Review: Felicity

Canadian-born English resident Glory Annen (who is undeniably beautiful) stars as the title virginal Catholic boarding school student, who after a bout of skinny-dipping with her best friend (Jody Hanson) receives word that her father has arranged for her a holiday in Hong Kong, staying with her aunt. It is here that Felicity will have the sexual awakening she yearns for, getting laid by a moustachioed he-man on the bonnet of a car, visits a brothel-on-a-boat with a sexy local named Mai Ling (Bond girl Joni Flynn), who will later introduce her to the joys of lesbianism, and so on. She also meets a sensitive Aussie boy (Chris Milne) who rescues her from local ruffians, and before long the two are shagging like rabbits in heat. Or something.

It doesn’t reach the softcore heights of “Emmanuelle II”, but this 1978 film from writer-director John Lamond (who has a fun cameo as a peeping tom) is a bit better than I was expecting. Oh, it’s a pretty poor film in any traditional sense, but for a dopey Aussie softcore flick in the “Emmanuelle” vein, well, it’s a big step up from jokey tits and bum stuff like “Alvin Purple”.

The sex and nudity are pretty explicit and plentiful by Aussie film standards, though not always effectively staged. One lesbian scene in particular featuring Glory Annen and Joni Flynn isn’t anywhere near as sexy as it should be because either the actresses or the director seem to have absolutely no idea how lesbians pleasure each other. It’s actually absurd to behold, but not much of a turn-on. Then there’s the massage/bathhouse scene, which although not bad, is an inferior rip-off of the massage/bathhouse scene from “Emmanuelle II”, one of the sexiest scenes ever committed to film. Here it looks like the girls don’t know how to kiss one another. The “Emmanuelle” comparison is unavoidable, given the book itself is mentioned here, and the film takes place in a similar locale.

One thing this film has over the “Emmanuelle” films is that there’s no moralising. In fact, it’s a pretty upbeat film, really, especially in the first half. It has to be said that it’s impossible to believe that Felicity is such a novice to sexual matters given the first 20 minutes of the film show her having an obvious carefree attitude towards sex and nudity. Virginal my arse. But it’s best not to do any thinking at all in this film and simply enjoy the camp and exploitation of it all. The former is delivered by the bucket-load in not only Annen’s hilariously pretentious musings on her own sexual awakening. And then there’s the performance by TV personality John Michael Howson whose apparent heterosexuality is as dubious here as it is in real life. Cast as an apparently lascivious clothing store owner, Howson’s ridiculous performance is mincy high camp, wholly inappropriate, highly confusing, and extremely entertaining. But there’s the possibility that it’s tongue-in-cheek, as the character’s sexuality is even questioned by Felicity. And don’t get me started on the moustachioed bloke who takes Felicity’s virginity away in a car. He thinks he’s god’s gift to women, and may well be if you’re idea of a hunk is somewhere in between Sam Elliott and Aussie cricket legend Dennis Lillee.

The film’s merits as a film frankly aren’t all that relevant, but although a bit better than I was expecting, even the sex here isn’t terribly memorable. It is, however, an important chapter in Aussie cinema, and there’s plenty of nudity to keep you awake, and a few laughs too (intentional or not). 

Rating: C+