"Michael" (Eric Woods) is in a bind. He just had an argument with his girlfriend and now needs someone to accompany him to his 10th high school reunion. So, in a rather desperate move, he calls an escort agency to see if they can help him out. Sure enough, a beautiful woman named "Charlene" (Rochelle Swanson) arrives who fits the bill perfectly. Not only that, but she also manages to impress everyone at the reunion--to include Michael's main rival, "Brandon Collier" (Richard Grieco) who then offers Michael a job at his firm. But things take a sudden turn for the worse not long afterward. Now, rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it, I will just say that this film could have been pretty bad had it not had one key factor--Rochelle Swanson. She dominated every scene she was in. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast wasn't quite up to the task, and as a result, the overall movie wasn't nearly as good as it could have been. That said, I can only rate this movie as about average.
8 Reviews
Mutual Needs
jboothmillard13 September 2005
Warning: Spoilers
This is one of those thriller type films that I really only wanted to see for the chance of seeing some decent nudity or sex scenes. I can't exactly remember the main theme of the film, but I think it is a party that the two soon to be lovers meet at. I think, he is engaged and the next day he marries, he one night meets one girl and they make out. The next day he is obviously regretting and cancels the wedding! He then keeps meeting this other girl, this is the mutual need. Near the end of the film, this guy discovers this girl was set up by his best mate because of his sex life being non existence, I think. Starring E.T.'s Dee Wallace (Dee Wallace-Stone) as Patricia. I don't really care about the story anyway, I just know that this has decent nudity and sex scenes. Good!
More Like Mutual of Omaha
monsters from the id27 January 2000
Whenever the Playboy logo appears on screen, the viewer is alerted that what follows will be professionally staged and directed. The cast will be attractive and will include some well-known people from the second or third tier (here it's Richard Grieco, on a break from shooting " A Night At The Roxbury"). Their acting will be above par, and the love scenes will be tastefully done, integral to the plot, and non-gratuitous. Think of it as an OSHA warning or the little note from the Surgeon General on that pack of Marlboros.
There's really not much here for fans of late-night cable weirdness. We have the story of a corporate drone who, with the help of Rent-A-Babe, re-invents himself for his tenth year reunion party, The rented babe however turns out to be a wicked and manipulative siren leading our poor sap into the ruin of Chapter 11. If you're looking for a compelling movie on the theme of a Wicked Woman leading a Good Man astray, "Out Of The Past" with Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer is the perfect choice. If you're looking for gratuitous nudity and cheap thrills, Playboy has a whole series of hot-body videos. But this trite hybrid is neither convincing drama nor sufficiently prurient trash.
The only wild card in this dull hand is the presence of Rochelle Swanson as the wicked woman, Charlene. Rochelle is a lush brunette, who could easily reign as Queen of Late-Night Cable Land, were it not for a certain deadly coyness. Exhibit A is a torrid private dance for our victim. Admittedly, she looks terrific in black and the garter-belt, stockings and high heels are a nice fetish touch. But after a few charming moves, only the bra disappears and the scene segues into another routine session of bumping bodies.
In Exhibit B, our hero comes home early and finds Charlene with her partner in crime, Josie (played by Sydney Coale Phillips). The suggestion is subtle; they look fetching in their midriff-baring outfits and presumably they weren't discussing Hegelian dialectic upstairs. But we never get to see the footage from the bedroom cam and so we wonder why the notion was introduced.
The final nail in the coffin has Charlene showing up at the office, wearing only a fur coat and bringing a mid-day snack. She quickly loses the coat and for a brief moment, the scene seems full of promise. We are treated to a lingering shot of her enchanting backside as she shows off the Daily Special. But as she moves in, the camera suddenly gets coy and hastily arranges contrivances to block any explicit views. It reminds me of that running gag in the Austin Powers' movies as Mike Myers, ostensibly nude, wanders through a room filled with objects strategically placed between the camera and his private parts. In Austin Powers One and Two, the device is funny and Freudian. Here it's just clumsy.
This Puritanism seems quaintly retro in a Nineties Playboy product. In the late Sixties, Playboy pushed at the edge of explicitness in men's magazines until full frontal nudity became commonplace. Now famous figure skaters and fading starlets routinely appear nude in Playboy and the other magazines look like Ob-Gyn Journals. Thirty years later, the camera demurely blocks an explicit shot, like a blushing geisha.
Part of the explanation may be in Rochelle's other film credits. The IMDb lists a lot of items with the words "secret" and "indecent" and numbers in their titles, all part of the Shannon Tweed franchise. It's hard to imagine that, not long ago, Shannon Tweed was the benchmark for late-night cable. But then again, not long ago, 166MHz was considered to be a powerhouse processor.
Times change.
There's really not much here for fans of late-night cable weirdness. We have the story of a corporate drone who, with the help of Rent-A-Babe, re-invents himself for his tenth year reunion party, The rented babe however turns out to be a wicked and manipulative siren leading our poor sap into the ruin of Chapter 11. If you're looking for a compelling movie on the theme of a Wicked Woman leading a Good Man astray, "Out Of The Past" with Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer is the perfect choice. If you're looking for gratuitous nudity and cheap thrills, Playboy has a whole series of hot-body videos. But this trite hybrid is neither convincing drama nor sufficiently prurient trash.
The only wild card in this dull hand is the presence of Rochelle Swanson as the wicked woman, Charlene. Rochelle is a lush brunette, who could easily reign as Queen of Late-Night Cable Land, were it not for a certain deadly coyness. Exhibit A is a torrid private dance for our victim. Admittedly, she looks terrific in black and the garter-belt, stockings and high heels are a nice fetish touch. But after a few charming moves, only the bra disappears and the scene segues into another routine session of bumping bodies.
In Exhibit B, our hero comes home early and finds Charlene with her partner in crime, Josie (played by Sydney Coale Phillips). The suggestion is subtle; they look fetching in their midriff-baring outfits and presumably they weren't discussing Hegelian dialectic upstairs. But we never get to see the footage from the bedroom cam and so we wonder why the notion was introduced.
The final nail in the coffin has Charlene showing up at the office, wearing only a fur coat and bringing a mid-day snack. She quickly loses the coat and for a brief moment, the scene seems full of promise. We are treated to a lingering shot of her enchanting backside as she shows off the Daily Special. But as she moves in, the camera suddenly gets coy and hastily arranges contrivances to block any explicit views. It reminds me of that running gag in the Austin Powers' movies as Mike Myers, ostensibly nude, wanders through a room filled with objects strategically placed between the camera and his private parts. In Austin Powers One and Two, the device is funny and Freudian. Here it's just clumsy.
This Puritanism seems quaintly retro in a Nineties Playboy product. In the late Sixties, Playboy pushed at the edge of explicitness in men's magazines until full frontal nudity became commonplace. Now famous figure skaters and fading starlets routinely appear nude in Playboy and the other magazines look like Ob-Gyn Journals. Thirty years later, the camera demurely blocks an explicit shot, like a blushing geisha.
Part of the explanation may be in Rochelle's other film credits. The IMDb lists a lot of items with the words "secret" and "indecent" and numbers in their titles, all part of the Shannon Tweed franchise. It's hard to imagine that, not long ago, Shannon Tweed was the benchmark for late-night cable. But then again, not long ago, 166MHz was considered to be a powerhouse processor.
Times change.
An Hour-and-a-Half I'll Never See Again
aaronrich7415 August 2000
What a waste of time-- A supposed psychological-sexual-thriller that certainly isn't psychological, barely sexual and offers no thrills that I was aware of. "Mutual Needs" is the story of a sniveling idiot who spends his time playing video games at work and telling jokes that fall flat, yet who manages-- with the help of a too-good-to-be-true call girl-- to con his way into a $150,000 a year ! job with a former high school rival. If you've ever seen a movie where someone is not as they seem, then you already know the rest of the plot and needn't bother watching this bland dreck.
As far as casting-in-order-to-put-the-name-on-the-video-box goes, it should be noted that this movie features Dee Wallace-Stone who, mercifully, has only about four seconds of screen time. A bloated Richard Grieco (who gets top billing in the credits, mind you) has a few seconds more, including helping out in the pivotal turn-the-tables-on-the-psycho ending that such films as these feature.
If a storm knocks out all other channels other than the one airing this cinematic lightweight, read a book.
As far as casting-in-order-to-put-the-name-on-the-video-box goes, it should be noted that this movie features Dee Wallace-Stone who, mercifully, has only about four seconds of screen time. A bloated Richard Grieco (who gets top billing in the credits, mind you) has a few seconds more, including helping out in the pivotal turn-the-tables-on-the-psycho ending that such films as these feature.
If a storm knocks out all other channels other than the one airing this cinematic lightweight, read a book.
a pure turn-on!!
djeddie31 October 1999
This film was genious!! I think that any man between 25 and 35 would relate to this film, because we would all love to go back and show our old high school friends how well we did with our careers and with a stunningly beautiful on our arm...the two ultimate conquests of our lives. Talk about ego builders!! I found Rochelle Swanson and the girl who played her roommate to be extremely hot!!! I was so turned on, that I had to attack my wife later!! In a fun way!! I recommend it highly!! Enjoy!!
Any guy can relate to the feeling
crazy-2310 January 2000
But not all guys would 'hire' a date just to show off. I mean, why fake it? I did really enjoy the movie however. The escort, Rochelle Swanson, is one of my all time favorite actresses and she does her nude scenes well in this film. Another actress to look out for, and new to the movie industry from Playboy is Tricia Lee Pascoe. She is very hot! To bad her breasts have to be those typical implants so common nowdays. But what the hell, she's beautiful! Good story line, good acting, and hot girls!
It will hook you quickly!
mycritic30 August 1999
First, the movie is produced by Playboy, so you should expect beautiful women. Sandra (Tricia Lee Pascoe) was a cut above the usual fair and hooked me instantly. Whoa. Kudos to her surgeon! The rest of the movie is about the guy she dumps in the first scene and how he goes to his class reunion to attempt to outdo his class rival, (Richard Grieco). Of course, there is more sex. Most of it pretty decent. This one is better than your common movie in this genre.
It's too bad Rochelle Swanson doesn't do more of these.....I give it a B.
Smooth B19 November 2001
I was pleasantly surprised when I viewed "Mutual Needs." It's a Playboy produced movie, so you pretty much know what you're gonna get--hot girls and a wafer-thin plot. This movie reminded me a lot of another Playboy movie about corporate warfare, "The Corporate Ladder." It's no coincidence this flick and TCL were both made in 1997.
The movie starts out innocently enough--a man gets dumped by his girlfriend shortly before his 10th annual high school reunion. Obviously afraid of being the laughingstock of the event, he rushes out an hires a hooker to go to the reunion with him. In no time, the hooker, played effortlessly by Rochelle Swanson, makes her way through the party, introducing herself as the man's wife. It works like a charm! In fact, the guy lands a cushy $120,000-a-year job working for one of his former high school classmates. Now, Charlene wants payment. That's where the fun begins.
In a cross between "The Corporate Ladder" with a hint of "Scorned", Charlene makes life a living hell for this poor man, forging loan contracts and running up astronomically high credit bills. Soon enough, however, her past catches up with her.
The sex scenes in this movie were relatively short and seemed to be placed correctly, unlike some other movies of this genre where some of the sex scenes seem to have little to do with the plot.
It drags on in a few places, but not enough to say, "There's 90 minutes of my life I'll never get back." Richard Grieco, a familiar-sounding C-list actor, gets top billing in this movie. Gotta have that star power!!
Sex: C+ Women: B+ Story: B Overall: B
The movie starts out innocently enough--a man gets dumped by his girlfriend shortly before his 10th annual high school reunion. Obviously afraid of being the laughingstock of the event, he rushes out an hires a hooker to go to the reunion with him. In no time, the hooker, played effortlessly by Rochelle Swanson, makes her way through the party, introducing herself as the man's wife. It works like a charm! In fact, the guy lands a cushy $120,000-a-year job working for one of his former high school classmates. Now, Charlene wants payment. That's where the fun begins.
In a cross between "The Corporate Ladder" with a hint of "Scorned", Charlene makes life a living hell for this poor man, forging loan contracts and running up astronomically high credit bills. Soon enough, however, her past catches up with her.
The sex scenes in this movie were relatively short and seemed to be placed correctly, unlike some other movies of this genre where some of the sex scenes seem to have little to do with the plot.
It drags on in a few places, but not enough to say, "There's 90 minutes of my life I'll never get back." Richard Grieco, a familiar-sounding C-list actor, gets top billing in this movie. Gotta have that star power!!
Sex: C+ Women: B+ Story: B Overall: B
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