You know what, I actually liked Carnal Wishes. It surprised me.
The movie begins with Rachel shooting her husband Eric, who then collapses into the pool at their house. Don't you just love these films that start at the climax and then flash back? Rachel and Eric seem like an ordinary married couple. However, Rachel begins to wonder where Eric goes during his "late night meetings" shortly after having sex with her. Rachel suspects her husband of cheating, so she asks her best friend Daphne (India Summer) for help. Daphne suggests she meet Chase, a private investigator friend of hers.
Chase takes the job, but finds out that Eric's whereabouts are all accounted for; he's not cheating on Rachel. That's the end of the movie, right? Not yet. Rachel expresses to Chase that she's looking for a way out and feels threatened by Eric, so Chase agrees to help her.....but not before having sex with her. This is late-night cable, after all.
Rachel continues playing the damsel in distress while Chase continues to avoid Kendra, his friend with benefits who clearly wants to be more than that with him. Daphne remains conspicuous by her absence; in fact, she practically disappears for most of the movie's second half outside of an obligatory girl-girl scene. Meanwhile, Chase is over here catching some feelings, thanks to Rachel stopping by his place for more sex.
Then, we're back at the beginning. The next scene finds Rachel shooting Eric, with Chase showing up shortly afterward to find her in a panic. Rachel claims she's been abused by Eric and shot him in self-defense.....well, at least that's the story she'll tell the cops. Chase shows up the next morning at Rachel's house to see how she is doing, only to find Daphne there. Ah, Daphne.....nice of you to show up at the end of the flick. She tells Chase that Rachel has left for a few days, and Chase leaves. But she hadn't left yet. She was only hiding until the coast was clear......and then Rachel and Daphne got it on. Didn't see that coming, right? And now you've got the twist. Apparently Rachel and Daphne are more than just friends, and this entire story was a scheme concocted by the two of them to get rid of Eric, make it look like an accident, and manipulate Chase at the same time. It was Daphne to hit Rachel to make it look like Eric did, and Chase fell for it. By the time Chase figured out what happened, Rachel and Daphne had left the country by boat, and all he could say was, "Well played, ladies." That's it? I guess that'll have to do. This flick could've been a 90 minute episode of Femme Fatales, because that's what it felt like. The only thing missing was the women pinning Eric's death on Chase in the end.
Women: A-. A fine assortment of women, with Jayden Cole as the lead and India Summer as the major supporting character. Jayden has done several of these films in the past few years, and she's pretty good at it. I've always thought India Summer is one of the best pure actresses in porn, and you get to see glimpses of that here. Lea Lexis played a minor character, but she has an interesting accent.
Sex: B+. A couple of girl-girl scenes were the highlights, but Jayden's boy-girl scenes weren't too bad either. They got the job done in this regard, even if they weren't all scorchingly hot.
Story: B+. I thought the story was solid, with a nice twist at the end. The execution wasn't completely on point, but for softcore, you can't expect amazing storytelling. It was fine for what it was. I just wish India Summer had more screen time. For a recent flick with her as the lead, check out "A Wife's Secret."
Overall: B+. I thought Carnal Wishes was a solid Cinemax outing. A solid, sexy mystery flick with an interesting twist at the end. Thumbs up to both Jayden Cole and India Summer for playing their roles well.
The movie begins with Rachel shooting her husband Eric, who then collapses into the pool at their house. Don't you just love these films that start at the climax and then flash back? Rachel and Eric seem like an ordinary married couple. However, Rachel begins to wonder where Eric goes during his "late night meetings" shortly after having sex with her. Rachel suspects her husband of cheating, so she asks her best friend Daphne (India Summer) for help. Daphne suggests she meet Chase, a private investigator friend of hers.
Chase takes the job, but finds out that Eric's whereabouts are all accounted for; he's not cheating on Rachel. That's the end of the movie, right? Not yet. Rachel expresses to Chase that she's looking for a way out and feels threatened by Eric, so Chase agrees to help her.....but not before having sex with her. This is late-night cable, after all.
Rachel continues playing the damsel in distress while Chase continues to avoid Kendra, his friend with benefits who clearly wants to be more than that with him. Daphne remains conspicuous by her absence; in fact, she practically disappears for most of the movie's second half outside of an obligatory girl-girl scene. Meanwhile, Chase is over here catching some feelings, thanks to Rachel stopping by his place for more sex.
Then, we're back at the beginning. The next scene finds Rachel shooting Eric, with Chase showing up shortly afterward to find her in a panic. Rachel claims she's been abused by Eric and shot him in self-defense.....well, at least that's the story she'll tell the cops. Chase shows up the next morning at Rachel's house to see how she is doing, only to find Daphne there. Ah, Daphne.....nice of you to show up at the end of the flick. She tells Chase that Rachel has left for a few days, and Chase leaves. But she hadn't left yet. She was only hiding until the coast was clear......and then Rachel and Daphne got it on. Didn't see that coming, right? And now you've got the twist. Apparently Rachel and Daphne are more than just friends, and this entire story was a scheme concocted by the two of them to get rid of Eric, make it look like an accident, and manipulate Chase at the same time. It was Daphne to hit Rachel to make it look like Eric did, and Chase fell for it. By the time Chase figured out what happened, Rachel and Daphne had left the country by boat, and all he could say was, "Well played, ladies." That's it? I guess that'll have to do. This flick could've been a 90 minute episode of Femme Fatales, because that's what it felt like. The only thing missing was the women pinning Eric's death on Chase in the end.
Women: A-. A fine assortment of women, with Jayden Cole as the lead and India Summer as the major supporting character. Jayden has done several of these films in the past few years, and she's pretty good at it. I've always thought India Summer is one of the best pure actresses in porn, and you get to see glimpses of that here. Lea Lexis played a minor character, but she has an interesting accent.
Sex: B+. A couple of girl-girl scenes were the highlights, but Jayden's boy-girl scenes weren't too bad either. They got the job done in this regard, even if they weren't all scorchingly hot.
Story: B+. I thought the story was solid, with a nice twist at the end. The execution wasn't completely on point, but for softcore, you can't expect amazing storytelling. It was fine for what it was. I just wish India Summer had more screen time. For a recent flick with her as the lead, check out "A Wife's Secret."
Overall: B+. I thought Carnal Wishes was a solid Cinemax outing. A solid, sexy mystery flick with an interesting twist at the end. Thumbs up to both Jayden Cole and India Summer for playing their roles well.
