Wild Orchid II: Two Shades of Blue (1992)

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

This film hit theaters in 1991, and played to empty houses. I was actually one of the few that saw "Wild Orchid II" in the theater. I wasn't expecting such a somber, downbeat movie, considering how the first "Wild Orchid" and "Two Moon Junction" were so much more lighthearted, sexy entertainment. Well it seems that director Zalman King wanted to create a serious film that would be respected as more than just erotic fluff. It does succeed in the fact that it is technically, a very well-made film; truly lovely cinematography/photography, stirring musical score, impressive editing, lighting etc. Even the performances were mostly good, most notably Wendy Hughes as the sinister Madam "Elle," and also Nina Sziemasko in the title role who, compared to Carre Otis, was on the level of Meryl Streep! Art direction was also excellent, with impeccable attention paid to cars and clothing of the 1950's, which is when the story takes place. The 4 star rating here is utterly ridiculous and inaccurate. The main problem with "Wild Orchid 2" is that there isn't a very large audience for a strange film like this. Fans of erotic/softcore sex films will most likely be bored with the dramatic, and depressing tale of an innocent girl losing herself in the sordid world of prostitution. And fans of drama will most likely be put off with all the sex and nudity on display, and in this film there is a LOT of that on screen. So much in fact, that the film had to be cut by almost 5 minutes to receive an R rating and play in theaters. When released on VHS it appeared uncut, and there is one sequence in particular that would NEVER have gotten past the censors. On a side note, I'm wondering if director King was at all influenced by David Lynch's "Blue Velvet," when he created this one; the two films have a VERY similar story arc, taking the viewer through a dark, sinister, seedy world of evil, corrupt people, and ending in the daylight, morning sun streaming through the trees as the two main characters find an idealistic "return to innocence." Both films take place in the 50's, and have a very similar aesthetic, and the lead character's name is "Blue." At times depressing, and surprisingly sleazy, but it does have an optimistic conclusion, and it's a film that is hard to forget.

Blue (Nina Siemaszko) and her drug-addicted jazz trumpet-playing father Ham McDonald (Tom Skerritt) go on the road. She has to sleep with Jules to get drugs for him. He crashes the car and dies. Alone, she falls under the influence of Elle (Wendy Hughes) working in her brothel. High school hunk Joshua Winslow doesn't know her secret and has fallen for her. Once he's even dragged to the brothel by his father to lose his virginity. Elle's henchman Sully (Robert Davi) rescues Blue from perverted Senator Dixon and they escape trying to live a normal life.Zalman King's overwrought style is all over this movie. It's luscious and cheesy. It's 90s late night fare. Nina Siemaszko's stone-faced acting limits this and doesn't really help the movie. It's a beautifully shot softcore porn and a slow moving melodrama.

According to someone, this not bad sequel (Nina looks hot), otherwise, not a bad movie, no sequel (or most) do not equal the original (kinda like some remakes). Anyway, DVD cuts some minutes (according to some reviewer on Amazon.com); I've got the unrated VHS. I think I'll follow the suggestion that if the unrated version (with the additional material) comes out on DVD (one day, hopefully) to get it then. If the additional footage doesn't matter, I guess some people might buy it now. Viewer's choice. That's a problem with some movies. Unless someone puts both versions of a movie on the same disc, it might be better to wait. Also, the viewer has to beware of some manufacturer's discs. I bought a version (from Canada) of a movie called Terminal Island and it cut everything, language and the ladies' scenes (you know what I mean). I had to buy it again and can't even give the other one away. Ugh! A bit of advice for buyers/viewers of movies (if they want the full unadulterated versions of movies). You've been warned.

A pretty bad movie, and despite what others seem to think, it was not as good as the first (which wasn't especially "good" either).The whole attraction for the first Wild Orchid film is the awesome sex scene with Carre Otis and Mickey Rourke. Otherwise, it's a pretty dull and even pretentious movie.However, the sequel has only one halfway decent sex scene in it, and the female character is not enjoying it at all.Overall, both Wild Orchid films are of the sort one sees on Cinemax or Showtime at 1 AM. A minute or so of eye candy isn't really worth seeing the rest of the film.