Zandalee (1991)

“She had everything but she was not fulfilled …” Shot in and around New Orleans, Zandalee is a true guilty pleasure (it’s much more fun if you treat the film as a comedy instead of an “erotic thriller”) and actually sleazier than 9 1/2 Weeks or Wild Orchid. Judge Reinhold portrays “Thierry,” a dull, ex-poet and impotent businessman whose wife, “Zandalee” (the beautiful Erika Anderson), falls for a struggling, tortured artist named “Johnny” (another over-the-top performance by Nicolas Cage). In this trashy straight-to-video flick directed by Sam Pillsbury, Zandalee and Johnny have sex in a variety of unusual places, including atop a clothes dryer during a dinner party and even in a church confessional booth. In addition, Johnny waxes philosophic with such ludicrous lines as “I wanna shake you naked and eat you alive” and “Without creativity, without life, then you are truly unable to go straight up the Devil’s ass, look him right in the face, smile and survive.” Believe it or not, Thierry and Johnny even slow dance near the film’s conclusion! The cast includes Joe Pantoliano, Viveca Lindfors, Marisa Tomei, Aaron Neville and Steve Buscemi. Zandalee was reportedly inspired by Emile Zola’s 1867 novel Thérèse Raquin (not kidding)! Warning: If you dislike Cage, you will absolutely hate this movie! By the way, Pillsbury wisely abandoned filmmaking and entered the wine-making business.

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