The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik Yak
The Perils of Gwendoline
Gwendoline

Of the myriad Raiders of the Lost Ark rip-offs, this French T&A bondage adventure comedy does not rank amongst the best. But perky, bubbly star Tawny Kitaen keeps us interested for most of the running time. Director Just Jaeckin, a French still photographer whose first feature was the 1974 softcore classic Emmanuelle, applies a lot of visual style with some nicely lit, colorful widescreen cinematography courtesy of DP André Domage. But the story, based loosely on John Willie's bondage-themed Sweet Gwendoline comic strip, is tediously repetitive. Kitaen plays a beautiful, plucky, but woefully naïve woman who hires a surly mercenary adventurer (Brent Huff) to help find her father, who has disappeared in the jungle while searching for a rare butterfly. Along with Gwendoline's maid (Zabou Breitman), they sail the seas, hike the jungle, and traverse the desert, coming into conflict with pirates, cannibals, and a race of Amazon warriors somewhat reminiscent of the population of Venus ruled by Zsa Zsa Gabor in Queen of Outer Space. Much like the all-too-brief glimpses of Kitaen's lovely form, the strong production values feel squandered in this overlong adventure that plays like a tease for the far better film it might have easily been.