Rate this film: (1=avoid it, 10=adore it!)

Average score to date: 9.46
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Trivia note: Robert does sing in this film, it's not dubbed - hear for yourself :)

Reviewed by Teri:

Teresa - Julie Carmen
Tony - Robert Beltran
Jake - Guy Boyd
Ramon - Ramon Franco
Denehy - Charles Boswell

Synopsis

The Circle Club is a seedy run-down joint in East LA with a perpetually drunk singer and a perpetually drunk owner - Jake. Jake is not very nice to his wife Teresa. He runs a high-class joint and when an un-named Latino displays attitude, he throws him out (literally) on his hiney.

Tony is a mystery man looking for a job but Teresa's not buying. As he undresses her with his eyes, the talent keels over. Without missing a beat, Tony picks up a guitar.......and blows the joint away.

Jake (dollar signs in his eyes) offers him the job. Teresa's appalled at thought of wasting money on a non-essential singer. Tony's appalled that she's married to this buffoon.

Jake (who is essentially a *nice* jackass) invites Tony fishing but Tony's planning to cast his rod in a different direction (was that Bolero I heard in the background?<g>).

Teresa resists his advances for 3 secs longer than I would have (which brings the total up to about 8.2 secs).

That night, the return of our mystery Mexican punk results in fists flying everywhere. Tony steps in to save the day and gives Jake all the credit. The club's making more money than Jake thought possible, he loves Tony only a little less than Teresa does and he's big man around town. He heads for bed, drunk and happy. He barely disappears up the stairs before T'N'T are doing the lambada on the nearest available table top. (Teresa, we discover, opts for garters and hose and obviously thinks underwear is one of those expensive non-essentials). Jake calls out to them in mid-grope and it's a classic case of "orgasmus interruptus".

Next morning one Lt Denehy arrives toting a complaint against our mystery Latino (Ramon Martinez) and he wants Jake to sign it. He's all for it till Tony talks him out of it. Surprise!! Denehy knows Tony and knows that *he* knows Ramon.

Tony wants to take Teresa away from all this. Teresa wants the club and she's afraid of Jake (wait a minute, were those dollar signs in her eyes?). Tony splits. Jake's pissed and blames it on Teresa for not being nice enough to Tony (?!?) "Believe me Jake, I was as nice to him as I could be." (I'll say!!)

Jake takes his wife on a picknik and is almost likeable. He mentions the possibility of selling the club. Teresa has a hissy-fit. Over his (..er..her) dead body !!

Tony is caught in the web and can't stay away. He finds Teresa in the church.I don't think my little Roman Catholic heart can describe what happened next (but I did rewind it about 15 times - the only reason was to hear my favourite line in the movie, honest !!!). You haven't lived until you hear Robert Beltran breathily whispering, "I want you Teresa, only you". :::SIGH::: Father Dominguez wanders by. The good father decides to hear no evil, see no evil (besides, this is better than a 1-900 line).

Tony wants to leave town with his beloved. Teresa wants a more permanent solution. She thinks Tony's friend Ramon may be the answer. She wants Tony but she wants the club even more (can we say Ka-ching??)

Tony warns Ramon that Jake is out to nail him and Denehy's only too willing to help. They plan for Jake to get locked out when he takes out the garbage. Ramon is suspicious but doesn't want to go back to jail over a bar fight. "If this is a setup, I'm coming back for you Tony".

All goes according to plan until Denehy wanders by and barely saves Jakes life. Life is pretty good: hot music, hotter sex, a renovated club and a smiling, dancing Teresa. "I've never been this happy Tony". (If it weren't for Father D. making you feel guilty and that little inconvenience in the hospital bed).

Jake's comes back home. He wants to sell the club. RED ALERT. BATTLESTATIONS. Brother, you've just pissed off the wrong woman. Tony, as it turns out, also kinda liked having the joint to themselves while bozzo was out of the way. "We get him drunk, we get him dead", he declares!

Tony (eventually) drinks Jake under the table and pitches him down the stairs. SHIT !!! He's still alive !! What is this guy made of ???? Tony chokes the chutzpah out of the poor schmuck.

Things get a bit tense between our lovers as they deal with the guilt. Denehy's pushing their buttons. (Youse got nuttin' on me, nuttin' I tell ya). He follows them to the beach where he gets some interesting Polaroid's, while Jake looks on from the comfort of his urn (EWWWWW !!!!!!!!!).

Teresa wants to re-open the club and Tony accuses her of using him. Batting practice turns into great make-up sex (reverse entry this time - don't you love it when they give you variety in smut).

Denehy returns, not only does he have the pix, he taped their little "Get him dead" conversation. They decide he ain't worth the grief. They pay him off. They are truly annoyed but when all is said and done - life is good.

NOT SO FAST !
You forgot about Ramon, didn't you? So did Tony. Ramon gets his revenge while Tony's taking out the trash. Unfortunately, no off-duty cops are around to save *his* life.

As the movie ends, Teresa is eyeing the sign painter who is just putting the finishing touches on "Teresa's Cafe".

REVIEW

This movie has Robert Beltran in it, I like it already. He has something to do with those luscious lips besides say, "Shields at 67%, Captain" - what's not to love? Well, quite a bit actually.

This is pretty much a trashy B flick. My complaints are as follows:

1) I desperately want to take this poor girl shopping for some decent lingerie
2) The sterotypes are deplorable. The fat gringo drunk. The ex-con, chicano hood. The ex-stripper, brutalized wife. EEEUUCK !
3) What in heaven's name could Mr Gorgeousity possible see in this sour looking, run-down chick?
4) Julie Carmen has the most annoying whine since Edith Bunker (remember this pre-dates "The Nanny")
5) Two-play, what you call it when you don't make it to "fore". This had to be written by a man. This is pure male sex-fantasy. He gives her one smouldering look and she's putting out on the nearest horizontal surface.
6) The ending wasn't exactly a surprise.

Truth is, if HUNK-O-Chak weren't prominently displayed in this, I never would have given it a second glance. However, he was, which brings us to what I liked about this cinematic adventure into soft porn.

My oh my oh my. This boy is gorgeous even with the hat .... *and* he can sing. The music in this movie is Waaay too Kewl !! I actually liked the plot and the characters weren't nearly as two-dimensional as you might expect them to be.

First we have Teresa. She appears to be our heroine at the outset. She's the brow beaten ex-stripper, who's doing the best she can. As the story progresses, she becomes a sad woman looking for love in all the wrong places. By the time we hit mid-stream we start to realize she's a chick with an agenda and she's not above doing whatever it takes to make her dreams come true.

Jake the brutalizer in some ways became the most sympathetic character in this little club of horrors. Sure he's a boozer and he has the sensitivity of a sledge hammer but is that any reason to whack the snot out of him? If so, I know a lot of guys who aren't long for this earth. I admit he deserved to have his clock cleaned but murder is, IMHO, a bit much.

Denehy the persistent cop turns out to be the true bastard of this piece and I was routing for Ramon the killer when he let Tony have it. As far as I'm concerned, you play - you pay !

That leaves Tony of course. He is a tough boy who escaped jail by the grace of god. He's not above casually seducing a married woman. He sold his best friend up the river without a backwards glance. He can even be encouraged to kill a guy with his bare hands. (Not to mention the fact that he peaks in under 5 minutes.) This is NOT the ideal man. On the other hand, he was deftly manipulated by the temptress he seduced. He's just looking for a nice girl and a ride out of town, she was the mastermind of this little let's-get-us-a-club plan. I felt sorry for him but he kinda got his just reward in the end. The symbolism of him biting it while taking out the trash was classic.

When all is said and done, this really is just a trashy flick but I still have to give it 4 stars for that one line:

"I want you Teresa, only you."

Review by Teri (aka Theresa) :-)

See the LA Times review, 14 June 1991

More information at The Movie Database

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Reviews:

Name: Helga
E-mail: helga@hotmail.com
Review:

More nude films with Robert's +blocked+ FRONT and CENTER

Name: Angela Cox
E-mail: beltranangel@yahoo.co.uk
Review:

After the first viewing I was slightly sick,the tabloid nature of the sex scenes spolis them..too much stocking top and breast(you cant get a 40dd out of a 34aa so they are not Julie's...good for you Julie).After the 3rd time I decided that the terrific acting from all the cast and a fairly fast paced story saved this film.I like the setting,not all human tragedies have to be set in royal courts .I felt sympathy for Tony and the horrible way he dies added to that.If only they had handled the sex better it was at times almost beautiful,an actor of Robert's calibre can make it erotic enough...look at STV UNITY ..very erotic and no suspenders necessary.Angie

Name: Katane
E-mail: katane@chantico.com
Review:

As Teri says, it's trashy - but no doubt fuelled a thousand fantasies. Not the worst film ever made, nor the most original, but ... worth seeing if it turns up on tv, if only to Mary Sue yourself into Teresa's place!

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