Sexual Outlaws Reviews

Despite a superficial recreation of LA's sordid sex scene, reality seldom rears its unwelcome head in this fantasy-propelled thriller. In an unbelievably bogus bit of casting, ex-Olympic gymnast Mitch Gaylord plays a libidinous mute unjustly charged with a murder. When prostitute Jeanette McKnight gets snuffed, coppers scour Hollywood Boulevard for a mysterious mute who was seen snapping photos of victim. The mute in question is Francis Badham (Mitch Gaylord), who gets his jollies with a camera but is clearly no murderer. While Francis gets hassled by his parole officer (Michael Stanton), sex magazine owner Lisa Bauer (Erika West) is cornered by the authorities on porno-transport charges. Lisa's a frustrated wife who begs her husband John (Mike McCollow), co-owner of the skin mag, to season their sex lives with a little of the creativity he invests in his work. When John remains unresponsive, Lisa secretly places an ad in her own classified section. Lonely Francis responds with a steamy letter; pretending to be half of a swinging couple, he encloses Jeanette McKnight's photo with his own--not knowing that McKnight has just been slain by her jealous lesbian lover, Rita (Nicole Grey). John smells an opportunity to avoid prosecution and plans to use the snapshot as a bargaining chip with the DA. Sensitive Lisa has a more personal interest; she is already falling for the man behind the passionate letters. Hunted by the LAPD, Francis approaches Lisa in the flesh. He agrees to return the photo she sent him in exchange for her help in proving his innocence. Passions soon flare. Wired by the cops, Lisa acts as bait to nab the real killer. She accompanies Rita to a motel where the deranged dominatrix insists on rough sex. When her pimp interrupts the S&M games, Rita plugs him and the police rush the room. Rita holds a gun to Lisa's head, but Francis heroically rescues her. Combining business with pleasure (and scoring tit for tat with her unfaithful husband), Lisa hires doting Francis as her personal erotic journalist. Padded out with tepid wish-fulfillment and weighed down with tedious conversation, SEXUAL OUTLAWS seems unlikely to thrill video hounds sniffing around for cheap thrills. Gracelessly directed--although Bunuel's genius couldn't redeem this implausible fantasy--the film fizzles as a sexcapade and disintegrates as a thriller; way too much footage is squandered on Francis's correspondence with lubricious Lisa. Shutting handsome Gaylord's mouth does little to improve his acting skills. Still, compared with the rest of the appalling performers on display here, Mitch is relatively low-key and professional. (Graphic violence, extreme profanity, extensive nudity, sexual situations.)