Taboo IV: The Younger Generation

The fourth episode of this long-running series (clocking in at over twenty official entries as we speak) and my personal choice for its highlight deals - as did the bestselling original - with incest, a theme that was smoothed out as the series progressed (like, past the sixth installment, you can pretty much forget about it), and does so with a surprising amount of earnest. Ginger Lynn (Allen) shines in an early career showstopper as the younger of two sisters (the other being the even more impressive Karen Summer, always an underrated commodity in X-rated movies) whose stable family life moves into turmoil when mom Cyndee Summers (a veteran from the early 70s, check POOR CECILY) embarks on an affair with current director John Leslie, the womanizing brother (and as it turns out Summer's real dad) of husband Jamie Gillis. The latter's a shrink who specializes in incest and leads a self-support group which gave director Kirdy Stevens the chance to incorporate Kay Parker/Mike Ranger footage from the first film and reintroduce the delightful Honey Wilder as the ooh-can't-keep-my-hands-off-sonny-boy mom from the delirious part 2. With wife out of the way, Gillis' eye can't help but wander towards the hard to overlook charms of baby girl Ginger leading to a climax that's both erotic and dramatic. Very good production values (including an original song-filled soundtrack that's actually worth listening to), top-notch acting all around and a great script (hey, MELROSE PLACE never had it this good, even when Dr. Kimberley Shaw was having multiple personality problems !) make this one of the finest adult films of the 80s, meaning really that it's one of the very best ever. Check it out if you haven't already. You will thank me in the morning !