Naked Obsession (1990)

Boyish, curly-haired, perpetually ingenuous William Katt gives a very personable and persuasive performance as sweet, but wimpy West Coast councilman Franklyn Carlyle, who has aspirations to be mayor and a frigid, unresponsive iceberg of a wife (a perfectly bitchy Wendy McDonald). Franklyn decides that the best way to become mayor is by cleaning up his sleepy California burg's seamy red light district. Franklyn visits the conspicuously cruddy side of town and becomes dangerously involved with scruffy, philosophical, Mephistophelean derelict Sam Silver (excellently portrayed with infectiously impish aplomb by the late, great Rick Dean) and kittenishly masochistic, but irresistibly alluring stripper Lynne Hauser (deliciously essayed with appropriately naughty abandon by the lovely, leggy, flaxen-tressed, curvaceous hottie supreme Maria Ford).Dan Golden's flashy, imaginative (the odd, haunting black and white nightmare scenes are especially effective), and straightforward direction unravels the complex, yet lucid and luridly compelling story in an absorbing and enjoyable fashion; the plot twists are delightfully wild and rather preposterous, which only enhances rather than detracts from the terrifically trashy fun. Moreover, the coarse dialogue is often funny (I absolutely loved Sam Silver's crude, but cosmic words of wisdom: "*Beep* that s**t!"), the copious nudity and strenuous sex scenes are smoking hot arousing stuff, and the hazy, gaudy, dimly lit squalid nudie bar ambiance is expertly rendered in a most gleeful, colorful and even credible way. Popping up in nifty supporting parts are Tommy Hinkley as Franklyn's odious jerk of a rival, Elena Sahagun as Franklyn's loyal, loving secretary, luscious porn starlet Madison Stone as a well-endowed stripper, and tireless schlock movie director Fred Olen Ray as the scuzzy strip club's slick'n'slimy sleazeball emcee. Better still, the film even explores in a provocative and penetrating manner the weighty concept of fate versus free will. A spicy, sizzling and above all surprisingly smart erotic mystery thriller gem.

*SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT*I bought this video for 5 bucks at my local video store. The back of the box says: "The greatest topless bar flick ever made." With that kind of endorsement, I couldn't resist. After viewing it, I'm not sure if it's the greatest ever made, but it's up there. So this councilman gets himself interested in a downtown strip club. A homeless guy takes pity on him and shows him the ropes. The address above the club was "666". The bum may have been the devil. I'm not sure. I am sure that there was a lot of topless dancing in this flick. They had one girl who was in leather dancing to a song called "Be my slave". That was the highlight. There's a murder or two to spice things up but basically there is topless strippers doing their thing. The word "Naked" in the title was telling the truth. I just wish they had more of the girl in the leather. Grrrrrrrrrr..

One of the great hidden gems of late-night cable. The main actor, William Katt, has come a long way since he was Carrie's date for the prom. A second-generation actor (Bill Williams and Barbara Hale's son), Katt is great in this role, but the movie is stolen by the masterful performance of Rick Dean as the very bizarre "Sam Silver" in this Hitchcockian thriller. If ever there was an example of how big a part luck and studio hype play in film success, this is it. This movie deserves to be well-known, and it should have catapulted Rick Dean into a major role. Watch this movie, and tape it for your friends who have taste.

I liked this passionate fluffy gem that had classic strip scenes that screamed out Oscar. Oscar is my name. As I watched this epic deer frolick through the desert, I asked myself "am I really here? Am I really naked in this closet I call home? Do I want pizza or cereal right now?" those are the questions I pondered. I couldn't come up with answers because I was so captivated by the beauty and radiance of the lead actress. She made me feel like I was Fredrico and that this was my castle. I often found myself sitting on top of my television set naked, perched over the top watching this movie from above. I didn't care that it was 5:19am and that I had to get up at 7:00, this was all to captivating to miss, especially with constant sex and nudity, I couldn't turn off the TV and say "no". It was almost a rule or a law that I finish watching it. I couldn't escape the clutch of pure erotic fruit that so intoxicated me to the point of no return. -**1/2 stars