Two Moon Junction (1988)

In director/writer Zalman King's well-photographed, R-rated, soft-core erotica drama (with a double entendre title) - it was a slick, glossy, and cliche-filled tale about an erotically-charged, sexual awakening in numerous well-orchestrated, hot tryst scenes. Producer Zalman King had a reputation for similar films, and also directed Wild Orchid (1989) and was the writer-producer for 9 1/2 Weeks (1986). He also garnered fame from his Red Shoe Diaries series.

The erotic story of forbidden romance with only $1.5 million in domestic box-office revenue was followed by a direct-to-video sequel called Return to Two Moon Junction (1995), with Melinda Clarke (as Savannah Delongpre - a New York fashion model from Georgia who fell for a sculptor) substituting as the sister of Sherilyn Fenn's character in this film.

The exploitational and tawdry melodramatic film (similar to a fictionalized romance novel) was regarded unfavorably and dismissed by many critics and viewers for its inferior dialogue, acting, and directing. One of its performers, Kristy McNichol (from the TV series Family) won the Golden Raspberry Award (in 1989) for "Worst Supporting Actress" for her role as Patti Jean. Its taglines were: "Into her perfect world, comes a perfect stranger -- and suddenly, nothing is perfect any more," "Uncontrollable passion. Undeniable heat," and "The crossroads of destiny & desire."

Set in the Deep South in Alabama within a world of plantations (when "cotton was king") and cultured lifestyles, it told about a wild fling between a pampered Southern debutante and a rugged, muscular local carnival ("carny") worker, just two weeks before it was arranged for her to be married to a handsome, wealthy aristocratic beau approved by her well-respected and politically-influential parents. The romantic drama's taglines described how she was struck with lustful, infatuated affection for a long-haired lower-class carnival worker.

• in the film's opening, pretty April Delongpre (platinum-blonde Sherilyn Fenn), a Southern belle, heiress and debutante, was introduced as the queen of the Phi Gamma Kappa spring graduation ball at her exclusive Alabama College; she was with her dance partner - yuppie fiance, Mr. Chad Douglas Fairchild (Martin Hewitt), the President of the corresponding fraternity Alpha Lambda Chi; the two were soon-to-be-married in a semi-arranged coupling that was "all planned out"

Alabama College Graduation Ball
April Delongpre (Sherilyn Fenn) - Queen of the Ball, with Fiancee - Mr. Chad Douglas Fairchild (Martin Hewitt)

• April's father was an influential and powerful Alabama Senator Delongpre (Don Galloway), married to a traditional Southern housewife Mrs. Delongpre (Millie Perkins); April had two younger sisters Samantha (Milla Jovovich in her film debut) and Jody (Nicole Rosselle) - both excited about her upcoming nuptials in two weeks
• after she returned to her family's mansion home in Alabama for the summer, she and her fiancee glanced over at the ominous arrival of carnival trucks in town; as April swam in her home's outdoor pool overlooking a nearby country club golf course, maintenance workers were setting up tents, rides, and other equipment; after her swim, April took an arousing, auto-erotic long steamy shower intercut with scenes of the brawny and sweaty carnival workers preparing for the carnival
• her subjective fantasy was uncovering a tile in the shower wall and watching nude men in an adjacent shower-room; as she slid to the floor with her back to the tile wall, the shower room became even steamier as she touched herself; there was a fantasy cutaway to a view of a hunky, long-haired, white-trash carnival worker - a drifter who would become April's future lover Perry (Richard Tyson)

April's Shower and Peep-Hole Sequence

• April visited the fairgrounds with her two sisters where she had her first distant view of her fantasy male - shirtless carnival worker Perry (a look-alike to the Doors' Jim Morrison, and/or Fabio) - and was instantly and irresistably attracted to him; he spoke a few flirtatious words to her, calling her a "Princess," while he and grizzly fair worker Kyle (Dabs Greer) encouraged her two sisters to take another Twirl-a-Ride; once Perry learned April's name, he joked: "April - I've known a May and a June, but never an April" [Note: One of the more risible lines of dialogue in the film!]
• April insisted that they had to leave the park, and as the three were departing, Perry stopped them to return April's wallet that she had dropped on the ground; he learned April's name and address, and her fiancee's nickname "Choo-Choo" - and called out to her fiancee Brad nearby as the entire group left: "I wanna wish you the best"
• later that evening, April returned to the carnival to pursue Perry, who was found playing frisbee-catch with his dog Tom; she explained: "I couldn't sleep"; during a brief conversation, he sensed that she had a lot of things on her mind regarding her wedding
• the next day, April's family drove off for a weekend trip (and Chad was also absent on a business trip to Tuscaloosa to finalize the purchase of a condo for them), leaving April at home alone; from the outdoor porch-conservatory, she saw Perry's dog barking at her, and then found the uninvited carny in her house and using her indoor bathroom's shower: ("I just needed a nice hot shower. This sure is nice-smellin' soap"); she ordered him to leave or threatened to call the police, but then didn't carry through, even though she was 'frightened' by him
• April called him "the cockiest son of a bitch I've ever met in my whole life," as he continued to sweet-talk her on the couch: "A woman like you comes along only once in a lifetime...I can't keep my hands off of you....you excite me so much I can't help myself"; he opened the front of her blouse and touched her, and then boldly told her: "You invited me. You might not know it, but you did. It's all right there in your eyes"; she succumbed to his come-ons and they had sex together on the floor; their love-making scene was an interplay-montage of live-video images on a TV monitor and actual views; after he left, she sat with a fluted-glass of champagne and guiltily rewatched the video of them together; a short phone call message from Chad caused her some further guilty-regret

Belle Delongpre (Louise Fletcher) - April's Matriarchal Grandmother

Sheriff Earl Hawkins (Burl Ives)

• the next day, April drove off in her new white BMW 325i convertible (a graduation present from her father) to the rural mansion of matriarch Belle Delongpre (Louise Fletcher), her white-haired, elderly grandmother (with a cane) on her father's side; during a conversation about April's past loves and her strong femininity, Belle offered some advice: "Have you tamed Chad yet? And don't you do it, either. Just keep him wild as long as you can"; April expressed how she was so unsure of herself and her choice of Brad as her husband-to-be: "I know I seem so sure of myself. But sometimes I get this feeling inside, Belle, and I'm so scared....It's just everything's moving so fast. I feel that I haven't had enough time for me"; to solidify April's future, Belle explained how after her death, April would inherit her trust and insisted that she keep it in the family, including "this house and the property from here to Two Moon Junction"; April would also be wearing Belle's wedding dress for her marriage
• afterwards, Belle was so concerned about April's second-thoughts about marriage that she called the local Sheriff Earl Hawkins (Burl Ives, in his last film role) to watch out for her
• that evening, April was unable to resist her desire to return to the busy fairgrounds to see Perry; she drove over and parked her convertible at the carnival, and looked down at her engagement ring; she came up to the drunken Perry with a truck-driving, gum-chewing floozie-cowgirl named Patti Jean (Kristy McNichol), another drifter like Perry; Patti Jean drove off (with April for company) in Perry's truck after Perry forcibly demanded that they replenish his bourbon supply; Patti Jean observed: "He does have a certain charm about him when he's not like this"; on the drive, Patti chatted openly: "I can't stand 'em when they get drunk....Did that son of a bitch make you take an AIDS test before he f--ked you?"
• in a run-down convenience store rest-room after April bought the booze, Patti Jean flirtatiously boasted to April about painting her nipples: "Now you know my secret. I put a little rouge on. Makes it easier to see through my blouse. It's a real 60's thing to do, but I think it's cute. Boys would just howl when I wore pink angora sweaters in junior high. I love angora. You ever put yours in the refrigerator?...It makes it real fuzzy"
• then, she hinted at being flirtatiously bisexual when she asked April: "I'll bet you got great tits. I can tell. But you shouldn't cover 'em up or be ashamed of 'em...And that hair would look a helluva lot sexier if you wet it and slick it back. I mean, I should know, I'm a hairdresser....And that top would look so much better if you weren't wearing a bra"; Patti Jean offered her own top for April to try on, stripped topless, and encouragingly insisted: "You've got the perfect figure for it, perfect. Oh, come on, don't be shy. Just put it on and say goodbye princess" - until the pressured April obliged; she then admired April's shapley form: "It's at moments like this I can see why guys like women so much"
• meanwhile back at the fairgrounds, the Twirl-a-Whirl ride short-circuited and went out of control; Perry couldn't turn off the individual ride and was forced to take a sledge-hammer to the fair's main power generator; his quick reaction saved lives but caused a major black-out; Perry strode up to the money-grubbing dwarf owner Smiley (Herve Villechaize) and accused of him of not being responsible: "Those kids could have been killed! People put their lives in your hands. You've got a responsibility to them"; he fought off an attack by co-worker Buck (Harry Cohn) with a gun, and began to brawl with other fairground workers who blamed him for shutting down the entire carnival
• once Patti Jean and April returned from their booze run, they drove up to a massive fight in progress in the fairgrounds and joined in, concluding with the death of Perry's dog Tom from a switchblade knife stabbing; at gunpoint, Perry - now fired and without a job (and dog) - was ordered to leave the fairgrounds permanently with his two "girls"; April helped Perry carry away his dead dog in his arms, and Patti Jean and April accompanied Perry to bury Tom in a field; at a low point in his life, Perry admitted: "I ain't got nothin', except a bike, a truck, and a post-office box in Clearwater, Florida"

Money-Grubbing Dwarf Carnival Owner Smiley (Herve Villechaize)

Perry - Bloodied and Fired After the Massive Fairgrounds Brawl

• at a bar where the trio ended up to drink away the pain of the night, Perry played pool by himself in a bar, while Patti Jean and April took to the dance floor for a sensuous dance together to the song "Trance" (performed by Loria Jonzun); afterwards however, Patti Jean urged April to return to Perry - and the two went on a short motorcycle ride, and then had sex in a motel room; meanwhile, the Carnival vans, vehicles and trucks were pulling out of town
• April left him early in the morning, and took a taxi to retrieve her parked car from the deserted fairgrounds; she was unaware that a Sheriff's Deputy (James Johnson) followed her back to the motel, where she found Perry was flirting with two motel maids from Puerto Rico; April charged Perry with cheating on her: "You son of a bitch. Bed's barely cold, you're trying to get someone else in it?...You hollow, manipulative piece of s--t. Everything you are is between your legs"; when she slapped him, he accused her of being lustful for him: ("It's called lust, baby. Yep, there's no mistaking it. What's happened to April is she's come face to face with her libido")
• she departed from the motel in a huff (and claimed he was "beyond social redemption"), drawing a curious crowd of onlookers as she loudly shouted out to him and they called each other foul names; she ended their conversion with "You can rot in hell for all I care," and he called her "one special wacko chick"
• but then after an immediate change of heart, and with applause from observers, she offered to buy the "asshole" breakfast, where she regaled him with memories of her grandmother years earlier when as a youth, she watched Belle and other well-dressed couples dancing into the night at the family's pavilion at Two Moon Junction - her favorite place in all the world; he gave her an under-handed compliment: "And here I thought you were just another tight-ass Princess. You look like a princess. You talk like a princess. And you definitely have a tight ass"; she teasingly fought with him at the table where he forced her into a consensual kiss, but embarrassed her in front of other restaurant customers
• after April left, Perry was accosted by the Sheriff and handcuffed for trespassing and burying his dead dog Tom on the private farmland of two elderly farmers; the charges were dropped after Perry dug up his animal and cremated him in the same location; then the Sheriff warned Perry: "Not much goes on in this county that I don't know about"; Perry was joined up with his truck at the Alabama-Mississippi state line - and it was implied that he was forbidden to ever return to Alabama
• a few weeks later, on the day before April's planned wedding, final preparations were being made; she was excited and complimented everyone on the beautiful dresses sewn for the occasion for her "storybook wedding" - based upon her favorite story 'Alice in Wonderland'; April's nervous mother gingerly presented her daughter with a "care package" of birth control products - hoping that April wouldn't immediately become pregnant by Chad if they were both continuing on to graduate school; as he was sprayed with champagne, an inebriated Chad stood on one of the lawn tables in the backyard and serenaded April on a balcony with an off-key rendition of "You Are So Beautiful"
• April looked over as the tables and a huge tent were being set up, and realized that Perry had returned and was working for the catering company for the next day's post-wedding reception and buffet; April would be forced to make a momentous choice

Behind Chad Serenading April, Perry Was Setting Up For April's Post-Wedding Reception

• wearing all-white, Belle arrived in a chauffeured white limousine at the mansion, and soon realized that the "day worker" (Perry) (dubbed "riff-raff") in the backyard meant trouble; she confronted him knowing that he was the one that the Sheriff had taken to the state-line, and ordered to never return: ("The line I'm talking about is the line between good manners and bad manners, order and chaos. Cross that line...."); he answered: "If you're talkin' about the State Line, Princess, I've already seen it"; by her look, she was hinting that he shouldn't be there
• inside the mansion, Belle gathered an audience of family members to boast about the Delongpre family's long line of prestigious politicians: "The Delongpre family can claim three governors, two US Senators, three electives of the House of Representatives, a Supreme Court justice, and an ambassador to Chile"
• that evening in her bedroom piled up with wrapped wedding gift boxes, April saw a note that Perry had written on her bedroom mirror with lipstick: "TWO MOON JUNCTION - MIDNIGHT" - he knew it was her favorite location (a lake pavilion owned by her grandmother Belle) - for a sexual rendezvous; she tried to wipe away the message, but only smudged it
• she met him at Two Moon Junction, and was at first resistant to Perry - she offered him a bribe of $5,000 dollars to leave her for good, but he refused even though she suggested: "I'm leaving now. If you don't want the money, give it to charity"; he commented upon how she wasn't wearing panties, and she reacted with disgust: ("You know, you're a real son-of-a-bitch. At first you excited me. Now you repulse me. You've got no mystery. Everything you are..." (he finished the sentence: "is between my legs")); he invited her into the pavilion: "Come here. I wanna show you something" - he had acquired a new puppy named Max
• she reminisced about her youth when she'd spend time in the pavilion: ("My cousins and I used to come here all the time when we were kids. It was our place. We did everything together. In the summertime, we used to sneak around at night and watch our parents making love. Then we'd come in here, strip down and touch each other all over")
• she was again overwhelmed and tempted by him - she stripped off her dress, stood stark naked before him, and placed a sheer blindfold over her eyes - she mentioned how it was one of the games she played with her cousins; he removed her blindfold and remarked: "I'm not your cousins"

April's Re-Enactment of Childhood Blindfold Game with Her Cousins

• and then at the start of an extended love-making sequence after she tore at and ripped his white T-shirt; he held her in the air and asked: "What do you want?"

• meanwhile in intercut clips during their explicit and steamy sex scene, her fiancée Chad was at his all-male stag-bachelor party (presided over by Sheriff Earl Hawkins), where he was handcuffed to a chair and forced to be subjected to a female stripper dressed as a sheriff

April in Extended Love Scene at 'Two Moon Junction' with Perry

• after their passionate love-making, she ended up in tears, with some regret for again cheating on her fiancee; she told him that her wedding was at noon - to which he replied: "I'll wait around till then, see what happens"; she presumably walked away from him to return to her other, more privileged life
• at noon at the time of the church wedding, Perry was playing with his new puppy on the porch of the pavilion, and was assuming that the wedding was proceeding as planned; in the back of the church as April was about to walk down the aisle with her father, she faltered and hesitated: ("I need a minute"); Belle heard April's concerns about the wedding: "Belle, I don't know if I can do this"; April was tempted to cancel the ceremony and follow after Perry, but Belle urged her to reconsider: "I won't let you throw your life away on a passing fancy. Passion fades. Believe me, I know...I was afraid this would happen. He will never interfere with your life again"
• the sinister Belle claimed that Perry had accepted her monetary bribe to leave town: ("He asked me for money. I gave it to him"), but April knew that she was lying: "That's not true. He would never take money"; Belle retorted: "Everyone has his price," but April replied: "Not him"; Belle again urged April to believe her: "April, my beautiful, courageous child, have I ever lied to you?"; April proceeded down the aisle to marry Chad for her family's sake

Deputy Aiming His Shotgun at Perry Sitting in His Truck

Perry Survived Shooting and Knocked Out Deputy

April Sensing Perry's Danger

• at the same time, as April experienced a premonition of danger, the Sheriff's Deputy was sneaking up on Perry at the pavilion, and fired his shotgun at him sitting in his truck as he was about to drive off; the bullet struck the driver's side window, and Perry appeared to have been hit, but when the officer walked up to check on Perry's condition, the uninjured Perry knocked the Deputy unconscious, and then drove off with Max in his lap
• apparently, April continued to pursue Perry in a different town for adulterous sex; Perry was currently working as a dishwasher in a local blues nightclub bar; after his work shift, he returned to his motel room (where he was feeding his pet dog Max); he was surprised and startled to hear his shower water running; after entering into the bathroom, April greeted him in the shower (similar to the time he showered uninvited in her mansion): "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to inconvenience you. It's just that I was in the neighborhood and I needed a nice, hot shower. Sure is nice-smelling soap"; he entered and embraced and kissed her in order to relive their earlier experience together; upon first glance, her wedding finger was bare, but then during a close-up view, April was now sporting Chad's engagement ring and wedding band