Prior to becoming Vivid's most prestigious in-house director, longtime performer Paul Thomas peddled his wares at a variety of erstwhile industry giants like Perry Ross' long defunct Fantasy Home Video for whom he shot his very first film-making effort ROBOFOX as a vanity project for Mrs. Ross, German sex goddess Angela Baron and Jerome Tannenbaum's Western Visuals. With ROMEO & JULIET, the latter produced what was to become the blueprint, albeit on a modest scale, for the type of movie P.T. would forever become associated with, i.e. a mix of heat and heart reminiscent of the Golden Age carnal classics. Main difference with Thomas' subsequent output is the pervasive breezy humor that keeps proceedings fun 'n' frothy, a tone the director progressively abandoned in favor of psychodrama with occasionally lightweight forays (like his DEBBIE DOES DALLAS "updates", THE MOBSTER'S WIFE and THE SHOW) seeming increasingly desperate and out of character. Farce was never his forte, not even in his acting days (though he made a splendidly smarmy Casanova in Gary Graver's underrated IRRESISTIBLE II), and R&J clearly shows a filmmaker still searching for his niche, scoring higher at romance than the intended but in reality rather thin on the ground guffaws. It wasn't until the following year's superior sequel that P.T. got the recipe just right.
For fans of busty Kim Alexis (who would turn up in most of P.T.'s BRAT movies as well as the affiliated JAMIE LOVES JEFF), this movie provides a rare chance to see their double D darling take center stage, rising beautifully to the occasion. She's the (initial) "plain girl" without whom no "let's put on a show" flick would be complete, the smart but shy kid hired by director Robert Bullock (whose intensity as Chuck Vincent's VOYEUR still ricochets through my brain) and his nympho wife Nina Hartley to play Juliet in their amateur drama rendition of Shakespeare's timeless romance. Only trouble is that conceited Jerry Butler, running off at the mouth and going completely over the top as only he can, has already been cast as her co-star and the two of them can't stand each other. Kim spots nerdy janitor Tom Byron (the only character to return in the follow-up, by the way) reciting the lines backstage when he thinks no one is watching, setting a fantasy scenario in motion of playing the part with him instead. Meanwhile, there's other fish to fry. Producer Joey Silvera, who owns the theater (a former porno cinema), has little faith in the troupe's endeavors and doesn't hesitate to tell them so at every turn. Nina's rehearsal scene with Jerry provides the flick's best-realized comedic aspect, prompting the film's funniest line from the incredulous Bullock when Butler informs him that he has added a few lines of his own : "You rewrote Shakespeare ?!" Naturally, it all comes together on opening night when an accident causes Jerry to literally "break a leg" and, in the best backstage musical tradition, Tom steps in to save the day, making love to Kim before a captive audience. Too bad Thomas or perhaps it was the producers who demanded more sex bungles the delicate balance he has achieved between plot and poking by flooding the film's final third with group grope situations. For the record, the girls screwing in the wings are some of the most popular starlets at the time, their fame far exceeding that of furtive leading lady Alexis : Keisha (long before she added the surname "Dominguez"), Alicia Monet and tragic Megan Leigh who took her own life, apparently caused by parental pressure from a bossy stage mom.
For fans of busty Kim Alexis (who would turn up in most of P.T.'s BRAT movies as well as the affiliated JAMIE LOVES JEFF), this movie provides a rare chance to see their double D darling take center stage, rising beautifully to the occasion. She's the (initial) "plain girl" without whom no "let's put on a show" flick would be complete, the smart but shy kid hired by director Robert Bullock (whose intensity as Chuck Vincent's VOYEUR still ricochets through my brain) and his nympho wife Nina Hartley to play Juliet in their amateur drama rendition of Shakespeare's timeless romance. Only trouble is that conceited Jerry Butler, running off at the mouth and going completely over the top as only he can, has already been cast as her co-star and the two of them can't stand each other. Kim spots nerdy janitor Tom Byron (the only character to return in the follow-up, by the way) reciting the lines backstage when he thinks no one is watching, setting a fantasy scenario in motion of playing the part with him instead. Meanwhile, there's other fish to fry. Producer Joey Silvera, who owns the theater (a former porno cinema), has little faith in the troupe's endeavors and doesn't hesitate to tell them so at every turn. Nina's rehearsal scene with Jerry provides the flick's best-realized comedic aspect, prompting the film's funniest line from the incredulous Bullock when Butler informs him that he has added a few lines of his own : "You rewrote Shakespeare ?!" Naturally, it all comes together on opening night when an accident causes Jerry to literally "break a leg" and, in the best backstage musical tradition, Tom steps in to save the day, making love to Kim before a captive audience. Too bad Thomas or perhaps it was the producers who demanded more sex bungles the delicate balance he has achieved between plot and poking by flooding the film's final third with group grope situations. For the record, the girls screwing in the wings are some of the most popular starlets at the time, their fame far exceeding that of furtive leading lady Alexis : Keisha (long before she added the surname "Dominguez"), Alicia Monet and tragic Megan Leigh who took her own life, apparently caused by parental pressure from a bossy stage mom.