I must say I rather enjoyed this film. For the sake of a common point of reference, I will outline the plot later in this review. This film is a good late-night cable film. It is explicit when compared to R-Rated films (MPAA Rating System) but not graphic when compared to hardcore pornography. It is a good balance, and perfect for couples who want to spice up their viewing habits, but don't want to feel "dirty" afterwards. In total, there are 10 sex scenes. Seven scenes are straight one-male-to-one-female scenes. One scene is a female-to-female scene. One scene is a one-male-to-two-females-with-one-female-watching scene. Then, there is one
two-males-to-two-females-where-the-two-males-have-nothing-to-do-with-each-ot her-but-the-two-females-do-have-something-to-do-with-each-other scene. Whew, I think I burned out the hyphen key! Now on to the plot summary. SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
Gabriella and Julia are two American tourists visiting Italy. Gabriella is very liberal and drives conservative Julia nuts. Things get worse when Gabriella's late night fling turns out to be a thief. With no money and no belongings Julia and Gabriella are stranded far from home. Their pride prevents them from calling home for help.
While walking the country roads of Italy, the pair come across an employee of a local castle. He takes them to the castle where the two cousins meet Isabel, the keeper of the castle. She tells a tale of the castle's origins. A prince built it for his true love. However, his family prevented the two from marrying, and fate took his life not long after. After hearing the report of her true love's demise, she dies of a broken heart. Ironically, she looks like Isabel. After her death, the castle went to the woman's sister and has been passed down to relatives through the years.
Upon finishing this tale, Isabel offers Gabriella and Julia jobs at the castle which now caters to a select group seeking romantic adventures. The two cousins accept.
During their tenure at the castle, Gabriella develops an interest in the employee that originally brought them there. This interest is peaked because he is very cool to her advances, something she has not before experienced. In the meantime, conservative Julia keeps running into the same guest over and over. Despite his bumbling approaches he charms her, but Julia is too insecure to go any farther.
The one day, Julia walks into one of the rooms. It was seemingly empty, but then a couple is in the bed making love. She sneaks out of the room but maintains a vigil. When Gabriella arrives on scene, the couple vanishes as mysteriously as they appeared.
The answer to this encounter is solved when Julia comes across a miniature castle with dolls, each of whom is representing a guest, in Isabel's room. When dolls are paired up with one another and placed in the miniature castle, the guests that are represented are magically transported to a realm where they experience a sexual encounter. However in reality, they don't go anywhere, but it sure doesn't seem like that to them.
Gabriella soon learns of this magic. She wants to really use it to give the guests a good time while Julia advocates restraint. Julia sees the magic as too powerful and chooses instead to study its origin. She discovers that the woman with whom the prince had fallen in love with was a Gypsy with magical powers. However, Gabriella is getting impatient because she really wants to play with the dolls.
Things really get heated when Isabel leaves the castle for business. "When the cat's away the mice will play," and Gabriella certainly plays with this power. However, her actions often have unintended results.
I don't want to ruin the ending. Let's just say Isabel is not who she seems to be and neither are Gabriella and Julia. Gabriella must deal with the consequences to her actions, and Julia must deal with her insecurities.
All in all, a great film. The audio on the DVD is a bit loud when compared to my other DVDs, but that it easily solved by turning the volume down. If you like this genre, buy this movie. You won't be disappointed.
