| Modern Pulp | Sex Files | Jul 26 2019 |
She's an Angel but she knows all the tricks devils know.
This poster comes from our rather large collection of Japanese promos for x-rated U.S. movies, and was made to publicize The Pleasures of Innocence, starring all-time beauty Angel, aka Jennifer James. Porn copied successful mainstream films as a matter of course, and this is Flashdance influenced, with workout montages, sweat, and 100% earnest, specially made for the film, bass-popping, electro-drumming mid-’80s dance music. Angel plays a smalltown girl who ditches Des Moines and heads to NYC to catch a break. Other performers include Sharon Kane, Honey Wilder, real life former ballerina Terri Hall, and porn legend John Leslie as a slimy agent determined to gain entry to Angel's holy place.
Best line: “She always falls for those writer types. She was seeing a lawyer pretty regular back home.”
Second best line, as the writer is having sex with Angel: “You're a writer's dream.”
Well, Angel is anyone's dream. We won't get into the plot much more except to say that if you took all the sex out of the film the script would be more like a treatment you could read in nine minutes. We're mainly about the poster anyway, and as usual with Japanese promos, this one features a shot of the star that doesn't exist in any other form. That's no surprise—the photo that would have supplied Angel's likeness doubtless was either lost through carelessness, irreparably damaged through neglect, or was appropriated and will turn up on Ebay when the assistant graphic designer who swiped it dies and his kids find it in a box under his bed.
Obviously, we can't recommend this movie. It's dumb, despite professional film stock, good lighting, location work, split screen trickery, and serious performances. In its favor, the dancing is interesting to watch, a bit like revisiting MTV new wave videos, Kim Wilde maybe, or Pat Benatar. We know—that isn't great enticement, but there's also Angel, don't forget. She's an adult film industry legend for a reason. There's no known Japanese release date for The Pleasures of Innocence, but it premiered in the U.S. today in 1986. Bonus material: Angel dances below, and fronts three more posters here.
