Just A Little Harmless Sex

Poor Jonathan Williams. He picks up a lady whom he thinks is a stranded motorist, and she turns out to be a prostitute. Then, the police arrest him. His wife, Alison Eastwood (yes, that Eastwood) finds out, and then the fun begins. At its heart, Just A Little Harmless Sex is a movie about misunderstanding and fidelity. For the remainder of the movie, Williams and his friends try as hard as they can to patch things together with Eastwood, while Eastwood and her friends try to figure out what is going on with their lives.

You see, Eastwood isn't sure she believes Williams when he says it was an honest mistake. We learn as the movie goes on that their storybook marriage isn't as good as everyone thinks. So the trust that usually exists between a married couple is frayed. An aura of tension exists, and Williams, being a guy, is oblivious to all of it. So when it hits the fan, he is confused and saddened that his wife doesn't believe him. Both Williams and Eastwood have two friends along with them on this particular night. Williams's friends are unbelievably dense and horny, and Eastwood's friends are just horny.

Just A Little Harmless Sex has two writers, Roger Mills wrote all the male dialogue, and Marti Norton wrote all of the female dialogue. The male dialogue is believable, since they are stupid and horny. But the women? I've never heard women speak like that. I sure wanted to hear that kind of stuff from women when I was in junior high. Maybe since I'm a Mongoose, I'm out of touch, but I don't believe that many women act like Eastwood and her friends. The main point of tension in Rick Rosenthal's movie is whether Eastwood will cheat on Williams with her handsome yoga instructor (Michael Ontkean from Twin Peaks).

The movie wavers between being a comedy, a romance, and a drama. It never really finds its place, and the resulting whole isn't that interesting. Jonathan Silverman is one of Williams' friends, and he does an adequate job as the commitment phobic, sex-loving male. Kimberly Williams (Father of the Bride, Relativity) in a role different from what we are used to seeing her in, is the wholesome good girl who has secret dreams of being a stripper. Lauren Hutton is Eastwood's mother, a sexy older woman. Most of the other characters are one-dimensional and boring, which is unfortunate, since you have to listen to them for the duration of the movie.
Mongoose rates it: Not That Good.
1 hour, 38 minutes, Rated R for some nudity, and lots and lots and lots of language and innuendo.

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