to that unfortunate '90s widespread gimmick of making long-form porn projects, designed to be divided into 2 VHS releases, all to feed the era's "New Releases" demand at video stores (long since irrelevant).
Opening Part One is all tease, little accomplished before the dreaded "To Be Continued" card comes on-screen. I was surprised (pleasantly at first) to discover that PT was trying to create an American version of Euro fantasy, best-realized back in 1967 with Jean-Gabriel Albicocco's experimental hit "Le grand meaulnes", the definitive fantasy art film released in America as "The Wanderer". It's still among my all-time favorite movies.
Both "Meaulnes" and "Sleeping Beauties" relate to a classic theme of Adult Fantasy, typified in literature by Lord Dunsany's "beyond the fields we know" -stories about a hidden world beyond one's normal reality, which is transitory: once found, but difficult to find again.
PT's wanderer here is Marc Wallice, an artist who's blocked, working on a painting but lacking a muse. He does have a girlfriend, Jamie Summers, who along with Madison, Flame and a very young Francesca Le (long before she became a superstar) provide the film's explicit sex.
But on lovely locations (featuring outdoor sex scenes), Wallice keeps wandering off, and at night finds a house nearby with plenty of plate-glass windows, where folks are lying around asleep. There he sees Savannah, asleep on a couch and the ideal beauty he's been searching for to provide inspiration. Is he a girl merely appearing to him in dreams? That's the obvious conclusion Jamie reaches when he talks about his experiences.
With an ethereal music score, this movie drifts away into its dreamlike mood, suppressing dialogue and story, but PT's big mistake is to have his superstar Savannah merely tease, both Wallice and the viewer. Marc becomes a voyeur, watching others make love or relcutantly joiining in, especially when Jamie gives him a birthday present in the form of redhead cutie Flame for a threesome.
But the "wait for Part 2" format is extremely frustrating, cancelling out the thrill of anticipation. Savannah masturbates (softcore) to tempt Wallice but he and the audience are left hanging.
I'm reviewing Part 2 separately, and also tuning in to watch a self-contained Part 3 PT made six years later with a lengthy cast list led by Taylor Hayes and Lexus.
