Temptations (Video X Pix) Review

Reviewed by T0MBOne  on  9/19/2014

Bill Eagle's TEMPTATIONS (1976) follows an old voyeur Howard Hugh (Jake Teague) and his personal assistant Raymond (John Leslie) cruising the streets with stops for the old guy to watch couples sucking and fucking. Enter his wife Rochelle (busty and beautiful Jennifer Welles) who discovers a video tape of a threesome (including Raymond) then makes a tape of her own in this terrific xxx comedy from the classic era. Standard frame. 80 minutes.

Mr. Hugh has some issues in his initial encounters. Prostitute Miss Lily (lovely Hope Stockton) puts him in a closet to observe her and her john (Roger Caine) suck and fuck on the couch that includes a terrific upright doggy. He gets to at least sit and watch Marla (Vanessa Del Rio) and her beau (Rocky Millstone) as the duo land in bed for a solid but brief encounter as the dude gets tired of the old guy trying to get too close to see.

Without pissed off dudes around, Mr. Hugh has better luck as he watches an art gallery owner (Marlene Willoughby) and her assistant (limber Alexandra Cass) in their back room. Later, Raymond returns to the gallery with a request to videotape the couple. The women agree as long as Raymond joins them for a threesome with Mr. Hugh watching from their bedside then falling asleep.

Mr. Hugh's lovely wife Rochelle catches Mr. Hugh asleep in his TV room. She watches the end of the threesome first seen here on the television via video tape. She exits the room but the images of Raymond from the tape can not escape her as she masturbates in the bathroom, gets dressed and looks for Raymond. She confronts Raymond but soon finds herself for the first time in his quarters for a terrific bedroom tryst.

The two are in cahoots for yet another encounter. Joined by another guy (John Norman) in a bedroom, Rochelle and Raymond appear in a new tape that's first revealed in close-ups that's watched by Mr. Hugh. As the shots widen, Rochelle becomes more and more recognizable until she's looking straight into the camera, and in this case, at Mr. Hugh. Rochelle enters the room and confronts Mr.Hugh, who admits to being turned on for the first time in a long time by Rochelle's terrific threeway.

Liking what she hears, Rochelle plans another little surprise for Mr. Hugh, which leads to a terrific party at their country place. An exotic dance (courtesy of the lovely Alexandra Cass) among some primitive art sculptures precedes an orgy (pairing John Leslie and Alexandra, Jennifer Welles and Gloria Leonard and another couple) that's watched by our happy voyeur Mr. Hugh.

He gets a hard-on courtesy of a blowjob from Rochelle then mish-fucks Rochelle on the carpet. Rochelle sits up to deliver a hand job that lands in and around her mouth then Mr. Hugh happily falls back into a chair to take a snooze. Cut to blurry snowy reception of a television that turns off, which is the other half of bookending TV images that featured footage of the Superman TV series during the opening credits of the wonderfully wacky TEMPTATIONS.

Wow, this flick could have continued down a path of all too similar encounters showing Mr. Hugh watching other couples having sex. However, the introduction of the video taped footage from the art gallery allows Mrs. Hugh to discover what he and Raymond have been really doing when the duo take that big limo out for daily rides.

And it's this second half of TEMPTATIONS that really pushes the narrative envelope with the introduction of the video camera used as an important device for not one but two reveals that lead to an amiable and funny finale. (13 years later, Steven Soderbergh would have an art house hit with SEX, LIES AND VIDEOTAPE by using the reveal via video tape for dramatic purposes)

So, TEMPTATIONS (1976) lands a !!!! 1/2 outta !!!!! for this terrific xxx comedy that really breaks out once Jennifer Welles' Rochelle character maneuvers and manipulates the proceedings to her satisfaction. Bear with Jake Teague's leering and whining during the opening scenes then enjoy her incredible encounters when the table is so delightfully, comically turned.