Roger Corman's BODY CHEMISTRY was a FATAL ATTRACTION ripoff that permitted its Glenn Close surrogate, psychologist Dr. Claire Archer (Lisa Pescia), not only to survive the finale but get away with the murder of her lover. More a matter of marketing than moral irony, the conceit enabled
the antiheroine to conquer and kill a number of horny chumps in several sleazy sequels, slickly produced to pander to home-video renters.
Here, Dr. Archer hosts a radio phone-in show in which she dispenses perverse romantic advice, like telling women that their boyfriends' beatings are the mark of true love. One of her most troubled callers, Dan "Danimal" Pearson (Gregory Harrison), is an ex-football star fired from the LAPD for his
violent streak spawned by an abused childhood. Dr. Archer services the suicidal lug in person but her "therapy" of S&M sex only makes his mania worse. When Dan tries to break off the fevered affair, resentful Dr. Archer tortures and teases him towards the brink of madness, endangering both his new
career as an auto-mechanic and his wholesome girlfriend (Robin Riker). Ultimately cops who previously idolized Dan end up shooting him dead to save "innocent" Dr. Archer from the raving psycho.
The (mostly male) filmmakers underscore their obvious paranoia about strong, dominant women with heavy film noir trappings--never before have so many Venetian blinds cast so many patterned shadows. The small-town locale strikes a somehow apt note, while the ostentious presence of trash-TV
personality Morton Downey Jr. as a trash-radio producer is over the top even in this lurid milieu. The magisterially sexy Pescia did not return in the next few BODY CHEMISTRY pics, but Corman's team found no shortage of actresses willing to shed clothing for Dr. Archer's further
escapades.(Violence, nudity, sexual situations, adult situations, substance abuse, profanity.) leave a comment
