This is a softcore film from 1999. Written by Sebastien Chartier and directed by Fred Olen Ray, it stars Brad Bartram as Todd Matthews, who is the host of a sleazy tabloid TV show called The Other Side, in which he uncovers sex scandals in Hollywood. In particular, he seems to focus on actresses on TV sitcoms.

First, there’s a sitcom called Best Buddies starring Brittany Lox and Shannon Sloan (played by Nancy O’Brien and Amber Newman) as a couple of single women living together. Shannon’s character is a typical sexually active young woman, but Brittany’s character is a virgin who wants to wait until she’s married before having sex. The show is a big hit and in fact, Brittany proclaims to be a virgin in real life as well, and it was her idea to also play on on the show. And she’s like an abstinence activist promoting waiting until you’re married, and this is said to have lead to a “virgin fever phenomenon” across the nation, with many young women who are her fans also planning to remain virgins until they’re married. Well, while being interviewed on Todd’s show, a sex tape showing Brittany having sex with an actor who was recently cast on the show gets exposed, revealing Brittany to be a fraud. She comes clean to Todd and speculates that Shannon, whom we saw earlier in the film being jealous of Britanny’s fame and wanting to get her own show where she could be the star, had set her up.

Next Todd investigates the cast of another sitcom called What A Family, which stars Peter Henslow and Helen Martins (Sam Williamson and Griffen Drew) as a married couple, Mr. and Mrs. Olson, and Genna Danzieger (Brandy Davis) as their teenage daughter Tiffany. Recently it’s come out that Peter and Genna are in a relationship, which even though Tiffany is a legal adult is considered scandalous because they’ve been working together on the show since she was a child and are playing father and daughter. Genna is on the show to defend her relationship and explain how it began. Then Helen comes on the show, initially to insult Todd to his face, for the sleazy nature of his job. But then Todd reveals that, despite Helen’s real-life conservative image, she and Peter has actually been having a secret affair as well. And when Genna finds out, she reveals that Helen once seduced her too.

And then suddenly Todd’s producer, Diedre (Michelle Von Flotow) tells him that the network has fired him, for reasons which aren’t clear. So then Todd decides that he should become an actor. Using some paparazzi pictures he has of a famous film producer Marty P.  (David Christensen) cheating on his wife with some other woman he blackmails Marty into casting him as the lead actor in his newest film. The film jumps ahead six months where now Todd is being interviewed on TV about his new successful film career, and then there’s a little bit of a twist ending.

The initial plot of Todd hosting a show exposing celebrity sex scandals was decent enough, the switch in the last act to Todd becoming an actor himself was a little out of left field and could’ve been skipped, but overall it was a fine story. It’s saved by the fact that it has a great cast, this was still in the era where softcore films had decent budgets and wanted performers who could act not just look good getting naked and simulating sex (although the later was important as well). Brad Bartram has the majority of screentime and is a capable leading man.

The film is short, just under 1 hour and 20 minutes, and in that time we get ten hot sex scenes.

Michelle Von Flotow and Brad Bartram have a scene together, as her character comforts him after he’s been fired.

Samantha Phillips plays the actress that Todd gets hired to star in a movie with, and she and Brad Bartram also have a sex scene together.

Shyra DeLand plays the woman Marty P. is having an affair with, and she and David Christensen have a sex scene together.

Brandy Davis and Griffen Drew each have sex scenes with Sam Williamson and a hot lesbian scene with each other. Those two are two of my favorite softcore actresses from that time period, so it’s always good to see them in action, especially together.

Amber Newman has two scenes, one with Jason Schnuit, who plays an executive at the network that airs Best Buddies, and one with a man whose character is unnamed and so I’m not sure who the actor is, although he looked familiar.

Nancy O’Brien also had two scenes, one with Brad Bartram, and one with Jarod Carey.

The sex scenes alone make the film worth watching, and along with the decent story and good acting I can highly recommend this film to fans of the softcore genre. Chacebook rating: FIVE STARS

Jason Majercik is selling this UNRATED DVD  for $34.99. Email him at quinn_nash@hotmail.com for his softcore inventory list