John Cleland Movies
- 2007
Bridget Jones's Diary screenwriter Andrew Davies adapts John Clelend's controversial 18th Century novel for the screen in this erotic drama starring screen newcomer Rebecca Night as the mischievous, titular nymph. Upon losing her parents to smallpox, wholesome naïf Fanny Hill begins the steady transformation from innocent country girl to sexually liberated woman of the world. Her first stop was London, where she was quickly taken under the wing of a notorious madam. After falling into prostitution, Fanny is forced to survive by taking on a series of lovers. Although it is during this time that she discovers the joy of sensual delights, her one true love is never far from her heart and mind. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rebecca Night
Danny DeVito steps behind the camera for this darkly funny satire that combines elements of Barney and Friends with the real-life Pee-Wee Herman scandal while recalling the director's previously twisted black comedies Throw Momma From the Train (1987) and The War of the Roses (1989). Robin Williams stars as Randolph Smiley, a popular children's show host known professionally as "Rainbow Randolph." Dismissed from his beloved job when he's caught taking payola, Randolph becomes increasingly mentally unhinged and the target of his delusional revenge fantasies is Sheldon Mopes (Edward Norton), otherwise known as Smoochy, the fuchsia rhino character that has replaced him and soared to national popularity. Randolph soon learns that his ex-girlfriend and network executive Nora Wells (Catherine Keener) is sleeping with Sheldon, so he sets out to kill Smoochy, egged on by an unexpected ally: corporate president Marion Frank Stokes (Jon Stewart), who should be profiting from Smoochy's rise to fame, except for the fact that he and his cronies are unable to control the idealistic Sheldon's on-air agenda. Death to Smoochy (2002) co-stars Harvey Fierstein, Vincent Shiavelli, and Michael Rispoli. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
Fanny Hill (Lisa Raines) is a buxom country maiden who arrives in the big city and quickly begins an affair with the scion of a wealthy family in this softcore version of an old British tale. When the clan patriarch dies, Fanny is ready to marry her lover until she discovers he has been unfaithful -- that sets her on a course of erotic adventures that begins in protest and ends in great wealth. By the time she has experienced almost every kind of sex imaginable -- or unimaginable -- she is a millionairess. Loosely based on the scandalous, 18th-century novel Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure by John Cleland, which had two different cinematic incarnations in the 1960s (by Russ Meyer and Mac Ahlberg). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lisa Raines, Shelley Winters, (more)
- 1964
Russ Meyer's sex films of the 1960s invariably promised more than they delivered. To be sure, there were bosoms and bottoms aplenty, but seldom if ever any full nudity or orgasmic activity (simulated or otherwise). Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, based on a dull, overwritten 18th century "bawdy" novel, was filmed in West Germany by exploitation producer Albert Zugsmith. Miriam Hopkins, old enough to know better, is the one "name" star of this messy romp, playing the mentor of the titular (in every sense of the word) Fanny Hill (Laetitia Roman), who after being cast aside by the world at large is given shelter in a brothel. His acute self-promotional skills aside, Russ Meyer never really learned how to direct; his "style" consisted of seconds-lasting closeups wedged into badly composed long shots, substituting speed and energy for skill. But he certainly knew his audience, as proven by the enormous worldwide box office take for Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Miriam Hopkins, Leticia Roman, (more)
