Expectations / Confessions (1977)

Studio: Vinegar Syndrome

Theatrical Release: 1977

DVD Release: March 12th, 2013

Rating: UnRated!

Directed by Anthony Spinelli

Review by Craig Sorensen

 

OK, so I’ve a confession to make.  Sex films don’t really do that much for me.  I mean, I enjoy a naked lady but watching people have sex just isn’t that interesting to me.  I usually just get bored.  It’s up to the plot of the film to keep me interested.  So I don’t usually delve into the genre.  I’m not particularly well versed in the conventions.  And it doesn’t bother me.  It’s something that I can live without.  Now, there were talented people who worked in hardcore films and there are a few films that I like (Naked Came The Stranger comes to mind - no pun intended) so I’m not trying to disparage the whole genre, it’s just on a whole I get bored easily.  So, I like a plot with a sense of humor and ridiculous dialog.  I get one film that kind of fits the bill here with Vinegar Syndrome’s new vintage fuck-film double feature.

 

The first film in our double bill is Expectations.  Our main character Margo (Delania Raffino) is bored with her life (and bores me with her constant narration).  So she answers a personal ad from the local paper and ends up swapping lives with another woman with a bad boob job named Montana (Chris Cassidy).  So obviously Montana is a kinky kind of girl and Margo ends up sleeping around quite a bit.  There’s sex with a guy who has the prerequisite ‘70s mustache (Joey Silvera) and another woman.  Montana, meanwhile, gets it on with Margo’s eyepatch wearing brother (who’s patch switches sides a few times-my favorite part of the film).  And that’s about it.

Our second feature presentation is Confessions.  This one’s also about a bored housewife (Kristine Heller) who isn’t getting enough sex.  So she sleeps around.  She sleeps with her husband’s boss, some guy on a motorcycle (she doesn’t fuck him on the cycle), a submissive guy and his wife.  And that’s about it for the plot of that one.

Expectations is pretty dour stuff.  Really, I just found the film way too serious.  Confessions is much lighter and I was able to have more fun with it.  Both films though seemed to drag on.  I actually ended up fast forwarding through the sex scenes to get to the plot.  The sex is a lot more entertaining in fast motion but I’m pretty sure that’s not how the director wanted his films seen.  I don’t think that the films were particularly bad or anything (I’m sure they met all the expectations that they set out to), it’s just, again, sex-films don’t do anything for me.  Still, if you’re into this sort of thing then you’ll probably have a good time.  The films are incredibly ‘70s (‘70s bush, Mr. Klein).  The sets, costumes and music couldn’t be anymore ‘70s.

Both films look pretty good on DVD, for what they are.  The prints used aren’t in perfect shape, there are plenty of scratches and the soundtracks can get a little crackly and hissy.  Detail can be a little soft in some scenes as well.  These problems don’t really distract from the presentation though.  If anything, they sort of add to the sleazy atmosphere.  Colors on both film are pretty good looking though.  Expectations looks a little on the pink side but only very very slightly.  Out of the two films, I’d say Confessions looks the best.  Colors look more natural and the print seems to be in better shape.  There doesn't seem to be any extra features to speak of.  You do get two features though so what more do you want?

[Rating: 2]