Gwendoline

Synopsis: Gwendoline (Tawni Kitaen) is on a mission to find her missing father, a scientist who vanished whilst searching for a very rare butterfly. Travelling with her friend, Beth (Zabou), the pair become mixed up with adventurer Willard (Brent Huff) and the trio discover the mystical kingdom of Yik Yak, a lost civilisation where an Amazon queen rules with an army of leather-clad female warriors.

Sometimes you watch a film and wonder what could possibly go wrong. On paper Just Jaeckin’s Gwendoline is a must-see cult curiosity but in celluloid reality this Emmanuelle-meets-Raiders Of The Lost Ark-style adventure, despite  the action packed salacious thrills promised, doesn’t quite deliver.

This was Jaeckin’s last-ever film after a twelve edition career that pushed mainstream erotic boundaries the world over. He made Sylvia Kristel a star and often tackled brave subject matter, even though his films had garnered a less than savoury reputation with the rain coat brigade. Gwendoiline is a somewhat frivolous book-end to this career but there is still plenty to enjoy..

Visually the film is lush, the cinematography and production design combined with the curvaceous female flesh on display give it a sheen that belies its exploitational aspects. And talking of flesh, the costume design, taking its inspiration from the source comic book material is a fetishistic delight.

The lead role is taken by Tawny Kitean who came to fame as the pin-up girl for innumerable heavy metal video clips in the 1980s. She married Whitesnake lead singer David Coverdale and briefly became a LA identity, starring in Bachelor Party (also released in 1984) with Tom Hanks but before long ended up a casualty in Celebrity Rehab. The rest of the cast is made up of French actors including Brent Huff as the reluctant action hero and French model Zabou as Gwendoline’s travelling companion.

Overall Gwendoline, must be counted as a disappointment. The action is not exhilarating, the sex is not titillating and performances barely manage to hold the film together. The spirit of Barbarella, also based on a comic strip, looms large over the production but Gwendoline just doesn’t hold up to her precursor. The dialogue delivery is inept at best and the overall feel of the film just doesn’t give you any idea that is being directed by a director of Jaekin’s standing.

 

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