Crazy Like a Fox Review

Reviewed by Nat Hocken  on  4/6/2003

“Crazy Like a Fox” deals with a private investigator (Azlea Antistia) sent to a psychiatric hospital by the Attorney General’s office to investigate claims of corruption and abuse by the warden and his staff. Posing as a patient, and with the help of an idealistic administrator (Lauren Montgomery), Azlea discovers that the female patients are the main attraction in sex tapes being made by the staff and sold on the black market. This is one of those stupid porno stories that shoots itself in the foot; stupid because it’s a serious story that can’t possibly be taken seriously—by either the filmmakers or the viewers—and still be erotically effective. It’s the narrative equivalent of marketing a hidden camera movie and starting it off with a disclaimer that says the situations were staged and the performers are professionals.

So it’s no surprise that the girls are into the sex and don’t appear to feel as though they’re being abused in any way. Well, not quite all the girls. It goes to show how self-defeating this kind of storyline is when a girl doesn’t appear especially willing; that is, when she tries to play her part straight up. Azlea is forced to perform with warden John Decker in the first scene and she plays it as though her thorazine just kicked in, with hooded eyes and no attempt at establishing any kind of rapport with Decker. The result is the worst scene in the film.

As bad as George Kaplan’s script is, Jim Enright’s direction is worse. Main reason? He’s employed one of those loud music tracks that overrides the performers’ voices during sex and effectively sucks the life out of each and every scene. It sounds like you’re listening to the neighbors after they’ve cranked up the stereo. And somehow it’s less exciting being able to see what’s going on.

This is not a movie overflowing with chemistry. Sindee Coxx making eye contact during her oral segments is an aberration, not the norm. The sex, by and large, is strictly anonymous—a couple of pros going through the motions. Lousy pacing doesn’t help: many of the scenes are more about documenting a series of positions than showing a complete sexual act. When a scene is reasonably well-paced, as the fourth one is, featuring Kyle Stone and Renee LaRue, it still gets buried by the music and the lack of any emotional connection between the performers.

The sex itself is strictly by the book, and it’s not a particularly sleazy tome, either. Two couples scenes, two lesbian trysts, and an FFM threesome. In spite of the two girl/girl scenes, John Decker gives the best cunnilingus. Blowjobs, straight fucking, routine positions. No anal and no facials; the guys have to be satisfied jerking themselves off to two tit cums and a belly cum. If this was a film intended for couples, the filmmakers must have had a couple of uptight conservatives in mind.

Sure, Azlea’s the very picture of the gorgeous slut on the boxcover of this movie, but don’t let her make you crazy. Play it foxily and avoid it just the same.