Retro Porn Review - Virgin and the Lover

In yet another misleading title, Kemal Horulu’s Virgin and the Lover is not the coming-of-age cherry-popping story you might immediately think of because of its name. After the very underwhelming The Sexualist, I was a bit skeptical about another Kemal Horulu flick, but the darker storyline suggested something at least a little more interesting this time.

The movie starts with the legendary Eric Edwards putting make up on in front of the mirror, and just like that you know you’re onto something different here. Edwards — in one of his first roles ever — plays Paul, a filmmaker who can only get turned on by dressing like a woman and having one specific partner.

So far that’s not that weird, except the partner happens to be a mannequin of a girl wearing a tuxedo. You see, Paul’s first sexual encounter happened while cross-dressing, several years before, when he met an older woman who was dressed like a man. Unfortunately the woman died in a car accident — and somehow this sudden big piece of news with tons of psychological repercussions is oddly unexplored after it’s mentioned — and Paul is then forced to replace her with a mannequin he has special nights in with when the mood strikes.

But Paul is aware he has a disorder, which is why he’s seeing a therapist. The doctor’s secretary, a cute brunette with giant boobs named Julie who’s tired of sexually pushy dudes (Leah Marlon, in her only acting role ever), starts seeing Paul and is fascinated with his respectful, considerate ways. Her advances, though, are always rejected and she starts questioning if she might be the problem.

Meanwhile, it’s not like Paul isn’t sexually attracted to those women around him. He constantly fantasizes about the women in his life and daydreams about them being in place of his mannequin — his scene with the always amazing Darby Lloyd Rains deserves special mention.

Probably because of Horulu’s past in sexploitation and the uncertain status of obscenity laws in the United States in 1973, some of the scenes — primarily the ones involving Jonathan John — were softcore and looked mildly staged, but fortunately these are not the majority. Unlike The Sexualist, Virgin and the Lover has some significantly solid sex scenes. The Helen Madigan/Marc Stevens/Julia Sorel threesome alone is well worth the movie, well shot, passionate and without the lengthy softcore shenanigans. Susan Sloan’s porn debut is also a standout one.

The film is not without its share of absurd details, a couple of not-so-great acting performances and some cheesy music, but overall the story’s manageable and it doesn’t feel long. The sex looks good and you’re mostly entertained for an hour and 20 minutes, which is ultimately all you can ask for in an adult movie. Definitely not Horulu’s worst.

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