With all its mystique and universal popularity (it played one L.A. theater eight continuous years) Deep Throat was not a great film. It wasn't even a good film. It was a "happening" picture. It happened to be in the right place at the right time. It happened to be a jolt from some of the sexual lethargy that was gunking up adult cinema. In the process, Deep Throat inspired a thousand clones. At least we were spared more Elvis impersonators.

Everyone in the civilized world has at least heard of Deep Throat. It might be unfortunate, then, that Deep Throat II was chosen as a title. By guilt of association, for good or bad, it can only suffer comparisons to the original no matter what your perceptions of that work. On the other hand, DT II is a serio-comic thought-provoking, issue-raising film that explores the manipulations of First Amendment rights.

Laura Liplock (Krista Lane) isn't too thrilled with what's going on. She's the daughter of the late actress Lily La Rue, whose life story Linda Lovelace is apparently portraying in Deep Throat. Memories are dredged up like old excavation sites as Laura's husband, a U.S. Senator (Jamie Gillis) uses the film to stoke a commission on pornography. Sound familiar? The commission is a kangaroo court composed of a gaggle of stuffed shirts with grandiose occupations — judges, evangelists, journalists. These people are possessed of a certain amount of sexual kink that lies buried in the subrecesses of their party line speeches on morality. This is a frightening commission — the kind that can rule "Mary Had A Little Lamb" to be an exercise in pre-school bestiality.

Enter Lily La Rue. Or at least her sexual spirit. Lily invades Laura's body (a la Lily Tomlin in All Of Me). Overtaken with strange urges she can't comprehend, Laura wants oral sex with her husband. She wants to indulge in bizarre fantasies. In what will probably become an adult classic, the senator's wife participates in a tri-lateral style gang bang in a Washington, D.C. alleyway. It's very reminiscent of the Leslie Bovee boiler room scene in De Renzy's Femmes De Sade. Lily's spirit, in turn, takes hold of the rest of the commission.

If any weaknesses occur in the film, it's in characterization. Sheena Home, as Dr. Powers, a psychologist on the commission, is simply overmatched by her girlish look for what the role calls for — a certain amount of ennui and professional callousness. She totally misses, and wearing glasses doesn't impart credibility. Ditto Ron Jeremy who guffaws and mugs too much for a Falwellian electronic evangelist. Jeremy does get one magnificent scene with Samantha Strong.

Deep Throat II is a picture for the 80's, if the 80's has the guts to come to grips with what it really wants. The senator and the rest here discover what puts the smile on their faces. It will do the same for you. Deep Throat II, by far, is the best adult film to come along in the last five years, and should earn Krista Lane a "Best Actress" nomination.