Woman Of Desire Review

Among the multitude of erotic thrillers that had been released in the late eighties, Woman Of Desire is interesting only because Robert Ginty, the star of the B-grade action films of the previous decade, directed it. Those who do not tend to be nostalgic about the 1980s can see good reason in the movies that made Ginty a star doing that. As director, Ginty did very little to improve that impression.

The protagonist of the movie is Jack (Jeff Fahey), a yacht skipper who falls madly in love with Christina Ford (Bo Derek). However, she has a relationship with the rich and powerful Jonathan Ashby (Steven Bauer). One stormy night, the tragedy occurs and Jack is accused of rape and murder. However, his good friend Walter J Hill (Robert Mitchum) happens to be a very good lawyer, so Jack might even prove his innocence in the end.

Belonging more to the genre of courtroom dramas than erotic thrillers, Woman Of Desire distinguishes itself from similar films by having almost all characters behaving like total idiots. Unfortunately, this film isn't comedy, and any laugh is unintentional. The characters are totally antipathetic and irritating, and soon you stop caring what would happen to them. The actors that play them don't help either.

That is especially the case with Jeff Fahey, whose Jack is so stupid that even the character played by Fahey in Lawnmower Man looks like a genius in comparison. His partner Bo Derek, on the other hand, shows that she didn't age enough to cease being the sex goddess, but that is small compensation for her apparent lack of acting talent. Ginty, on the other hand, tries to bring some life in the movie by using many flashbacks and strange angles of shooting, but in the end it gets only irritating to the already bored and dissatisfied viewer.