This movie gets no respect. Though it cleaned up at the 1984 AFAA (Adult Film Association of America) Awards, it was widely held accountable for the founding of the XRCO (X-Rated Critics Organization). This splinter group consisted of disgruntled porno reviewers (led by the likes of the late Jim Holliday) no longer in agreement with the AFAA's decisions which they felt lost track of the genre's true reason for being (i.e. pulse-pounding eroticism) by grovelling for mainstream acceptance with prizes bestowed upon movies that were well made in terms of plot, acting and cinematography but contained little or no hot sex. An early directorial effort (after 1980's BLONDES HAVE MORE FUN and to be followed by the massively hyped TEN LITTLE MAIDENS and the unjustly overlooked MISSING PIECES) by longtime performer John Seeman (who had played the sympathetic chauffeur in Richard Kanter's landmark DESIRES WITHIN YOUNG GIRLS), VIRGINIA deserves to be remembered for reasons extending well beyond the XRCO's instigation.
Superstar Shauna Grant (aka Colleen Applegate who, ironically, DID gain mainstream recognition, if only by the documentary DEATH OF A PORN PRINCESS and the dreary movie of the week SHATTERED INNOCENCE devoted to her troubled life ended by suicide) shines as the titular character, a mixed-up teen very much in love with her widowed father (Paul Thomas). The latter's a professional photographer who, for reasons initially unclear, snaps illicit shots of people making love. Virginia's discovery of dear dad's peculiar sideline and the consummation of their mutual longing makes up most of the plot, moving along at a dreamy, deliberate pace that is sure to alienate impatient viewers but somehow seems quite right for this type of material. There are some odd digressions, the strangest of which must surely be a long garden party thrown by Virginia's naughty best friend (the charmingly gawky Susan Wilde) who trots out a pony and a chimp - nothing even remotely sexual going on there, rest assured ! - for her assembled guests, a scene Seeman undoubtedly included to highlight the central character's innocent and childlike nature. Of course, for the film's detractors, it's just more ammunition
Unfairly discarded by many critics at the time (and, unfortunately, since) as a thudding bore, the sex runs the gamut from slow and sensual to teeth-baring intensity, the latter provided by PT and the unsung Janey Robbins (mere months away from wowing fans in Alex deRenzy's GIRLFRIENDS) in the opening scene and by dusky dreamboat Billy Dee (once billed as "Obi Wahn" on Jesse Pearson's excellent LEGEND OF LADY BLUE !) with Ms. Wilde. Bleached blonde Lili Marlene, a willowy performer famed for her rectal exploits (and whose awe-inspiring foursome with Golden Age legends Marilyn Chambers, John Holmes and Herschel Savage in Stu Segall's UP 'N' COMING should be enshrined in some kind of Hall of Fame somewhere), is in the tender greenhouse scene with bulky and very hairy (if unfortunately named) Peter Bent. Another take no prisoners performer, the frequently nasty Jamie Gillis (WATERPOWER, 'nuff said ?), also shows his gentler side with porcelain beauty Jade O'Riley in a lushly romantic encounter.
There's no eclipsing the film's final barn burner however, when Virginia and her father cross the barrier. This deeply emotional climax in more ways than one breaks out of the traditional sex scene limitations with a truth and beauty rarely encountered in adult cinema. Every single glance and gesture from both Shauna and Paul is just perfect, with the camera discreetly moving in on their lovemaking and the haunting melody mixed with Virginia's repeated pleading ("Daddy, I'm somebody") providing the icing on the cake. According to people in the know, Shauna gave her finest performance as Gary Graver's SUZIE SUPERSTAR. While nowhere near a great actress, she probably turned in her most competent work (somewhat on a high school play level) in that particular movie. I would like to counter that as VIRGINIA she moves beyond that, accomplishing a performance that is so emotionally naked it is at times painful, even embarrassing to witness. In my opinion, she has never been better, certainly never more heartrending than here.
Superstar Shauna Grant (aka Colleen Applegate who, ironically, DID gain mainstream recognition, if only by the documentary DEATH OF A PORN PRINCESS and the dreary movie of the week SHATTERED INNOCENCE devoted to her troubled life ended by suicide) shines as the titular character, a mixed-up teen very much in love with her widowed father (Paul Thomas). The latter's a professional photographer who, for reasons initially unclear, snaps illicit shots of people making love. Virginia's discovery of dear dad's peculiar sideline and the consummation of their mutual longing makes up most of the plot, moving along at a dreamy, deliberate pace that is sure to alienate impatient viewers but somehow seems quite right for this type of material. There are some odd digressions, the strangest of which must surely be a long garden party thrown by Virginia's naughty best friend (the charmingly gawky Susan Wilde) who trots out a pony and a chimp - nothing even remotely sexual going on there, rest assured ! - for her assembled guests, a scene Seeman undoubtedly included to highlight the central character's innocent and childlike nature. Of course, for the film's detractors, it's just more ammunition
Unfairly discarded by many critics at the time (and, unfortunately, since) as a thudding bore, the sex runs the gamut from slow and sensual to teeth-baring intensity, the latter provided by PT and the unsung Janey Robbins (mere months away from wowing fans in Alex deRenzy's GIRLFRIENDS) in the opening scene and by dusky dreamboat Billy Dee (once billed as "Obi Wahn" on Jesse Pearson's excellent LEGEND OF LADY BLUE !) with Ms. Wilde. Bleached blonde Lili Marlene, a willowy performer famed for her rectal exploits (and whose awe-inspiring foursome with Golden Age legends Marilyn Chambers, John Holmes and Herschel Savage in Stu Segall's UP 'N' COMING should be enshrined in some kind of Hall of Fame somewhere), is in the tender greenhouse scene with bulky and very hairy (if unfortunately named) Peter Bent. Another take no prisoners performer, the frequently nasty Jamie Gillis (WATERPOWER, 'nuff said ?), also shows his gentler side with porcelain beauty Jade O'Riley in a lushly romantic encounter.
There's no eclipsing the film's final barn burner however, when Virginia and her father cross the barrier. This deeply emotional climax in more ways than one breaks out of the traditional sex scene limitations with a truth and beauty rarely encountered in adult cinema. Every single glance and gesture from both Shauna and Paul is just perfect, with the camera discreetly moving in on their lovemaking and the haunting melody mixed with Virginia's repeated pleading ("Daddy, I'm somebody") providing the icing on the cake. According to people in the know, Shauna gave her finest performance as Gary Graver's SUZIE SUPERSTAR. While nowhere near a great actress, she probably turned in her most competent work (somewhat on a high school play level) in that particular movie. I would like to counter that as VIRGINIA she moves beyond that, accomplishing a performance that is so emotionally naked it is at times painful, even embarrassing to witness. In my opinion, she has never been better, certainly never more heartrending than here.