Confessions (1977)

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1977 was a productive year for porn auteur Anthony Spinelli. Not only did he direct the silly identity switch film "Expectations", he also helmed the hilariously titled "Oriental Babysitter," and this standard flick. Spinelli doesn't need any identity switching here, telling the story of Beth (Kristine Heller), a bored housewife who can't get sex from her moron husband Gary (John Leslie), and goes out looking for it. She picks up a biker (Peter Johns) in the film's only "action sequence", then seduces her husband's boss (Joey Silvera) in a kinda funny party scene. She answers an ad in the paper and humiliates Howard (Jack Wright), much to his wife's (Dory Devon) amusement, before letting herself be with the wife as well. Eventually, Beth turns to prostitution- all because goofy Gary won't satisfy her in bed?

Spinelli's direction is different from most porn only because he actually directs. The late 1970s decor seems more outlandish here, adding to the by-the-numbers screenplay, which is just a series of sexual encounters set against a very weak plot frame. The lead actress, Kristine Heller, a girl next door type, is so refreshingly different from other tarted-up starlets who all eventually look alike. She died in 1989, if you believe internet sources, and that is sad. It is unsettling to watch someone who has fallen victim to abuse, illness, or an early death perform such intimate acts onscreen. The rest of the cast literally go through the motions, but I cannot get Heller out of my head. This is unerotic stuff.

"Confessions," also known as "Confessions of a Woman," is standard, slightly worse than "Expectations," and no different than any other adult film. I confess to not liking this film.

Stats:
(1977) 67 min. (0 *) out of five stars
-Directed by Anthony Spinelli
-No Writer Credited
-Cast: Kristine Heller, John Leslie, Joey Silvera, Peter Johns, Jack Wright, Al Russo, Dory Devon
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