The Guest House

If a Lifetime� movie and a Skinemax sexploitation film had a love child, the result would no doubt be "The Guest House" by Michael Baumgarten. It is equal parts desperate female angst and soft-core porn - served with an ABC after-school-special ganache. Baumgarten wrote and directed this "romantic comedy" about two young straight women who turn to each other for love when they cannot find romance in the arms of men. Baumgarten delivers a campy lesbian B-movie that may not engage your brain but will titillate the rest of you.

Rachel (Ruth Reynolds) is a recent high school grad who has been freshly dumped by her asinine Goth boyfriend. Amy (Madeline Merritt) is staying in the guesthouse owned by her new employer, Frank (Tom McCafferty). Frank also happens to be Rachel's dad. Frank has asked Rachel to show Amy a good time in California while he is out of town. Rachel does. She does it in her underpants. Frank catches his new employee with his daughter and their world is turned upside-down.

This is a movie for ladies (and men) who like to look at pretty ladies and don't care about the words the pretty ladies are speaking. Reynolds and Merritt are lovely, beautiful women but their acting leaves a lot to be desired. The script is not realistically written but it does feature several fun soft-core sex scenes which, to be honest, is the only reason one would watch this movie. It might be advertised as a romantic comedy but it should NOT be on a shelf next to a Katherine Heigl film.

If you rated it as a porn or Lifetime� movie, "The Guest House" is a cinematic triumph. But if you rate it against its A or B movie peers, "The Guest House" is a low-budget, straight to DVD, vapid romcom. It all depends on what you want out of your cinema experience: some people truly love and enjoy vapid romcoms and that is OK. Those people will ensure that this movie becomes a cult-classic for many generations. There is a place in the world for all types of movies, and that includes a place for overacted, porn-esque, lesbian romedies like this one.

"The Guest House"
DVD
$24.95
http://www.wolfevideo.com/