Dana Plato stars as a lesbian feminist, Jill, who assists with models, regarding wardrobe (preferably lingerie), arriving from a flight to LA to participate in a photo shoot. Brentley Mitchum is the photographer she will be assisting, Jack, a male chauvinist pig and homophobe who chases skirts, working with models obviously means he has a pool of women at his disposal. Landon Hall (who worked in the softcore genre at the time) is a model Jack is seeing, Jill, who wants her boyfriend to make a commitment, while he is only concerned with getting laid at any time he so desires. This film follows a blossoming romance between Jill and Jill, while Jack responds unpleasantly to this new development. Poorly staged (the editing is terrible) sex scenes, along with a bland story that recycles dialogue from any number of softcore films, although "Different Strokes" attempts to be a serious melodrama, this film will always be known as a curio for those who grew up watching Plato on the television show which the title makes reference to. Plato does seem sincere, not just going through the motions, in her portrayal, doing what she can with the words her character is given. Hall is cast for her naked body, because her performance is dead-on-arrival. Mitchum is a prick, so it is not too hard hoping Hall's Jill will wise up and leave him. The film builds and builds up to the two Jills' lesbian scene, but it doesn't quite hit all cylinders as I was hoping. I must admit that I had a hard time finding this in any way titillating considering Plato's tragic fate; a sense of melancholy remained with me throughout the movie. Plato's tumultuous life after the show "Diff'rent Strokes" is certainly well documented, this film only further adding weight to a sad end to her life. David Millbern has the most likable character of the film as a gay pal of Jack's, Rick, who helps him on shoots. The gorgeous Gabriella Hall, a favorite softcore performer of mine when I was a teenager, has one of the worst lesbian sequences I can think of in recent memory—she is not really one who performs comfortably on screen with women. Most surprising to me was how comfortable Plato seemed nude in front of the camera.
12 Reviews
This Is Not a Sitcom
gbheron10 March 2000
Softcore porn, although its prime directive is to titillate, must still maintain a dramatic or comedic framework with which to tie its love scenes together. Thinking its title belied a possible TV tie-in, combined with it's subtitle ("A Story of Jack and Jill...and Jill"), I was certain Different Strokes had to be a farce, or at least a comedy. Well its not. It's a drama, and a weak, rather mean-spirited one at that. The subtitle does describe the film's love interests, but there are no laughs, at least intentional. Be forewarned.
Good only for a laugh.
CapnKaos16 January 2013
Poor Dana Plato. Such a hard life and ending to an otherwise potentially marketable actress. She had it all, fame, a hit TV show and a bright and bubbly personality that lit up the room when she walked in. The only thing missing was talent.
As Kimberly in Diff'rent Strokes, she was still young and let's face it, most child actors aren't very good. It takes a DiCaprio, a Gordon-Levitt or a Foster to show true greatness and become a truly exceptional actor. Dana Plato had none of this and it showed. She could have grown into the parts, gotten guest spots a plenty but she was stoned most of the time and was seen as a liability so the parts she did manage to land after Diff'rent Strokes were of the low budget and exploitive kind.
Enter Different Strokes. Dana plays Jill, a feminist and a lesbian who is helping out the chauvinistic Jack with one of his photo shoots. She comes to LA to help out and is smitten with Jack's long suffering girlfriend who is also named Jill. Well guess what happens next. A rather unbelievable situation where Jill seduces Jill and we're treated to some soft core porn. In fact, most of this movie is soft core porn with people making out, lots of bare breasts and that's about it.
This movie really is nothing more than an excuse to see the lovely Landon Hall and / or Dana Plato naked. The acting is sub-par, the dialogue deserve better treatment and the less said about the shoe horned in plot the better. This might have worked better as a play where the hammy acting and line delivery would have been a lot better received.
So don't kid yourself. The reasons to see this movie are to see the actresses naked and because of it's rather infamous leading lady.
You have been warned.
As Kimberly in Diff'rent Strokes, she was still young and let's face it, most child actors aren't very good. It takes a DiCaprio, a Gordon-Levitt or a Foster to show true greatness and become a truly exceptional actor. Dana Plato had none of this and it showed. She could have grown into the parts, gotten guest spots a plenty but she was stoned most of the time and was seen as a liability so the parts she did manage to land after Diff'rent Strokes were of the low budget and exploitive kind.
Enter Different Strokes. Dana plays Jill, a feminist and a lesbian who is helping out the chauvinistic Jack with one of his photo shoots. She comes to LA to help out and is smitten with Jack's long suffering girlfriend who is also named Jill. Well guess what happens next. A rather unbelievable situation where Jill seduces Jill and we're treated to some soft core porn. In fact, most of this movie is soft core porn with people making out, lots of bare breasts and that's about it.
This movie really is nothing more than an excuse to see the lovely Landon Hall and / or Dana Plato naked. The acting is sub-par, the dialogue deserve better treatment and the less said about the shoe horned in plot the better. This might have worked better as a play where the hammy acting and line delivery would have been a lot better received.
So don't kid yourself. The reasons to see this movie are to see the actresses naked and because of it's rather infamous leading lady.
You have been warned.
Quite possibly Landon Hall's best film......A-
Smooth B1 May 2003
Warning: Spoilers
This was a great film, I really mean that. The story was good, the sex scenes were good, and you can't go wrong with Landon Hall as the lead actress.
Landon Hall plays Jill, a woman perpetually frustrated by her boyfriend Jack (Bentley Mitchum). Yes, they have sex scenes during the film, but it seems that Jill just lays there and lets Jack have his way with her. Her facial expressions say, "Hurry up and get finished. I want to get this over with." It's odd, because those are the same facial expressions Landon Hall used in "Hotel Exotica". Jack is a photographer who has sent in some of his work to an art director, Jill Martin (the late Dana Plato). Since both primary female characters are named Jill, I'll call one Jill and the other Jill M.
Jill M. is a lesbian, so Jill doesn't see her as a threat at all--in fact, Jill and Jill M. become good friends as the film goes along. Jill M. gives Jill pointers on making her relationship with Jack better, but Jack doesn't seem very responsive. Why is Jack so unresponsive? Maybe it's because he's sleeping with another woman (come on, you knew that was coming). Jill M. finds out about this, and some photographs are taken. Long story short, Jill M. shows the photos to Jill, which makes things very tense at home.
During all of this, Jack is oblivious to the fact that Jill M. has been VERY FRIENDLY with his girlfriend; maybe a little too friendly. Jill M. keeps telling Jill that she doesn't need Jack, and that she should be with someone better. This leads to a sexual encounter between Jill and Jill M. After some intense girl-girl action, Jill comes up for air long enough to say, "I can't believe this--I'm a lesbian!" Ah yes, Jill finally realizes why she hasn't been "into it" when she and Jack have sex--the truth finally comes out! The following scene is Jill and Jill M. frolicking in a garden of some sort while a slow song plays in the background. The middle of the scene looks like it was shot with a soft-focus lens, playing up the "awakening" that Jill is having.
Jill M. persuades Jill to come with her, and they leave together. Jack, who by now has found out about this, gets in his car and tracks them down. This leads to the funniest scene of the movie.
"What, have you gone AC/DC on me, Jill? Are you into chicks now?", Jack yells. Jill rolls down her window and says, "Yeah, I guess I am." I know, it doesn't seem that funny, but you have to see this in order to see just how funny this scene is.
This film had a great plot and good character development. It had funny moments throughout, and a couple of tense scenes. I thought it was quite good.
Sex: B+ (Good for what it was. A decent amount of sex, and it wasn't too bad)
Women: B+ (Landon Hall was the lead female, but Gabriella Hall makes an appearance as well. I believe this was the first time I've seen these two in a movie together. IMDB lists them as sisters, although I don't see the resemblance at all.)
Story: A+ (A film that actually kept me from changing the channel when there wasn't sex going on. Decent dialogue and a plot that wasn't stationary very long.)
Overall: A- (The "Story" grade takes this film from a B+ to an A-. This was a good film, and unfortunately the only softcore film Dana Plato ever made, I believe. She looked quite old in this film; Jill finally discovering she was a lesbian and then running off with Jill M. was amusing, to say the least.)
Landon Hall plays Jill, a woman perpetually frustrated by her boyfriend Jack (Bentley Mitchum). Yes, they have sex scenes during the film, but it seems that Jill just lays there and lets Jack have his way with her. Her facial expressions say, "Hurry up and get finished. I want to get this over with." It's odd, because those are the same facial expressions Landon Hall used in "Hotel Exotica". Jack is a photographer who has sent in some of his work to an art director, Jill Martin (the late Dana Plato). Since both primary female characters are named Jill, I'll call one Jill and the other Jill M.
Jill M. is a lesbian, so Jill doesn't see her as a threat at all--in fact, Jill and Jill M. become good friends as the film goes along. Jill M. gives Jill pointers on making her relationship with Jack better, but Jack doesn't seem very responsive. Why is Jack so unresponsive? Maybe it's because he's sleeping with another woman (come on, you knew that was coming). Jill M. finds out about this, and some photographs are taken. Long story short, Jill M. shows the photos to Jill, which makes things very tense at home.
During all of this, Jack is oblivious to the fact that Jill M. has been VERY FRIENDLY with his girlfriend; maybe a little too friendly. Jill M. keeps telling Jill that she doesn't need Jack, and that she should be with someone better. This leads to a sexual encounter between Jill and Jill M. After some intense girl-girl action, Jill comes up for air long enough to say, "I can't believe this--I'm a lesbian!" Ah yes, Jill finally realizes why she hasn't been "into it" when she and Jack have sex--the truth finally comes out! The following scene is Jill and Jill M. frolicking in a garden of some sort while a slow song plays in the background. The middle of the scene looks like it was shot with a soft-focus lens, playing up the "awakening" that Jill is having.
Jill M. persuades Jill to come with her, and they leave together. Jack, who by now has found out about this, gets in his car and tracks them down. This leads to the funniest scene of the movie.
"What, have you gone AC/DC on me, Jill? Are you into chicks now?", Jack yells. Jill rolls down her window and says, "Yeah, I guess I am." I know, it doesn't seem that funny, but you have to see this in order to see just how funny this scene is.
This film had a great plot and good character development. It had funny moments throughout, and a couple of tense scenes. I thought it was quite good.
Sex: B+ (Good for what it was. A decent amount of sex, and it wasn't too bad)
Women: B+ (Landon Hall was the lead female, but Gabriella Hall makes an appearance as well. I believe this was the first time I've seen these two in a movie together. IMDB lists them as sisters, although I don't see the resemblance at all.)
Story: A+ (A film that actually kept me from changing the channel when there wasn't sex going on. Decent dialogue and a plot that wasn't stationary very long.)
Overall: A- (The "Story" grade takes this film from a B+ to an A-. This was a good film, and unfortunately the only softcore film Dana Plato ever made, I believe. She looked quite old in this film; Jill finally discovering she was a lesbian and then running off with Jill M. was amusing, to say the least.)
If there's a film worse than this one, I don't want to see it
llltdesq7 October 2000
I happened to catch this on a premium channel a while back and I've got news for you: it makes Showgirls look like Casablanca or Gone With the Wind by comparison. I'm one who happens to believe that the merits of a film are to a degree relative; you don't judge Bikini Carwash by comparing it to, say, Schindler's List, as an example. But for the type of movie, compared to others in the same vein, it's lousy. I don't bore easily at all, but this one did that in spades. If you want something like this, look for Kira Reed in the cast and it's probably worth seeing. But this one reeks!
good movie
dme449 July 2000
This movie was well written and acted, Dana Plato gave an all-time strong performance. She showed us why she was such a well-known actress in Hollywood, by her pool scene alone. Highly recommend this to anyone needing a late night movie
Dana's great!
superstar4929 May 2000
I liked this film. I love the music first of all. The acting is okay, but Dana is the one who makes this picture shine. I don't even care to see Dana nude at all, her warm personality and electricity, and bubbliness make me like her as a person. All in all considering what Dana had to work with, she pulled it off great. For those who didn't like the film, perhaps you can look at Dana as a fun person. I miss her much.
One from the Austin Powers school of sexual subtlety
heckles7 November 1999
Warning: Spoilers
Poor Dana Plato. Playing in this straight-to-video film exploitively titled after her old sitcom must have seemed so far away from the comeback she hungered for, and must have entered into her thinking in the months before her suicide. Actually she's rather appealing in it; although any woman over 30 and without the apple-like plastic breasts that appear in profusion in such films is going to catch my favorable attention.
The plot is the 'lesbian first time angle' we've seen done better, sometimes vastly better, in any number of films. The object of Plato's affection is one Landon Hall, who I doubt we will see in any film after she reaches 30 herself. Plato's Jill is recovering from a relationship with another woman, one who does not look even remotely gay, which should tell you about the target audience for this work. Bentley Mitchum (Robert's grandson) plays Jack, Hall's dumb lump of a boyfriend, who suggests that she have sex with Plato's character and reacts with offended rage when she actually does so. Concerning the sex scenes: well, let's just say they're tame enough to pass Blockbuster's seal of approval.
One particular moment cries out for showing in a future R-rated MST 3K: Bentley Mitchum's imitation of a Jack Nicholson psycho fit over a barbeque fire.
The plot is the 'lesbian first time angle' we've seen done better, sometimes vastly better, in any number of films. The object of Plato's affection is one Landon Hall, who I doubt we will see in any film after she reaches 30 herself. Plato's Jill is recovering from a relationship with another woman, one who does not look even remotely gay, which should tell you about the target audience for this work. Bentley Mitchum (Robert's grandson) plays Jack, Hall's dumb lump of a boyfriend, who suggests that she have sex with Plato's character and reacts with offended rage when she actually does so. Concerning the sex scenes: well, let's just say they're tame enough to pass Blockbuster's seal of approval.
One particular moment cries out for showing in a future R-rated MST 3K: Bentley Mitchum's imitation of a Jack Nicholson psycho fit over a barbeque fire.
Could've been better
xalphon12 February 1999
I generally liked it since I saw something on A&E about the stars of 'DIFFERENT STROKES' and their respective fates. The image quality was good, the scenes flowed fairly well and
the overall plot was acceptable for a Direct-To-Video production [imho].
The build-up to the seduction was not very believable, and
I would have liked to see more hints at Jill's attraction to Jill. Also, I would have liked to see Jill [Dana Plato] seduce
one more] of the lingerie models.
All in all, I think it rates a 6 out of 10.
the overall plot was acceptable for a Direct-To-Video production [imho].
The build-up to the seduction was not very believable, and
I would have liked to see more hints at Jill's attraction to Jill. Also, I would have liked to see Jill [Dana Plato] seduce
one more] of the lingerie models.
All in all, I think it rates a 6 out of 10.
oh please make it stop....
erica27 June 1999
Awful, Awful, Awful!! That's what kept repeating over and over in my head as I watched this trash. Horrible camera shots, the music was boring, the plot gave me a "been there, done that" feel, as it wasn't original in the least, and the acting made me think they just picked people off of the sidewalk and asked if they wanted to be in a film. This movie's quality in acting, wardrobe, music, plot, and everything else gives the viewer the feeling of a low-budget porno. I give it a -1/10 for wasting an hour and a half of my time.
If there was ever a movie about my life...
steve_m88887 January 2000
I don't know, for some reason this movie just really hit home for me. Maybe that's why I liked it so much, but I was also very impressed with the acting and the directing. It is only tragic that Dana Plato had to pass on before she could contiue in this marvelous genre. I would also have to say it is my favorite of Michael Paul Girard's films of the 1990's.
Terminal snoozer
PHolland28 February 1999
Warning: Spoilers
What's to like about this movie? You get to see Dana Plato's follow-up to "Sex Puppets" and "Night Trap". What's not to like? The lighting is poor, the sound is muddy, the music is annoying, the performances are not believable, the dialogue is lame ("This is a great shower!"), and the imagery doesn't work. In trying to make the lesbian affair between Jill and Jill seem like any other affair, it presents boring images that make you say, "Can we get to something interesting?" The sex scenes aren't that exciting, either. Jill's warming up to the sexually liberated Jill is contrived, and the movie's incomplete ending, leaving the viewer to decide Jill's fate, is a lame cop-out. For anyone unpopular with a crush on the prettiest girl in class with a lump for a boyfriend. (Change Plato's character to a male and you'll see what I mean.)
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