Released | Aug 31st, 1983 |
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Running Time | 83 |
Director | Henri Pachard |
Company | VCA |
Cast | Jack Wrangler, Georgina Spelvin, Anna Ventura, Samantha Fox, Joanna Storm, Jacqueline Loriens |
Critical Rating | AAA |
Genre | Feature |
Forget about comparisons between The Devil in Miss Jones Part II and the original. Director Gerard Damiano's erotic and stylish pornographic classic went for hot sighs, while director/co-writer Henri Pachard's colorful follow-up strives for howling snickers.
Sidestepping the original's attempt for artistic flair, The Devil in Miss Jones Part II simply goes for laughs, with a large amount of hardcore footage inserted to please the fans of such fare. Georgina Spelvin returns as Justine Jones, who has been condemned to hell, but her appearance ranks as merely a guest-starring role.
Considered daring and a landmark when released more than a decade ago, The Devil in Miss Jones brilliantly tapped a market of adult filmgoers who desired something serious to balance the erotic silliness of Deep Throat, also directed by Damiano. For the record, the original Miss Jones deals with a virgin who commits suicide and, before bein condemned to hell for committing this act, she implores an after-life administrator to return her to earth for a short time. "I would like to live a life engulfed – consumed – with lust," Miss Jones explains.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of The Devil in Miss Jones was that Georgina Spelvin, then 37, appears to be a very plain, even homely woman, as opposed to the buxom, bleached blonde-type of performers then often associated with hardcore fans. Ms. Spelvin infused the role with an erotic energy and, through her very physical performance, helped Damiano deliver his message that even the most ordinary woman can transform herself into a captivating, bewitching sexual presence if she simply drops her defenses and enjoys her sexuality.
The Devil in Miss Jones Part II makes no such attempts at art of messages. Pachard and his attractive cast – Jack Wrangler, Jacqueline Lorians, Joanna Storm, Samantha Fox, and Anna Venture – play every situation for comedy.
In the film, Miss Jones discovers a way to fool the devil (Wrangler), who has ruled that no one behind the fiery gates can reach orgasm. She conspires to receive permission to return to earth for sexual fulfillment. The devil agrees and allows her to return in other human forms, a plot twist which eliminates the need for Ms. Spelvin and introduces younger X-rated performers such as Lorians, Storm, Fox and Ventura.
The Devil in Miss Jones Part II boasts a very crisp look (thanks to the camerawork of Larry Revene) and contains some clever costuming which immediately lets the viewer know every scene in hell will be fun.
Avid fans of the original, who might be disappointed by this sequel's breezy tone, should keep in mind just how really awful sequels can be. For example, Deep Throat II, written and directed by Joe Sarno, was an R-rated follow-up released in1974 to cash in on its predecessor's astounding financial success. Because of its tame rating, Deep Throat II, which again starred Linda Lovelace as a nurse, lacked any hardcore footage. And, because it depended on an amateurish cast attempting to delivery sexually-oriented dialogue it ran for what seemed like an eternity.
With The Devil in Miss Jones Part II, Pachard and his company clearly laugh with, not at, their audience. They try to give the viewers some funny angles on the same ins-and-outs which have been with the XXX-rated features since long before the original's 1973 release.